Competition raises awareness of MS

Imagine being 24 years old and living with seriously impaired vision. Imagine always feeling tired, even when you get enough sleep! Imagine having horrible short-term memory, constant muscular pain and being too weak to walk without the aid of a walking-stick. Imagine living with multiple sclerosis (MS)!

MS affects approximately two million people around the world and is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40. It is a chronic, inflammatory condition of the central nervous system and is the most common, non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease in young adults.

Many diagnosed with the condition face severe depression. Patients sometimes feel that they are to blame for their diagnosis and often express embarrassment, as many people don't understand the symptoms with which they have to live.

To bring attention to this condition and demonstrate to the world that life with MS can be redefined in a positive and fulfilling way, pharmaceutical company, Merck Serono, has launched an international scriptwriting competition dubbed: Real MS: Your Story.

Meet the challenge

The competition challenges and invites a global audience to submit their concept for the production of a three to five minute story that is captivating, hopeful and affirms the wonder of life despite an MS diagnosis.

The Real MS online community will vote for their favourite script concept entered online and once a shortlist has been developed, an international panel of experts will judge and select the winning script concept. Once identified the story that best meets the competition criteria, will be made into a short film by a respected film director and screened later in 2010.

There is no doubt that because of the unpredictability of MS, people living with the disease have to reinvent their lives every day to overcome their daily struggles. The script concept by its very nature has been designed to empower the MS community to live the lives they want to lead and the story that wins will need to reflect the possibilities of a full and meaningful life despite a MS diagnosis.

Competition entries should be submitted via the campaign website:
www.realmsvoices.com. The competition will close at 00.00 GMT, August 29, 2010 (1am, 30 August in SA).