Huntington’s Disease Association (Auckland) Inc
25 April 2018
Global advocate headlines Huntington’s NZ conference
Emmy Award winning journalist and news producer Charles Sabine is heading our way in May as keynote speaker for the
Huntington’s Disease Associations of New Zealand national conference.
Mr Sabine made a name for himself as a high profile journalist and news producer on America’s NBC network before
becoming an advocate for Huntington’s disease awareness.
Conference Organiser, Jo Dysart says securing Mr Sabine as a keynote speaker is an inspirational drawcard for conference
attendees and an opportunity to make more kiwis aware of the disease.
“We most recently saw Charles fronting the ‘HDdennomore’ campaign where Huntington’s disease (HD) sufferers and their families gathered at a global event in Vatican City, Rome.
“This event, fronted by Pope Francis, was dedicated to raising awareness of HD and ending the stigma and shame around
the disease – as a result, Pope Francis became the first world leader to recognise HD on a world stage.
“Charles himself carries the HD gene and has felt the impact of the disease across his family. We are delighted that he
will be joining us at this year’s conference, not only to talk about his advocacy work in Europe and the Americas, but
to inspire us to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the disease in New Zealand,” she says.
The biennial National Huntington’s Disease Association conference will be held on 4th and 5thMay at the Holiday Inn
Conference Centre Auckland Airport. It will also feature a specially arranged tour, for conference attendees, of the
Brain Bank at the Centre for Brain Research where conference speaker and HDAA patron Sir Richard Faull is the director.
ENDS