Spreading the FAST Heroes Campaign to Students to Save More Lives
The FAST Heroes project is a global educational initiative aimed at raising awareness among children and adults about the importance of recognising stroke symptoms and acting quickly to save lives.
Since 2021, the programme has grown exponentially, involving schools around the world and reaching thousands of families. This success led to the creation of the Grand Heroes Foundation in December 2024, with a mission to expand this life-saving initiative. Children who participate in the programme become true ambassadors, passing on essential knowledge to their families to help them act quickly in the event of a stroke.
The global campaign implemented in Italy
AIM Communication is proud to be the Italian partner of the campaign, coordinating and implementing FAST Heroes on a national level, working on several fronts to ensure the initiative’s success. Our agency works with more than 20 international partners to share best practices and monitor the global progress of the project. This synergistic approach allows us to draw inspiration from the successes of other countries and continually refine our strategies.
In Italy, we are committed to building strong relationships with health facilities, doctors and emergency services (118) to ensure the credibility of the project and secure their active support.
At the same time, we are working closely with institutions and regional education offices to include FAST Heroes in the official primary school curriculum. This dual strategy strengthens the project’s presence within our country’s education and health systems.
Our efforts also include extensive direct outreach to teachers and principals. Using databases, personal connections and other networks, we actively engage educators, support them through the registration process on the project website, and guide them in enrolling children. We also provide all the educational materials needed to implement the programme in the classroom.
Once the project is up and running, it will be continuously monitored so that any needs can be addressed promptly. Our communication strategy also extends to the digital realm, with both organic and paid advertising campaigns on Facebook to reinforce the project’s message and extend its reach. In the coming months, we plan to produce two dedicated videos and organise special events in schools to further engage students, families and local communities.
Press office activities are included in the project: a press conference was held at the Ministry of Health to present the project, attended by 25 journalists. News of the project was picked up by all the press agencies, the main national newspapers, magazines and online titles, and radio and TV interviews were given to the main broadcasters, reaching 80.000.000 contacts.
AIM Communication also participated in the Fast Heroes Summit in Krakow, an annual event that brings together the agencies involved in the project to share experiences and insights. This moment of exchange underlines the importance of a cohesive global network for such an ambitious initiative.
After an initial year of adjustment, the results for the current school year are very promising. Since September, FAST Heroes has already reached over 3.800 children in Italian schools, bringing the total number of students involved since the project’s inception to over 5.000.
FAST Heroes: educating to save lives
Launched as a pilot project in Greece in 2019, the FAST Heroes programme has demonstrated how children’s enthusiasm for learning can become a powerful tool for spreading life-saving knowledge. Studies confirm that children educated through the programme can teach their loved ones – especially grandparents – how to recognise the signs of a stroke, as emphasised by the project’s mantra: “Think of all the hugs, bedtime stories, trips and special moments that will never be lost”.
With the support of partners such as the University of Macedonia, the Angels Initiative, Lions Club International, and the backing of the World Stroke Organisation, FAST Heroes continues to make a difference. It proves that education can indeed save lives, and in Italy, AIM Communication remains committed to continuing this mission, turning every school into a centre of awareness and every child into a little hero.