Since 1994, nearly 2.4 million school students and their teachers have joined forces and taken part in ELA's citizenship education initiative sponsored by the French Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health, Youth, Sport and Civic Associations.

Mr. Luc Chatel, Minister of Education, and Madame Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Health and Sport  are sponsors for OPERATION "SHOES ON TO BEAT THE DISEASE" (Mets tes baskets et bats la maladie), which corresponds closely with recent moves to develop citizenship activities in French schools.

Over the last few years, this initiative has been enhanced and now features during the course of the year three key moments for all those who wish to take part in the overall project:

• The ELA Dictation organised for October 5, 2009, which launches the project,
• The longstanding "Shoes on to beat the Disease" event,
• Presentation of the ELA Ambassadors' Prize to reward participants.

Schools can enrol at any point in the school year (from September to June), even if they have not taken part in the dictation competition.

Primary and secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges..., all are welcome to take part. Our initiative is a concrete response to the desire in the wider community to value and celebrate the positive commitments of young people. Funds collected for ELA by these means are used in the fight against leukodystrophies and myelin diseases.

Since it was set up in 1994, Operation "Shoes On to beat the disease" has been continually developing.