In the last months of 2019, while celebrating the success of the first World GO Day, nobody doubted that the second event would be an uninterrupted series of initiatives and events, just like the previous one. But in those days, nobody knew about COVID-19.
When ENGAGe started planning the second World GO Day, the total impact of the pandemic was clearly revealed and it left only one possibility: to adapt all activities for physical distancing and public safety by going digital.
First, an interactive map of activities was launched on the World GO Day website, showing all activities being organized in different countries. In total, 42 activities were added. The website was also a repository of information on gynecological cancers and a referral point for all social media activities. Contacts with ENGAGe members were improved by a dedicated newsletter prompting them to participate in World GO Day and providing practical information. Then visuals for social media posts were created using the color purple and other special icons.
Second, people around the world were encouraged to raise awareness about gynecological cancers and support patients by wearing something purple or painting their lips and nails in purple and then sharing their photos on social media with the hashtag #GoForPurple. The resulting purple lips were a big success, and ENGAGe has nominated them to be a stable symbol of this celebration.
The 2020 World GO Day main theme was awareness about gynecological cancer symptoms and HPV prevention; therefore, social media posts shared by all participant patient advocacy groups in 25 countries invited women to go for regular check-ups and provided educational information on all five gyne cancers. The hashtags #WorldGODay and #GoForCheckup created a shared conversation on the internet, powered by photos and videos. This enabled ENGAGe to achieve around 9,000,000 impressions and a reach of 7,700,000 on Facebook and Instagram and to increase followers to 18,900. Twitter, in the last 28 days of the campaign, collected 17,400 impressions, 700 profile visits, and 154 mentions. The COVID-19 pandemic curbed celebrations but did not stop the spread of information and awareness. In all, 68 partners, including organizations from 25 countries, celebrated World GO Day 2020.