July 25, 2024 — The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) has launched the World Sight Day 2024 campaign, encouraging individuals and organizations worldwide to unite in support of eye health.

Held on the second Thursday of October, the annual campaign always promotes the mission of building awareness of the importance of eye health, but this year, the campaign focuses on eye care for children.

“With the 2024 campaign, we are focusing our efforts on ensuring parents and carers understand the role eye care plays in a child’s development, learning attainment, and social interactions,” says IAPB CEO Peter Holland. “We also hope that through the support of our Love Your Eyes Global Partners and membership network, we can inspire millions of young people everywhere to take care of their eyes.”

To enhance engagement, IAPB introduced a campaign mascot named Artie and released educational materials for children. Additionally, the Glasses of the Future Competition invites children worldwide to design innovative glasses, with entries closing on World Sight Day on Oct. 10.

“We introduced Artie and The Glasses of the Future Competition as fun ways to inspire children to look away from the screen and learn healthy habits that will protect their eyes for a long time,” says Simon Darvill, director of communications at IAPB. “Our hope is that everyone with an interest in helping children see will adopt Artie in a way that supports their awareness and campaigning efforts. We would also love for businesses to invite the children that come through their waiting rooms to enter the competition and create some cool glasses.”

More information is available here.