#Act4Change.

Activist Month in full swing! Our school community has come out en-force to share why they #Act4Change. The diversity of topics you have shared is overwhelming, and perfectly demonstrates why it’s so important that advocacy training is incorporated into our time here at SPH.

Activism looks different for different people and not all that we are passionate about is a field of study available in schools of public health. Dean Galea has written that “an important element of an activist academic public health agenda moves beyond the remit of public health practice to embrace of all sectors that have a role in shaping the health of the public.” Most drivers of population health are not within the control of traditional health sectors. Urban planning, tax code structure, health care resource allocation, and the packaging of calorie-dense and nutrient-poor food all shape the health of the public. For some, like the participants in the Washington, DC, Women’s March, this may mean attending rallies and organizing awareness campaigns. For others, like the parents from Sandy Hook, this may mean traveling to the nation’s capital just a month after the shooting massacre to talk with legislators about common-sense gun safety. In the instance of NFL football players, it may mean taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest racism and police brutality. These are all acts of advocacy and #Act4Change is meant to get you thinking about how you will make a difference in the area that speaks to you.

We kicked off the #Act4Change campaign back in September with Advocacy Boot Camp. After a day of discussing how to frame an issue, create a coalition, shape messaging, and communicate effectively, all 40 participants shared what it is they want to change—you may have seen their pictures online and their signs displayed in the lobby of Talbot. And the momentum continued through the first week of October when Deans Cox and Fidler taught the Advocacy Primer in the labs of all the core courses. More than 400 of our first-year MPH colleagues received the training and reflected on what it is they want to change. The response has been resounding and inspiring.

Join us in sharing what it is that you’d like to change, what makes you an activist, by using the hashtag #Act4Change on your social media platform of choice. Being a public health champion doesn’t require an MPH. So please encourage your networks far and wide to participate in sharing why they #Act4Change as well!

Here’s how it works:

1. Write down what you are passionate about changing on this snazzy sign
2. Take a picture of yourself with your now even snazzy-er sign
3. Share on social media with #Act4Change (and tag us: @ActivistLabSPH!)
4. Stop by Talbot Lobby and add your sign to the #Act4Change display
5. Follow @ActivistLabSPH and #Act4Change for more photos!

– Emily Barbo