INTERNATIONAL ORTHOPTIC ASSOCIATIONIOA GUIDE TO PREPARINGYOUR CELEBRATION
What To Do
How To Do It
How To Get Noticed

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About World Orthoptic Day
World Orthoptic Day is held every year on the first Monday in June. It is a
day when orthoptists globally can promote the profession and its work.
They can: showcase the significant role the profession makes to eye healthraise the profile of the profession use this day to campaign on behalf of the profession and itspatients/clients to governments and policy makers
The day marks the unity and solidarity of the Orthoptic community aroundthe world. It is an opportunity to recognize the work that orthoptists do for
their patients and the ophthalmic community. The International Orthoptic
Association aims to support member organizations and individualorthoptists in their efforts to promote the profession and to advance theirclinical expertise, using World Orthoptic Day as the focus.

What Materials are Available World Orthoptic Day flyers: to distribute directly A World Orthoptic Day poster: to put up in public places World Orthoptic Day logo: to download and get printed locally on
national, state, provincial or clinic posters, t-shirts, stickers, caps,

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calendars, bookmarks, bags, e-cards or that can be added to social
media such as Facebook
 Stickers: to download and print on standard printer labels

Download the above resources for free at the members
section of the IOA website www.internationalorthoptics.org

How to Get Involved
Whether you work for a national association, in a hospital department, ina small clinical setting or are still studying orthoptics, you can find ways tomark the day. Here are some suggestions to help you make sure that you
choose something that’s right for you, and that fits in with what you wantto achieve for the day.
 A free vision screening programme in a public place. Shopping
centres or hospital lobbies are an ideal places Talks and seminars in work places An orthoptic clinic open house with hospital wide or public invite
 A roaming information booth, visiting different locations in the day,or over a week Hold a vision quiz
 Hold a seminar for teachers or other health professionals
 Mentor a student for the day Set up an information booth or exhibition in a reception area withinformation about what orthoptists doPage 3

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INTERNATIONAL ORTHOPTIC ASSOCIATION Put up WOD campaign posters on your walls and hand out our
ready-to-print flyers and stickers
 Launch an email campaign
 Create a WOD Youtube video
 Celebrate the work of your colleagues by holding a clinic party oruse the day to take a respected colleague, mentor or instructor tolunch Honor the day by making a donation to your association or the IOA
for orthoptic education or research Support orthoptic science by purchasing an orthoptic journal

Added Extras
See if there’s a local celebrity who can support your cause, andparticipate in any events. This is likely to increase public and media
interest
 Offer to be a guest on a local radio show, or to answer questions
online Distribute a press release
Using Social MediaWith the increased use of social media, the IOA aims to maximise theimpact of World Orthoptic Day through various social networking sites.

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Here is how you can follow the campaign and help spread thecampaign’s message to engage global support for the day.
TwitterDo follow the IOA on Twitter for up to the minute postings on World
Orthoptic Day activities from around the globe. Do encourage friends andcolleagues to participate in the IOA Thunderclap planned for WOD 2015.
We want WOD 2015 trending on Twitter. Please follow @followIOAFacebookFor the latest Word Orthoptic Day updates follow the IOA on Facebook:
Share our postings with your friends.
See our ready-made postings to put on your wall.
LinkedinFollow the IOA for campaign updates:
YouTubePost your videos of your celebrations on YouTube. Do notify us of any
videos you makeGetting Publicity
You will get the most out of your events and celebrations by publicisingthem well. Here are some questions to ask yourself, which will help you
put together a publicity plan.
1. Who do you want to get your message to?

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Make sure you know exactly what you want to achieve from World
Orthoptic Day and who you want to get your message across to.
2. Which media?
Now you have identified your target market in step 1 work out which partsof the media would help you get your message to them.
 If you are trying to reach the general public, local and national
newspapers, and radio may be your best means to reaching largenumbers.
 If you want to reach professionals, your best route may be getting
publicity in professional magazines and newsletters, and making
individual approaches.
 Politicians are harder to reach – individual approaches and getting
publicity on national radio, television and newspapers is the best
(but difficult) route.
Put some effort into researching all the possible media outlets for theaudience you want to reach. If you have any contacts in the media, usethem – approach them directly and get their advice on what your bestroute to getting publicity might be.
3. What’s your story?
If you are going to ask editors to give coverage to your activity or
campaign you will need to give them a “story” – a simply stated, key
message, which sounds as if it will interest readers, viewers or listeners.
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want them to – there has to be something interesting or newsworthy in it.
For example, the fact that orthoptists have a major role in visionscreening or work with stroke patients will come as a surprise to many
journalists. If you can convince them of this, and make any activity you
are planning sound really interesting, you will be well on your way.
4. How should the media be approached?
A press release is the most obvious way to approach the media.
 Make sure it’s concise and gets to the point.
 If you are sending out an advance press release, make sure you do
it well before any activities or launch you are planning If you’re sending out a press release reporting on something that’s
just happened, do it as soon as it’s happened – otherwise what
you’ve done will turn into old news.
 Try and give the media everything they need. The quicker you
respond to their requests, and the clearer the information you givethem, the more chance you have of getting some publicity.
 Direct approaches to journalists by telephone or email can also
work well if you’re very clear about the story you have to sell, andyou don’t take up too much of their time.
Don’t forget to follow up
It’s a good idea to follow your press release up with a phone call or anemail to see if the journalist has received it, and whether they’reinterested in covering it. But don’t pester them. If they aren’t interested,

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you can try persuading them – but don’t keep at it, or annoy them,because it might jeopardise you getting publicity next time.
How to Plan for World Orthoptic Day
The main goal of any activities you organise for World Orthoptic Day will
be to raise the profile of the orthoptic profession, and to demonstrate
what orthoptists can contribute to eye care. Use the day as a platform topromote the profession. Before planning any event, or publicity
campaign, you’ll need to ask four simple questions. You may have tothink carefully to come up with the right answers.
What?
What do you really want to achieve: Increase the public profile of the profession or communicate aparticular health message?

It is a good idea to focus on specific issues that are important in yourcountry.
Who?
Who do you really want to get your message through to? You may thinkit’s everyone, but to decide on the right sort of activities, you’re going tohave to consider who your main target group is. Is it other healthprofessions, administrators, young people you could recruit as students,or the general public? Or perhaps your efforts might really be best
targeted at the policy makers who as yet do not understand orthoptics orits contribution?

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INTERNATIONAL ORTHOPTIC ASSOCIATIONHow?
When you’ve decided on your message, and who you want to reach, it’stime to decide on the best means to reach those people with yourmessage. It might be an event, or some sort of publicity campaign. There
are some ideas in the previous section of this booklet, but you might wantto think of your own.
Where?
If you’re holding an event, would you like to hold one large event orseveral smaller ones? Is it better to hire a large space like an auditorium,or hold it in a public place like a shopping centre or visit various small
venues? When deciding on a location, do consider parking,transportation, public access, capacity and access for people withdisabilities.
Other considerations
Planning
Allocate a team of people responsible for planning the activity, each witha clear role. Together, establish targets for what you want to achieve.
You may also want to organise follow-up activities.
TimingSet a realistic timetable, bearing in mind the following: Speakers and contributors may need good notice, and time toprepare.
 Venues often need to be booked well in advance.
 Invitations need to be sent out at least three weeks in advance.

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INTERNATIONAL ORTHOPTIC ASSOCIATION Publicity materials may take time to get printed.
 The media are more likely to cover an event if you notify them ingood time

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Local interest
Sometimes it’s best to keep the theme local and relevant to the people inthat community. Gather some local data to ensure the message is directly
relevant to the audience and have some statistics available tosubstantiate issues and problems identified. The day provides a great
opportunity for creating community awareness of these problems andhow they may be tackled and prevented.
SpeakersIdentify local experts, leading orthoptists, academics and celebrities whocan support your messages, and can speak on your selected theme atevents, or to the press.
Partners and sponsorship
Approach other organisations and companies who you think mightenhance your event or campaign, perhaps providing financial support.
MediaThe greater the coverage you are able to generate in the press (local,national and professional), the more impact your activity will have.

Celebrate with us on June 1, 2015

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