08-03-2023_BoardBook

International Obesity Collaborative Working Group on Educational Messaging Dear International Obesity Collaborative (IOC) Colleagues, As we have dis3cussed during our recent interactions, we want to continue to build on the momentum that we generated last year with the creation of the consensus statement on obesity. Specifically, we have identified two areas of focus, one around consolidation around advocacy and the other, and the one I am contacting you about today, around educational messaging and communications. As was mentioned in the previous email you should have received from Tracy Zvenyach, we ask that each group identify 1-2 people from your organization that will participate in the Educational Messaging workgroup. You can reply directly to this email with their name/s and contact information. The plan is to meet once a month (virtual) and I would suggest mid-mornings to accommodate our European colleagues, and if possible, on Fridays. Once we receive names for each workgroup, we will send out separate emails for workgroup scheduling. In preparation for the first meeting of the Educational Messaging Work Group, we are asking everyone to begin thinking about common misconceptions around obesity and how we can develop a common narrative to be used to dispel them. It is also the plan to have both working groups (Advocacy and the Educational Messaging groups) to meet together virtually on a quarterly basis to keep each group updated on the progress of the other. Additionally, we would like to hold one full IOC in-person workshop in September. We are looking at September 8th-10th or 15th-17 th at the TOS offices in Rockville, Maryland (convenient to both DCA or BWI). The link for the Doodle Poll for voting on the dates is: https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/el72Klld Looking forward to working with everyone on this important effort. Cheers, Tony