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Organization: AEA – European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals
Title: Virtual Lunch Debate from the European Parliament for World Hearing Day 2025 – Changing mindsets: Empower yourself to make ear and hearing care real
Alternate tite:
Virtual lunch debate from the European Parliament for World Hearing Day 2025 – Changing mindsets: Empower yourself to make ear and hearing care real
Description:
The Lunch Debate from the European Parliament for World Hearing Day 2025, with the theme “Changing mindsets: Empower yourself to make ear and hearing care a reality for all” and with special focus on Employment, was hosted by MEP Zala Tomasic (EPP) from Slovenia and was organised by AEA (European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals), EFHOH (European Federation of Hard of Hearing People) and EHIMA (European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association) in strong cooperation with the World Health Organization on Tuesday the 4th of March.
In total 140 participants from 30 countries around the globe (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lesotho, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States) participated in this year’s debate.
And so far (May 2025), the video’s which are available on the AEA and the EFHOH website have been viewed by 47 people, and counting.
https://www.aea-audio.org/portal/index.php/world-hearing-day
https://efhoh.org/resources/campaigns/world-hearing-day/
So in total 187 people have seen our lunch debate.
The program:
Welcome – MEP Zala Tomasic (EPP – Slovenia)
WHO World Hearing Day 2025 theme – Shelly Chadha – WHO
The EU Disability Employment Package – Monika Chaba – European Commission (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion)
Hard of Hearing people in employment – implementing inclusive approach – Lidia Best– EFHOH
Advocacy / multi-sectoral action for change – Ariane Laplante-Lévesque – WHO Europe
The consequences of hearing loss on employment – Mark Laureyns – AEA
The role of hearing health in employment and job retention – Stefan Zimmer – EHIMA
Debate – All
Conclusion – MEP Zala Tomasic (EPP – Slovenia)
The video’s of all presentations can be found here:
https://www.aea-audio.org/portal/index.php/world-hearing-day
https://efhoh.org/resources/campaigns/world-hearing-day/
The full report can be found here: https://www.aea-audio.org/portal/index.php/news/item/251-lunch-debate-from-the-european-parliament-for-world-hearing-day-2025
Primary site: EUR – _Throughout the Euopean Region
Secondary sites: Global
Impactful Story:
The presentation by Mark Laureyns (AEA) starts with a true story, of a young dynamic man, who builds his career, but due to sudden hearing loss, needs to give up his job. It describes the journey towards using hearing aids, a cochlear implant and building a new future. This young man was installed recently, as the new Belgian Minister for Consumer Protection, People with Disability and Equal Opportunities, and to Combat Social Fraud. His name is Rob Beenders and we strongly recommend you to read his book “My Hearing Challenge”.
General Photos
The panel of the lunch debate from the European Parliament
Types of Engagement:
Screening: No
Traditional media: Yes
Social media: Yes
Special needs populations: Hard of Hearing People
Participation of policy makers: Yes
Participation of influencers: Yes