Magazine focused on Down syndrome achieves newsstand-quality levels

When you think of the type of magazine you would pick up and read, one dedicated to a genetic disorder probably doesn’t leap to mind. But Down Syndrome World™, a magazine published with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation (Global), hits all the right notes. It’s the winner in the “Print Publication” category of Ragan’s 2018 Health Care and PR Marketing Awards.

Delivered quarterly to members of Global, the magazine features information about research and medical advancements, along with educational details about the organization’s advocacy and outreach. However, it’s the features that showcase the lives of advocates, leaders, families, and people with Down syndrome that grab your attention when thumbing through the publication. 

Global was established in 2009, and the award-winning magazine started in 2014. The current issues have looked at Iceland’s prenatal testing practices, a topic about eugenics that most people remain unaware of. The article focuses on the inaccurate and biased medical information available about people with Down syndrome in Iceland, a country with one of the smallest populations of people with Down syndrome in the world. 

At times, Down Syndrome WorldTM will remind you of People magazine ¬– with its bright photo montages of celebrities who are advocating for people with Down syndrome.  At other times, it will make you think of a high-end, long-form content publication (think Wired or Atlantic). Other parts of the publication are more in line with news magazines. 

The combined effect, though, uplifts the reader and produces true appreciation for the entire Down syndrome community through inspiration and enlightenment.  If more people got this beautiful print publication, it would undoubtedly find its way onto coffee tables where even more readers could benefit from its heartening messages and moving stories. Topped off with solid writing and poignant photography, Down Syndrome WorldTM is a first-rate example of the continued power of print.

Congratulations to President & CEO Michelle Sie Whitten and her staff at Global, and the wonderful team at True North – Emily Main, Stephanie Wheeler and Allison Bryan on this award.