Parkinson’s Europe is the only European Parkinson’s umbrella organisation. We have been championing and working with the global Parkinson’s community for over 30 years.
As the leading voice for Parkinson’s in Europe, we provide trusted information; advance and share good practices; raise awareness and improve understanding of the condition; and facilitate research collaboration.
Our vision is that people with Parkinson’s and their families have access to the highest standards of treatment, support and care they need to live a full and comfortable life.
Parkinson’s Europe has come a long way since it was founded in 1992 – in fact, we’ve even changed our name, as for our first 30 years we were called the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (or EPDA). Our rebrand to Parkinson’s Europe was part of our 30th anniversary celebrations in September 2022.
Here’s some key events and achievements from the history of Parkinson’s Europe:
1992: Launch
It all began in 1989 when Parkinson’s organisation representatives from the UK, Sweden, France, Netherlands and Germany decided to create an umbrella organisation that would unite Parkinson’s organisations across Europe.
After three years, with a membership of nine European organisations, the organisation was launched. Today, the number of organisations involved in Parkinson’s Europe has more than tripled, and includes members from over 20 countries.
Together, we help people with Parkinson’s and their families get the support they need, advocating for their rights, sharing information and resources and raising awareness about Parkinson’s and the search for a cure.
1997: World Parkinson’s Day
On 11th April 1997, we founded World Parkinson’s Day with the World Health Organisation, and now every year on this date the Parkinson’s community unites to raise awareness. The 1997 World Parkinson’s Day received support from key figures including Princess Diana, Muhammed Ali, Pope John Paul II, Tony Blair and Michael J Fox.
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1998: The Global Parkinson’s Survey
The organisation takes care to accurately represent the views and needs of people with Parkinson’s by carrying out far-reaching surveys. The Global Parkinson’s Survey was one of the largest ever conducted, with nearly 2,000 people with Parkinson’s, carers and clinicians across three continents taking part.
2003: Global Declaration for Parkinson’s
Together with the WHO Working Group on Parkinson’s, we launched the Global Declaration for Parkinson’s, which was signed and supported throughout the six WHO global regions between 2003 and 2008.
This included the support of Mohammed Ali and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
2011: The European Parkinson’s Disease Standards of Care Consensus Statement
This ambitious document, setting out the gold standard for the optimal management of Parkinson’s, is launched in the European Parliament.
2010-2013: Move for Change
This campaign saw three pan-European surveys collecting the views of 5,366 people with Parkinson’s and carers in 35 countries.
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2012: European Unity Walk
This memorable charity event saw over 1,000 people from 25 countries walk through the city of Amsterdam to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s. A second Unity Walk took place in Luxembourg in 2014.
2014-2017: My PD Journey
Our My PD Journey campaign developed, among other things, a ‘European Inventory’, a research project designed to identify gaps in Parkinson’s care and seek out national examples of good practice that could be adopted in other regions.
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2015: Parkinson’s Life
The first lifestyle online magazine for the Parkinson’s community, Parkinson’s Life, is launched. It remains a key focus of Parkinson’s Europe to this day.
Read Parkinson’s Life
2016: The Parkinson’s Composite Scale
Developed over two years as part of My PD Journey (see above), our Parkinson’s Composite Scale is still used by neurologists and other healthcare professionals to measure the severity of Parkinson’s symptoms.
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2017: #UniteForParkinsons
The first global #UniteForParkinsons campaign (developed in partnership with Parkinson’s UK and several other global Parkinson’s stakeholders) took place on World Parkinson’s Day in 2017, and raised vital awareness for the condition. In 2018, our second #UniteForParkinsons reached almost 100 countries worldwide and created almost one million social media engagements.
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2022: 30th anniversary, name change and Parkinson’s Manifesto for Europe
To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we consulted almost 1,000 people in the Parkinson’s community to help shape our new manifesto: a list of 30 wishes which summarise our hopes, dreams and ambitions for tackling this condition over the next 30 years.
We also embraced our new name, Parkinson’s Europe, with our new logo featuring our distinctive red tulip, the official symbol of Parkinson’s.