Community stories

This year's winners of the Spirit of Excellence Award 2026 were announced in Maastricht on Wednesday evening.

For Claudio Jiménez, transforming stroke management at his public hospital in northern Bogotá has moulded his vision of quality healthcare for all in a caring society. He explains how he coined the idea that saving brain tissue equals saving the social fabric – a statement that has become a way of thinking about stroke, particularly in his native Colombia.

Prof Sheila Martins has poured heart and soul into giving stroke patients a second chance, but arguably her greatest legacy is the large number of young doctors who believe in themselves because she did, and who are now rewriting the story of stroke. This is an edited excerpt from a conversation that was recorded for the Angels Stroke Heroes Podcast in Barcelona in October 2025.

La parte más importante de convertirse en una región de Angels no es el reconocimiento final, sino el proceso de crecimiento compartido”. Esta es la lección de la primera región de Angels de Argentina.

It’s mindset, not location that counts. That is the lesson from Madeira, the first island in Europe to become an Angels Region.

The health and well-being of children was the focus of a conference held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 22 April – and FAST Heroes was on the agenda.