Giving Tuesday Crowdfunds for Cancer

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You have probably heard of Black Friday. Now introducing Giving Tuesday: A day all about giving rather than buying. Eight Norwegian YouTubers have chosen to crowdfund on behalf of The Norwegian Cancer Society as part of Giving Tuesday. Raising money for cancer research and cancer patient care. A week before the big day five of them visited Oslo Cancer Cluster.

 

Tuesday the 28th of November, conveniently a couple of days after the shopping bonanza of Black Friday, is Giving Tuesday. It’s an international event. Started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to Black Friday and commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season.

Live Social Media Broadcast
On the day the Norwegian youTubers are staging a broadcast marathon on social media. At DnB Headquarters (Bjørvika) they all come together for a live broadcast so everybody can follow the crowdfunding and view their videos during Giving Tuesday.  And there are a lot of them. 10 other charities are being crowdfunded on the day with youTubers raising money on their behalf.

Learn more about what’s happening here.

Learning About Cancer Research
The last couple of weeks the youtubers funding for The Norwegian Cancer Society have learned about cancer research and the fight against cancer. They have visited the Society’s new Science Center learning about the history of the disease and afterwards they spent a day getting updated on current cancer research at Oslo Cancer Cluster.

At Ullern Innovation Park, the home of Oslo Cancer Cluster, they got to see researchers in action and learned about the recent advances in cancer research. How researchers now are trying to trigger the immune system in the fight against cancer and how we are getting better at producing medicines that target cancer tumors directly. They also got see how research and innovation merges together with education at the Innovation Park. Here researchers, Bio Businesses and Ullern Upper Secondary School share the same building and cooperate.  Learn more about this unique cooperation.

With this new knowledge on cancer they are well prepared to crowdfund a lot of money for The Norwegian Cancer Society and cancer research!

About the YouTubers
Christoffer Ødegård (17) Specializes in FIFA. Playing live games on youTube.

Emil Saglien (15) Also into football. Actually, about his life, but his life seems to be football.

Sara Høydahl (19) Vlogs about many things, but has had special success with a Friday special on murder mysteries!

Truls Valsgård (23), Truls is a full time youtuber. Produces videos daily about his own life.

Tuva Robsrud (16) From Bærum and vlogs about fashion and make up.

 

International press event created attention all over Europe

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Early September Oslo Cancer Cluster hosted an international press event with our member Abbvie. Over 20 journalists from all over Europe came to the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator and Innovatiion Park to learn more about the latest technological and scientific developments within cancer research.

 

The journalists attended a full day meeting at the Innovation Park which included a lab session with Ullern High School students and researchers at the Cell Therapy Lab, whom showed them how cells are programmed to kill cancer cells. Gunnar Sæter, Head of the Cancer Institute, introduced the journalists to the topic of precision medicine in oncology with Oslo Cancer Cluster members SAS and IBM demonstrating the latest developments within data collection and analysis. Giske Ursin, Director of  Cancer Registry Norway, explained how the unique health data we have in Norway provides a large unused potential within oncology.

 

The journalist also got to meet Deborah Simms, journalist and cancer survivor and her doctor, John Gribben from the Barts Cancer Institute. They explained the role of collaboration in the diagnostics and treatment of patients with unmet need.

 

You can see the invitation video for the event here:

See the video from the event made by students at Ullern High School here:

More about Deborah Simms and her patient journey here:

News stories related to the event:

Fantastic opening of the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

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Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park´s grand opening on August 24th became a very special day: More than 290 invited guests celebrated the initiators Jónas Einarsson and Kaare Norum for turning the radical idea of an oncology innovation park integrating a high school into reality.

 

In his speech, Jónas Einarsson told the intriguing history of cancer treatment and research in Norway since the early 1900s; driven by visionary men and funding from the people. A joint effort that has made cancer research one of the strongest areas within medicine and health research in Norway.

Einarsson also used the opportunity to thank some of the truly vital players in the realization of the Innovation Park: Tron Sanderud from Utstillingsplassen Eiendom, Toril Mølmen, former Head of Innovation Norways office in Oslo, Jan Vincents Johannesen, CEO Radium Foundation, Espen Susegg in SIVA and Pål Riis, former principal of Ullern High School.

 

OBOS will sponsor lab
The Opening Celebration started with the fantastic news from Arne Baumann, Chairman of the Board of the Innovation Park, that OBOS, apart from being one of the largest owners, also will sponsor the lab in the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator with 4MNOK.

Together with a 2 MNOK donation from the Radium Foundation the Incubator may offer state-of-the-art facilities to the companies and researchers renting here.

 

Erna tried out life as cancer researcher
Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway surprised Mr. Einarsson with inviting him on stage cutting an orange bond to mark the official opening. In her speech, Solberg, said that health industry is an industry with double return in from of the values it creates for the society and patients in developing new treatments as well as developing jobs and value. She also said that the Innovation Park will play a major role in the development of the cancer treatment of the future.

After her speech, Einarsson guided the Prime Minister and the media on a short tour of the Innovation Park where Solberg ended up in the Incubator lab where she tried out the PCI-technology to kill cancer cells.

 

Erna_lab

Photo credit both pictures: Gunnar Kopperud.

Below we have gathered some of the media coverage, both nationally and abroad. We will also publish some videos from the opening later on. 

 

Media coverage:

TV:

Digital:

 

International coverage:

 

Grand Opening of the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

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When the Prime Minister opens the Oslo Cancer Cluster innovation Park at Montebello in August, the founder Jónas Einarsson are already planning the next steps for the Radium Hospital Innovation Campus.

Monday August 24th is the official opening of the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park. This unique project is built on private enthusiasm and builds on the long history of cancer research and treatment performed at the Norwegian Radium Hospital. The Innovation Park includes Ullern High School, The Cancer Registry of Norway, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, and Institute for Medical Informatics and Pathology at Oslo University Hospital – as well as global biopharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Integrated high school
Early 2000, Jónas Einarsson, CEO at the Radium Hospital Research Foundation, and Kaare Norum, former principal of the University of Oslo, realized that a natural cluster for cancer research, development and innovation emerged in the Oslo-area. Together they established Oslo Cancer Cluster, a research and industry cluster within cancer.

They soon realized that the milieu needed a physical innovation center for collaboration, innovation and networking across disciplines. The idea of an innovation park were born, optimally placed right next to the Norwegian Radium Hospital and with Ullern High School as an integrated part to attract and develop talents to cancer R&D and entrepreneurship.

“As a former principal and a man with education as his focus, Kaare Norum came up with the idea to integrate Ullern High School,” says Einarsson. “Ullern and principal at that time, Paal Riis, was very positive from day one, “Einarsson explains, “The collaboration started in 2009 and is expanding every year, and we look forward to being located in the same building.”

All ready for next steps
Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park aims to create one of Europe’s leading centers for education, research and industry in cancer. “By building the park right next to the hospital and Institute for cancer research, the value chain from basic research to industry is brought together at one place: The Radium Hospital Innovation Campus.

Einarsson is already planning the next steps to strengthen the campus further; “We will expand with more buildings and facilities,” he says. “The need for a new clinic building at the Radium Hospital is urgent, and the Oslo-area lack a center for proton treatment. We have investors and drawings in place already”.

Unique project
“We are honoured to have Prime Minister Erna Solberg opening Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park. Governing Mayor of Oslo, Stian Berger Røsland and Head of Oslo University Hospital, Bjorn Erikstein are also part of this celebration “ says  Arne Baumann, Chairman of the Board of the Innovation Park. “We look forward to show them the uniqueness of this project; the park integrates education, excellent research and innovations, and represents a real opportunity to make biotech and health research a new Norwegian industry. Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park is really one of a kind,” Baumann states.

 

Facts:

Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park AS

Total space: 36 000 m²

Tenants: Oslo university Hospital, The Institute for Cancer Genetics and Informatics, Norwegian Cancer registry, Oslo Cancer Cluster SA, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator AS, The Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation, The Oslo Hospital Pharmacy, Ullern High School, global pharma companies, Norwegian biotech companies.

Opens officialy August 24.th 2015 by the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg.