On June 7, two of Cornwall's most iconic landmarks showed their support of the Tourettes community across the UK and the world by turning 'Teal for Tourettes.'
Wilamena Dyer, aged 15, who was the BBC South West Young Reporter of the Year last year approached Sir Tim Smit of the Eden Project and Lady Mary St Levan from St Michael’s Mount to see if they would support the national campaign by the charity Tourettes Action.
The aim being to light up famous landmarks for social media to raise awareness around this much misunderstood neurological condition.
Sir Tim Smit KBE,said: "I think this is a really interesting and important initiative that the Eden Project is delighted to support."
The Eden Project created a new image of Eden in the ’Teal for Tourettes’ colour with the Tourettes Action logo which they put out on all their social media feeds.
St Michael’s Mount lit up the castle teal for the entire evening creating a stunning beacon of support and awareness around Tourettes.
Lasy Mary St Levan said: "We were delighted to light up the Mount on Tuesday to support Wilamena’s awareness campaign and Tourettes Action."
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The lights on St Michael's mount lit up at dusk until midnight with many papers by and locals wondering what the new colour was all about and discovering on social media.
Wilamena Dyer said: "Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological condition that causes a person to make involuntary movements and sounds called tics.
"This condition affects 1 in 100 people across the world. Tourette’s syndrome is often misunderstood and stigmatised to be simply a “swearing disease” when in reality it is a complex disability in which only a small percentage of individuals have these swearing tics.
"For those struggling with Tourette's syndrome, it can feel invalidating and upsetting when it is simply made into a comedian's punchline to be laughed at by those who haven’t been properly educated about what this condition is.
"This is why I always believe that the best thing that I can do to help myself, and the wider Tourettes community, is to deal with the challenges we face when out and about in public or when meeting people who aren’t aware of the condition is to advocate and educate others.
"Thank you so much to St Michael’s Mount and the Eden Project for agreeing to take part in the “Turn it Teal for Tourettes” project in support of the Tourettes community."
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