NEW YORK—This coming Thursday, October 10, is World Sight Day, an annual day dedicated to the promotion of eyecare and overall eye health, as well as raising awareness for blindness and vision impairments around the world. For 2024 in particular, World Sight Day is shining a special light on the vision health of young people, aiming to ensure “a world where every child has eye health that is accessible, available and affordable,” the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness said. This year’s focus on children’s eye health for World Sight Day is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under its Love Your Eyes campaign banner.

In April, Peter Holland, IAPB CEO explained this year’s theme, saying, “We all know that in children an uncorrected vision impairment can severely impact their education. Research tells us that children with access to eyecare who are prescribed spectacles can reduce failing rates by 44 percent. It is knowledge like this that has led us to make World Sight Day 2024 one for children around the world.”

Each World Sight Day sees a groundswell of support from some of the biggest and most impactful companies, brands and organizations in our industry—but the grassroots support from local ECPs is equally important. With just a few days to go until October 10, there are a myriad of ways everyone can get involved in making sure this World Sight Day is as successful as all that came before it.

Along with coordinating World Sight Day’s annual themes, IAPB has compiled a series of resources and challenges that will help everyone play a part in World Sight Day. The easiest way to support the initiative is to make a simple pledge. Online, anyone can sign the Pledge to Love Your (Child’s) Eyes here and join millions of parents, caretakers, teachers and more who have already done so. The goal for 2024 is to reach 1 million pledges.

IAPB is also heading up two competitions for World Sight Day. Children up to age 12 can take part in the Glasses of the Future challenge, where they design the next generation of eyewear with the chance to win a cash prize for their school. The competition is open until October 20, 2024, and winners will be announced on November 20, 2024. Although this challenge is restricted to those under the age of 12, adults can also get involved by encouraging the little ones in our lives to participate—parents, teachers and caretakers, of course, or ECPs who see a large volume of pediatric patients.

 
 
Photography enthusiasts of any age can take part in the Photo Competition, which launched in 2015 and has been celebrating the work of amateur and professional photographers annually since. The competition invites photographers to “demonstrate their skills and share with the world what they see and what it means to #LoveYourEyes.” Online you can find the gallery of previous winners, the submission form, T&Cs and much more.

IAPB also offers a variety of assets and resources to help you share the news about World Sight Day online, at the office or anywhere else. Visit the IAPB’s dedicated webpage for toolkits, Love Your Eyes assets, social media resources, logos in different languages, a Love Your Eyes at Work resource pack and Love Your Eyes Kids assets, all for free.

Campaigning on social media can make a huge difference, according to the IAPB. Online, the IAPB said, “Posting on social media or hosting a World Sight Day event can sometimes feel like a small, isolated action. But it can have a big impact in the fight for accessible, available and affordable eyecare for everyone by 2030. Campaigns like Love Your Eyes demonstrate public support for an issue. They put pressure on our decision makers and leaders to act. When millions of voices demand change, it becomes hard to ignore… You help us create a compelling, rational and emotional case for new policies that lead to universal eye health.”

This World Sight Day, we can all make a difference, big or small. From posting on social media to fundraising to providing eyecare to those in need—every action is important. Thursday is the perfect day to get involved, and to kick off a movement that lasts until everyone has the eyecare they need.