Crumbling Pavlova

Being relatively new to the world of diabetes, I really didn’t know about the significance of the blue circle, although I had seen it on websites and publications many times. Like most icons, we see them but don’t very often question what they mean and how they came about. So I decided to do some digging, and the story of the origin of the beautiful blue circle was just too good not to share…

In a nutshell the symbol represents the effort to raise awareness of diabetes to the general population, and to show support for those living with this lifelong condition. Developed by the United Nations in 2006, the circle has since become associated with World Diabetes Day (WDD). WDD itself was first introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

To learn more about the meaning and origin of this important icon, check out the article by Das and others The blue circle and 100 years of insulin discovery from the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2021 Nov, 69(11) p.2920-2924.