De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) is gearing up to make a splash on Global Handwashing Day 2024 by attempting to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title achievement for the largest hand hygiene lesson (multiple venues).
The “Germ Busting Washathon” set to take place on 15 October, aims to bring together school children from across the country to simply take part in an online hand washing lesson at the same time, in hope of setting official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title- and raise awareness about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing infectious disease.
The record-breaking attempt is led by DMU microbiology and education experts, Professor Katie Laird and Professor Sarah Younie, whose research at DMU led to the creation of an educational brand called Germ's Journey-to educate young people in the importance of washing their hands.
To date Germs Journey has reached tens of thousands of children worldwide, through books, supplying teaching resources to schools and healthcare workers, alongside interactive online platforms, games and videos, all for children to learn about germs and hygiene.
Professor Katie Laird, said: “We founded Germ’s Journey to create better health for children through free at the point of access infection prevention education, in order to create lifelong hand hygiene habits.
“We felt attempting a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title achievement with children from across the UK was a fun and exciting way to engage children in this important life skill”
The attempt is aligned with Global Handwashing Day- a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of the importance of handwashing with soap.
Despite being a simple and cost-effective measure, handwashing with soap still often remains overlooked, leading to preventable illnesses and outbreaks. By attempting to break this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title challenge, DMU hopes to highlight the importance of hand hygiene and encourage children to adopt healthier habits.
As the countdown to Global Handwashing Day begins, DMU is now inviting schools across the country to join in this record-breaking attempt and play a part in promoting a healthier and safer world through the simple act of washing hands.
The Germ’s Journey team is being supported by Mattioli Woods, Medina Publishing, Rock Kitchen Harris, Elipse Health and Knowlex in order to encourage as many children as possible to get involved.
Any schools who agree to take part will receive FREE Germ’s Journey soap dispensers, with the first 300 schools receiving a free set of Germ’s Journey books and other educational resources.
To register interest, simply FILL THE FORM OUT HERE and the team will be in touch with more information leading up to the big day.
Posted on Wednesday 26 June 2024