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2010 International Year of the Nurse website launched |
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The 2010 International Year of the Nurse / Centennial of Florence
Nightingale is being launched this week via the Internet at
www.2010IYNurse.net .
To celebrate this historic milestone, the 2010 IYNurse is a sustained public awareness initiative to actively involve the world’s nurses — estimated to be more than 15 million — in a celebration of commitment to bring health to their communities, locally and worldwide.
The 2010 IYNurse seeks to recognize the contributions of nurses globally and to engage nurses in the promotion of world health, including the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). [http://www.2010iyn.net/UNMillenium_Goals.aspx] Throughout 2010 IYNurse — in collaboration with other stakeholders worldwide — nurses will actively advocate for the UN Millennium Development Goals and continue to share their ongoing commitment to achieving these Goals.
Within this website, nurses across the world are encouraged to submit stories and photos about achieving the eight MDGs. Three MDGs are directly related to health. The remaining five are considered as social and environmental health determinants. [http://www.2010iyn.net/Nurse_Stories.aspx]
As well, nurses are encouraged to create local and regional 2010 IYNurse projects to increase public and government awareness about health issues — with a focus on local to global health and on the UN MDGs. 2010IYNurse.net features a Media Toolkit to support the planning and development of 2010 events and an interactive Event Calender to post these plans for worldwide outreach.
Developed from four years of discussions, planning, meetings and conferences around the world, the idea for celebrating this Year came from an in-depth review of the life and work of Florence Nightingale (1820-1920). Her name has been revered and respected — across the world — for more than a century.
Even today, Nightingale's contributions to nursing theory, education, practice, research, statistics, public health and healthcare reform are foundational and inspirational. And, her contributions to human health still continue to be revealed.
Nightingale was a consummate health policy advocate who influenced the political leaders of her time, across the world. She was an ardent environmentalist who changed conditions that caused disease. She was a global networker who corresponded with thousands of people around the world about furthering and promoting health issues. She was an effective communications and media expert who impacted upon public awareness to change how people understood and valued health in her time. She knew the critical importance of self-care and renewal. From her own deep and prolonged experience with personal health issues, she advocated for all nurses to be continually renewed to sustain their effective, compassionate and caring practices. She called all these approaches “Health Nursing.”
Today, in our 21st century ‘global village,’ these broader Nightingale insights can become innovative approaches developed by nurses who seek to impact and influence the factors which will determine and sustain the health of humanity in our time.
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