From 12 to 18 July, Australians living with diabetes, alongside their carers, researchers, health professionals and clinicians, did something powerful. They said, out loud and without apology, the one thing they have always wished people knew. Under the theme Stronger Together, the Living Out Loud campaign gave 2 million Australians a platform that was entirely their own.  

What made the wall of voices so powerful was not just the number of declarations, but the breadth of who was speaking and who was listening. People living with diabetes used their wishes to speak directly to the community around them, including to friends and family who have never fully understood the daily load, to health professionals who see the clinical picture, to researchers, to the medical industry, to pharmaceutical companies and to the government. These were not just personal statements. They were acts of advocacy, calling for better access, fairer funding, less stigma, and more understanding from the very people with the power to act on them.

What made it even more remarkable was that the conversation ran both ways. Health professionals, clinicians, researchers, and allied health workers stepped up alongside those living with the condition, adding their own wishes to the wall. When organisations beyond the diabetes community, including the neuroendocrine cancer community, spoke up about the unexpected link between their condition and a diabetes diagnosis, it reinforced something this campaign has always believed: diabetes rarely comes alone, and every voice that surrounds it matters.

Together, these declarations did not just raise awareness. They mapped the full, complex, and interconnected reality of living with diabetes in Australia, and sent a clear message to every decision maker who encountered them that this community is organised, informed, and ready for change. Here is a look back at what we achieved together.

600+ wishes and counting

This National Diabetes Week, over 600 Australians completed the sentence “I wish people knew…” and added their voice to the wall.

From people newly diagnosed to those who have lived with diabetes for decades. From carers and parents to researchers and clinicians. From type 1 to type 2 to gestational diabetes and beyond, every type had a voice, and every voice had a place. Here is a selection of the wishes we received:

There is still time to add your voice

The conversation does not stop here. We are still collecting wishes to showcase at the International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region (IDF-WPR) Congress in Melbourne, and we want to take as many Australian voices with us as possible.

If you have not yet shared your wish, it is not too late. Complete the sentence “I wish people knew…” and submit it through our online form or share it on social media using #DiabetesOutLoud. Selected wishes will be featured as part of Australia’s presence at the IDF-WPR Congress. Add your wish.

The campaign that reached Australia

Living Out Loud was not just a digital campaign. It reached Australians in their cities, on their drive to work and through their radios.

Out of home

In the media

The campaign made international, national, state and local news throughout the week, with Australians living with diabetes sharing their stories across television, print, digital, and radio, reaching nearly 4 million Australians.

The week was previewed with a story that ran nationally on Win regional TV news with an interview with Perth Diabetes Centre’s Tayla Dyson, who lives with type 1 diabetes, and Diabetes Australia’s Group CEO Justine Cain.

It was followed on Saturday, 11 July, with an opinion editorial by Ms Cain in the Weekend Australian Magazine, which also features in the Qantas Magazine. Ms Cain told readers: “I wish people knew that diabetes is a very serious chronic condition that can develop for many different reasons, and that the individuals who live with it are inspiring and resilient.” 

Lara McSpadden, WNBL champion, Blue Circle Collective Ambassador and type 1 diabetes advocate, headlined the national media launch, describing what it means to represent Australia with diabetes. Ms Cain and the director of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Melbourne Children’s Hospital, Professor Fergus Cameron, were also interviewed. Lara’s story was broadcast by 9News and 10 News across the nation on afternoon and 6pm news bulletins, reaching thousands of Australians with a message that diabetes never has to be a barrier to success. Lara and Ms Cain were also featured in the Herald Sun.

Monday, 13 July, kicked off from 5am with FM and AM radio news stories across every state and territory on capital city stations and throughout the regions. Throughout the week, Diabetes Australia’s Ms Cain, Nicole McMahon, Hannah Jackson, Minke Hoekstra and Deanne Minniecon were interviewed for program chats on commercial and ABC stations including Adelaide’s FiveAA, Bathurst, Canberra, Wollongong Wave FM, Sydney, Newcastle, Darwin, Alice Springs, Perth’s 6PR, and West Gippsland. Deanne’s Saturday morning chat on SRN regional radio network was broadcast by 47 stations around Australia.

A member of Diabetes Australia’s Health Professional Advisory Council, Dr Konrad Kangru, spoke with ABC regional presenter Susan-Graham-Ryan and later in the week with ABC Tropical North’s Rob Kidd about the importance of recognising even mild symptoms, getting regular health checks, and the possible complications that can develop with diabetes.  

7News online explored the hidden health challenges Australia’s top athletes manage behind the scenes, shining a light on everyday realities that elite performers navigate alongside their diabetes, including Blue Circle Ambassadors Lara McSpadden and Lachie Kennedy.

In Western Australia, Lucy Woods spoke openly about breaking the stigma of diabetes through social media. Her story featured in The West Australian as part of a state-based exclusive that put real lived experience at the centre of the conversation.

The Gippsland Times told the extraordinary story of James Griffiths, a proud Wangaaypuwan man and Blue Circle Collective Community Advocate from Sale, who lost his sight, his kidneys, and the career he was building to type 2 diabetes, before finding a new purpose in archery and setting his sights on the Paralympic Games.  James’s story resonated with editors around Australia and was published online in the Herald Sun (Melbourne), the Daily Telegraph (Sydney), the Adelaide Advertiser, the Courier Mail (Brisbane), and NT News (Darwin), as well as other regional newspapers. You can read more about James’s story below.

Ken Johnson and Minke Hoekstra told Hobart’s Mercury newspaper about Ken’s determination to live a healthy life after his type 2 diagnosis and efforts to achieve remission. Ken’s story, “How a type 2 diabetes diagnosis set this 77yo on the path to a marathon” was republished in Melbourne’s Herald Sun, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, and the Cairns Post.  

The Adelaide Advertiser featured Lara Wilson, a young woman living with type 1 diabetes who channelled her knowledge gained through living with a chronic condition to help children and parents at the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital school, going on to win the National Trainee of the Year Award in 2024. Now studying to be a teacher, Lara’s message was: “I wish people knew how many extra decisions I make every day because of my diabetes.” Lara coaches tennis and volunteers several times a week at the Flinders Park Tennis Club.

Channel 7’s national health editor Jennifer Bechwati interviewed Shalisse Thompson and revealed to a national and international audience for the first time that Shalisse’s Dad, Lance Thompson, died eight years ago, aged 40, from diabetic ketoacidosis, caused by dangerously high glucose levels. Lance was diagnosed in his late 20s, and was a respected and popular professional rugby league player for the St George Dragons and later Cronulla.  Shalisse’s wish was simple and devastating: “I wish people knew diabetes can be life threatening.” Her story reached audiences on 7News Australia (online), MSN, the West Australian, and the Daily Mail UK.

Online

Socials were buzzing throughout the week with over 450 people using #DiabetesOutLoud or #NDW2026 on Instagram, Facebook and X. We also saw a further 200+ wishes submitted through the online form, which continues to receive submissions leading into IDF-WPR Congress.

Beyond individual voices, the campaign inspired collective action. There were over 150 downloads of the campaign toolkit assets, showing strong uptake of the resources across the community. Diabetes Credentialled Educators, health practitioners and their clinics built their own physical wall of wishes, inviting patients to write and pin their declarations for all to see. A big shout out to the PDC Health Hub for their standout contribution over the week. 

Last week’s standout wish

Among hundreds of powerful declarations, this one stopped us in our tracks:

James Griffiths, a proud Wangaaypuwan man, Blue Circle Collective Community Advocate and aspiring Paralympic archer, knows better than most what diabetes can take from a person. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at just 19, he lost his sight, his kidneys, and the career he was building, all because of a condition he was never warned about. After surviving kidney failure and undergoing a kidney-pancreas transplant, James rebuilt his life with extraordinary determination, finding a new purpose in archery and community advocacy. He has been involved with the Sale to Sea Disability Kayak Challenge, served on advisory boards, and chaired the Wellington Access and Inclusion Advisory Group. Today, he continues to pursue his archery ambitions while using his lived experience to drive change in his community. His wish carries the full weight of a life transformed by diabetes and a determination to ensure the disease does not define his future, or the futures of others.

What the wishes told us

The declarations we received covered every corner of the diabetes experience. They spoke to the daily reality of managing a condition that never switches off, challenged the stigma that too often follows a type 2 diagnosis, celebrated what is possible in sport, leadership, and life with diabetes, and called for better access, improved technology, and more understanding.

Together, they painted a picture of a community that is resilient, determined, and ready to be heard. Not statistics; these were many distinct, powerful, and individual voices.

The next step: Join the Blue Circle Collective

If speaking up felt like the beginning of something, the Blue Circle Collective is your next step.

Our community of Ambassadors, Advocates, and Advisers uses lived experience to influence policy, shape research, and drive real change for the diabetes community across Australia. We are recruiting Advocates now, looking for people who are ready to turn one declaration into lasting advocacy. Express your interest.

Thank you

To everyone who shared a wish, posted a tile, tagged #DiabetesOutLoud, shared the campaign with someone they love, or simply listened; thank you.

To our Blue Circle Collective Ambassadors Lachlan Kennedy, Lara McSpadden, and Warren Bingham, who led the way with courage and generosity; thank you.

A big thank you to the talented photographers Nick James Fraser, Yvette Scott, and © David Kelly/Copyright Agency, 2026.   

To the 2 million Australians living with diabetes every day, this campaign was always for you. We hope last week felt like what it was: a moment where Australia stopped, listened, and heard you.

The voices do not stop here.

#DiabetesOutLoud #NDW2026