My personal experience of the State of the World’s Nursing report launch at the House of Lords
This blog was written by Andrés de Juan. Andrés is a registered nurse from Barcelona, Spain. He is a Regional Hub Lead for the Challengers’ Committee, European Hub.
On 12th May, while nurses around the world were celebrating International Nursing Day, in commemoration of Florence Nightingale, early-career nurses from the Nursing Now Challenge (NNC) were hosting webinars across all World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The goal was to reach a global audience and highlight the importance of the newly released State of the World’s Nursing Report 2025, published that same day by the WHO.
In the afternoon, a small group of early-career nurses and midwives from the NNC, including myself, attended the Burdett Trust for Nursing’s, Engage, Empower Act launch event at the House of Lords, which brought together well-known and important leaders of nursing and healthcare—people who had played a key role in shaping this report and the previous edition in 2020.
As one of the regional leads of the Challengers’ Committee European Hub, I had the great privilege of participating as a speaker, and there were two messages from the event that really stayed with me…
- “This is not my journey, it’s ours”
- “From challenges to opportunities and actions”
These two ideas sum up the impact and the spirit of the NNC: a growing global community of young nurses bound by a strong sense of purpose and belonging. Over the last few years, since I have been part of this community, I have had countless transformative experiences that have shaped my professional career and allowed me to contribute to nursing development in my region at the country level.
However, I had not been as aware as I am now of the secret ingredients that have allowed the success of this process. The influence it has had on those of us who are actively involved goes beyond personal growth—it is reshaping how we think, how we act, and ultimately, how we help move the profession forward.
If there is something that gives the NNC special strength, I have realised that it is the fact that we are all going in the same direction. It does not matter who has the opportunity to speak at which event or who is making what connection, but the common goal of advancing our profession. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts— yet we are also fully aware that without the individual contributions of each person, none of this would be possible.
Our participation at the House of Lords is the perfect example of how the NNC is driving change. It shows that today’s challenges are also good opportunities for the next generation of professionals to be part of crucial conversations.
Giving early-career professionals a space at these events is what will create more impact in the future of nursing, because by doing this, we are supporting the future leaders of the profession who will one day be on the other side of the table. It is not just symbolic, but essential!
I am very grateful for the chance to witness and be part of this growing impact. The NNC is helping to build a large community of vibrant, connected and engaged young people around the world, with a common goal and shared vision. It offers us opportunities to be seen, heard, and to make a difference. The future of nursing is full of promises and we have no time to waste!
