A message for #dedoc° voices and the diabetes community
As many of you are aware, Bastian Hauck, diabetes advocate, founder and CEO of #dedoc°, has been unwell for some time now. Bastian has lived with terminal cancer since 2021. After countless treatments and surgeries, he stopped all curative therapies earlier this year.
Bastian’s advocacy and activism have changed the diabetes community. With #dedoc°, he created spaces for people living with diabetes to connect authentically, share their lived experience and shape the conversations that affect our lives. From its first #docday°, held in the crowded back room of a small Stockholm cafe, to regular symposia at international conferences, he elevated the voice of people with diabetes in places where we often struggle to have a seat at the table. Today, it is almost impossible to find a corner of the diabetes world that hasn’t been touched by Bastian’s work. It is a tribute to the initiatives he started and encouraged others to grow that they will continue to influence and inspire long into the future.
Bastian raised millions to build the world’s largest scholarship program of its kind, granting hundreds of #dedoc° voices access to professional diabetes conferences. This access was given on our own terms, and specifically offered advocates from low and middle income countries fully supported opportunities to participate and contribute on equal footing. For more than a decade, #dedoc° provided a platform for diabetes advocates to meet and collaborate with peers, HCPs, researchers and industry. #dedoc° spearheaded the paradigm shift of the diabetes ecosystem, ensuring lived experience informs scientific discussions and decisions on diabetes research, policy and care worldwide: #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
The future of #dedoc° is currently under review. Governance, operations and leadership must be sorted out, and the #dedoc° voices scholarship program will continue to require sustainable funding. For now, we are taking time to reflect, consult and explore the best path forward – together, as a team and with the community. We thank all partners, sponsors and friends of #dedoc° for their continued support and patience in this challenging time.
Bastian is grateful for the many messages he is receiving, but may be unable to respond to everyone individually at this stage. We understand that people may want to share their thoughts and memories about Bastian’s impact and what #dedoc° has meant to them, and we encourage that you do so wherever you see this message. Also, please share this message with anyone who may have concrete ideas on how to support #dedoc° and the #dedoc° voices scholarship program moving forward.
Bastian is currently at home, enjoying the sunshine and spending time with family and his beloved and very spoilt pup, #dedog° Cuba. He will continue to show up for #dedoc° and our community as long as he can, true to his principle: #PayItForward
Renza Scibilia
#dedoc° Advisor
