Team JAR at EULAR 2026

Earlier this month, Juvenile Arthritis Research had the pleasure of attending EULAR Congress. EULAR is the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology and the EULAR annual congress is one of the biggest international rheumatology conferences in the world.

This year there were over 13,000 people attending the conference. 13,000 people who are committed to making life better for those with rheumatic diseases (RMDs) came together at the Excel Centre in London.

With the Congress happening in London for 2026, we wanted to make the most of the opportunity to showcase some of our incredible family support work and so were delighted when 3 of the abstracts we submitted on this topic were selected to present. Michelle’s innovative bookshare awareness-raising initiative received a lot of attention in the Poster hall. Suruthi delivered a fantastic presentation when her poster about our ParentZoom initiative was chosen as part of the PARE poster tour, and Katherine spoke with such passion and enthusiasm about our ‘Race for a Cure’ event when she was invited to do an oral presentation. We are incredibly proud of having such brilliant volunteers who brought some of our work to this international audience this year.

In addition, our founder Richard had a poster presentation of his latest findings as part of his studies with the University of Manchester into the epidemiology of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and was also invited as a guest speaker in a EULAR joint session.

Also attending the conference on behalf of Juvenile Arthritis Research were volunteers Rebecca, Selma and Ananthi who were keen to learn about all of the latest developments in research in the world of rheumatology.

The conference proved to be a unique chance for our volunteers to connect with each other. As we all undertake our roles remotely from home, it was really special to meet each other face-to-face, for the first time in some cases. It also provided the opportunity to connect with many others ranging from patient advocates and patient organisations, researchers we work with from other parts of the globe as well as closer to home, clinicians and health professionals.

We’re handing the keyboard over to some of our amazing volunteers who came along so that you can hear directly from them about their experiences of EULAR:

A positive story of community, connection and hope by Katherine:

"Attending EULAR was amazing for two reasons; firstly because of the way it felt to be a member of the JAR team - everyone was so supportive of each other and we all share a passion and bond which feels very special. Secondly, I was immensely proud to have the opportunity to present alongside others - who were experts in their field - to share the incredible impact that JAR makes, despite being such a small charity. To share a positive story of community, connection and hope amongst a group of medical professionals and people who experience and understand the challenges that JIA (amongst other rheumatic conditions) present was an absolute honour."

An informative event by Suruthi:

"I had an amazing time at EULAR as it was really nice to see the other volunteers in person and represent JAR together. We had people come up to us and tell us they liked our t-shirts, and this gave us the chance to tell them more about JAR. I also had the amazing opportunity to present a poster about our ParentZoom sessions, which is an initiative I am very proud of. I help to organise these sessions and we have had such great feedback from previous attendees. There were so many interesting talks as well, from psychiatric comorbidities to the role of caregivers. Overall, the event was so informative!"

Excited to see the fruits that will emerge from some of the seeds sown at EULAR 2026 by Rebecca:

"I was so excited that EULAR Congress was hosted in London this year, making it feasible for more of our volunteer team to attend. They did us so proud with their flawless presentations and passionately speaking about their topics. It was such an honour to represent JAR at EULAR where we are considered to lead the way in so many of our initiatives from our patient and family support work, to our awareness initiatives, our patient involvement in research through our JIA VIP research panel and the trusted information and resources we have developed for those affected by JIA in such a short period of time thanks to the dedication and commitment of such an amazing team.

Highlights for me were meeting those who I have only previously met online, catching up with those who I have the privilege of calling friends from around the globe, and making a start on WORD Day planning for WORD Day 2027 by connecting with other members of the international WORD Day committee.

We have found that connections made at conferences like EULAR are often the start of working together on vital projects in the future so we are excited to see the fruits that will emerge from some of the seeds sown at EULAR 2026."

A rare chance to hear about the advances in JIA research globally by Selma:

"EULAR completely exceeded my expectations. Not only was it a wonderful opportunity to meet JAR volunteers in person and watch them present so passionately on their research and projects, it was also a rare chance to hear about the advances in JIA research globally. A real highlight for me was the emphasis on the “expert by experience”; an acknowledgment in the medical field that patients, parents and carers are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to their condition and a positive sign that this will be utilised even more in the future. I left with even greater hope for all our JIA warriors, that one day we will live in a world where no child has to suffer from arthritis."