Information taken from the Movember website and Movember Wikipedia entry.
On average, men die 6 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons.
Unchecked, prostate cancer rates will double over the next 15 years. Globally, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men aged 15-39 years of age. And across the world, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 75% of all suicides.
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide.
The Movember Foundation’s goal is to “change the face of men’s health.”
By encouraging men to get involved, Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis, and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. Besides annual check-ups, the Movember Foundation encourages men to be aware of family history of cancer and to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Using the moustache as the driving symbol of the movement, Movember focuses on the three key areas of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health & suicide prevention. Since inception, the Movember Foundation has raised approximately $837 million and funded over 1,200 projects in more than 20 countries.
Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has run Movember events to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression, in Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, events were launched in Ireland, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States.
A Timeline of the Movember Charity
- 2003
Travis Garone and Luke Slattery meet up for a quiet beer in Melbourne, Australia, and the idea that sparked Movember is born.
- 2004
Adam Garone registers Movember as a charity and create a website. Justin Coghlan comes on board to kickstart things in Queensland. Funds raised go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA). At the time, that first Movember cheque was the largest single donation the PCFA had ever received.
- 2005
Movember returns for another year and the charity starts to gain some serious momentum in Australia. Funds raised go to the PCFA who come on board as Movember’s first official men’s health partner.
- 2006
Movember receives official Australian charity status. Beyond Blue becomes Movember’s second men’s health partner in Australia. Movember officially launches in New Zealand in partnership with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ.
- 2007
Movember officially launches in the US in partnership with Prostate Cancer Foundation, in Canada with Prostate Cancer Canada, in the UK with The Prostate Cancer Charity and in Spain with FEFOC. The Movember Board is formally established.
- 2008
Movember Ireland is officially launched in partnership with the Irish Cancer Society. The Cancer Society of NZ and Mental Health Foundation of NZ become New Zealand’s men’s health partners.
- 2009
Movember USA obtains official charity status and a second men’s health partner is added – the LIVESTRONG Foundation. Through Movember funding, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centre makes a significant research breakthrough identifying that there are 25+ different kinds of prostate cancer.
- 2010
Movember officially launches campaigns in South Africa in partnership with CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) and in Finland, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. Movember launches its first directly funded project – the Global Action Plan, created to accelerate prostate cancer research outcomes through global collaboration.
- 2011
Movember officially launches campaigns in Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, and obtains official charity status in Canada, England, Wales, and Scotland. Movember is ranked in the top 100 best NGOs (charity) in the world by the Global Journal based on three key main criteria: impact, innovation, and sustainability. Through Movember funding, the world’s first Prostate Cancer Genome Mapping Project is completed, expanding the understanding of how prostate cancer works.
- 2012
Movember officially launches campaigns in Austria, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland. Movember is again ranked in the top 100 best NGOs (charity) in the world by the Global Journal based on three key main criteria: impact, innovation, and sustainability. To put that in context, there are an estimated 5 million NGOs around the world.
- 2013
Movember is awarded the Social Force of the Year award from GQ Australia magazine.
- 2014
Movember was ranked 72nd out of the top 500 NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in the world.
- 2015
NGO Advisor ranks Movember as 55th in the top 500 NGOs around the world. The 2015 Innovation Index names the Movember the most innovative not-for-profit organisation in Australia. Movember becomes the first charity to receive cult brand status from The Gathering.
- 2016
Owen Sharp joins Movember as CEO, with extensive non-for-profit and men’s health experience – most notably as Chief Executive of Prostate Cancer UK. In Canada, Australia, and the UK, Movember launches the Social Innovators Challenge. The project aims to develop, pilot, and evaluate 13 innovative projects to restore and strengthen the social connections of men, particularly those at risk of becoming socially isolated. Movember unites with the National Breast Cancer Foundation Australia – funding research to transform the lives of both men and women. The move allows researchers to leverage genetic similarities between prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers to create progress in treatment methods.
- 2017
Movember receives a ranking of 49 out of the top 500 non-governmental-organisations around the world. In the USA, the ‘Making Connections’ project is delivered across 16 sites. The $6M initiative connects men and boys within their communities to promote resilience across generations – working in particular with boys and men of colour, military members, veterans, and their families.
- 2018
Movember and partner Beyond Blue trialled a programme offering free sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy for men struggling with their mental health and suicidal thoughts. Movember-funded scientists identify why the most common type of testicular cancer runs in some families – an important step forward in understanding the disease.
- 2019
Movember was announced as the official delivery partner for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 – the first ever international sporting event to have a mental health charter. FDA approval was granted to two drugs to treat advanced prostate cancer. Supported by Movember-funded research, Olaparib was hailed as the world’s first precision medicine for prostate cancer. Research funded by Movember also led to the approval of another drug called Rucaparib for men with advanced BRCA-linked prostate cancer.
From humble beginnings in Australia in 2003, the Movember movement has grown to be a truly global one, inspiring support from over 6 million people around the world.
