FASD Day originated in Canada and is now recognized and celebrated in many countries around the world. Many local FASD groups host a wide variety of events and activities to bring recognition to the cause of FASD.
The first FASDay was celebrated on September 9th, 1999. This day was chosen so that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world would acknowledge that during the nine months of pregnancy, a woman should abstain from alcohol. Anytime is a good time to raise awareness about FASD.
Each year on this day, CanFASD strives to share meaningful information about FASD. This year, we are doing a number of things to increase awareness about FASD and build relationships with families, service providers, and local associations involved in FASD.
Here is a summary of our plans for FASD Day 2018:
- Leading up to FASD Day, we shared a series of interviews with key stakeholders in the FASD field
- On September 9th, we will be encouraging community groups to share their FASD Day activities on CanFASD social media
- To focus on FASD prevention, we will be inviting our social media followers to vote on cheeky FASD-related messages on condom covers
- We have invited prominent Canadians with large followings from several sectors to help spread the message about FASD by re-sharing our social media posts
- CanFASD Executive Director, Audrey McFarlane, will be posting an editorial about where we are today in the field of FASD, and a call to action on where we need to go
We hope you join us on September 9th to spread the word about FASD!