Campus Desk :
The 1st Global Health Festival 2014 took place at the American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) premises and it has marked the beginning of a tradition in global health education and awareness among young medical students, dental students and public health professionals.
The organizers of the event -Department of Public Health AIUB, USAID Fellows and Debate and Quiz Society (DQS) of Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC) worked closely to bring together a program that involved various activities meant to inspire and educate young minds on the importance of Global Health.
The event started off with a ribbon cutting ceremony by the Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of Faculty of Business Administration of AIUB, Professor Dr. Charles C. Villanueva along with the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at AIUB, Professor Dr. Tazul Islam. The participants then moved into the Campus 1 auditorium, after being introduced by a USAID fellow, Professor Dr. Charles C. Villanueva came on stage to give his welcome speech. He welcomed the audience on behalf of American International University-Bangladesh and thanked all the organizers of the event for all their hard work and dedication. He highlighted the progress AIUB has made in producing public health professionals through the Masters in Public Health program, which began in 2008 and has till date, 280 graduates and 70 students currently enrolled. He then wished the participants good luck and officially commenced the 1st Global Health Festival 2014.
The first event to take place was the Inter-medical Debate Competition and the Extempore Speech Competition. After a one-hour lunch break, a USAID fellow held a 30-minute presentation for all the participants on ‘Understanding Global Health’. After that the debate competition continued into its 2nd round, the Poster Competitions and Under-graduate Quiz Competition began. As the evening wore on, the competitions moved into their semi-final or final rounds and things really got exciting and competitive for the students. The day ended with all but the debate competition reaching a conclusion. The debate semi-final gave us the 2 finalist teams for the 2nd day’s event – Inter-medical Debate Competition Finals.
At the end of the riveting competition, the judges provided their feedbacks and the winning team was announced. After a short lunch break, all participants, attendees and guests settled into the auditorium for the closing ceremony. Once the organizers of the event were awarded for their hard work, the Chief Guest, Dr. Halida H. Akhter (Chief of Party, NHSDP) was invited on to the stage to give the Key Note Speech. In the Key Note Speech, Dr. Halida H. Akhter emphasized the need to expand our horizon of thinking from Public and Global health being about human disease to being about the human condition. She continued by reiterating the statistics on health in Bangladesh and emphasizing the most important objectives Bangladesh has yet to achieve. Following that, the Chief Guest and the Special Guests – Professor Dr. Muzaherul Huq (Chairman of Public Health Foundation of Bangladesh, Professor Dr. Akhtarun Nahar (Director at NIPSOM) and Professor Dr. Dilip Kumar Dhar (Principal of Sir Salimullah Medical College) were called on stage and honored for their presence. After a short thank you speech from Professor Dr. Ahmad Neaz (Advisor of Masters in Public Health program, AIUB) the prize-giving ceremony began.
The 1st Global Health Festival 2014 took place at the American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) premises and it has marked the beginning of a tradition in global health education and awareness among young medical students, dental students and public health professionals.
The organizers of the event -Department of Public Health AIUB, USAID Fellows and Debate and Quiz Society (DQS) of Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC) worked closely to bring together a program that involved various activities meant to inspire and educate young minds on the importance of Global Health.
The event started off with a ribbon cutting ceremony by the Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of Faculty of Business Administration of AIUB, Professor Dr. Charles C. Villanueva along with the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at AIUB, Professor Dr. Tazul Islam. The participants then moved into the Campus 1 auditorium, after being introduced by a USAID fellow, Professor Dr. Charles C. Villanueva came on stage to give his welcome speech. He welcomed the audience on behalf of American International University-Bangladesh and thanked all the organizers of the event for all their hard work and dedication. He highlighted the progress AIUB has made in producing public health professionals through the Masters in Public Health program, which began in 2008 and has till date, 280 graduates and 70 students currently enrolled. He then wished the participants good luck and officially commenced the 1st Global Health Festival 2014.
The first event to take place was the Inter-medical Debate Competition and the Extempore Speech Competition. After a one-hour lunch break, a USAID fellow held a 30-minute presentation for all the participants on ‘Understanding Global Health’. After that the debate competition continued into its 2nd round, the Poster Competitions and Under-graduate Quiz Competition began. As the evening wore on, the competitions moved into their semi-final or final rounds and things really got exciting and competitive for the students. The day ended with all but the debate competition reaching a conclusion. The debate semi-final gave us the 2 finalist teams for the 2nd day’s event – Inter-medical Debate Competition Finals.
At the end of the riveting competition, the judges provided their feedbacks and the winning team was announced. After a short lunch break, all participants, attendees and guests settled into the auditorium for the closing ceremony. Once the organizers of the event were awarded for their hard work, the Chief Guest, Dr. Halida H. Akhter (Chief of Party, NHSDP) was invited on to the stage to give the Key Note Speech. In the Key Note Speech, Dr. Halida H. Akhter emphasized the need to expand our horizon of thinking from Public and Global health being about human disease to being about the human condition. She continued by reiterating the statistics on health in Bangladesh and emphasizing the most important objectives Bangladesh has yet to achieve. Following that, the Chief Guest and the Special Guests – Professor Dr. Muzaherul Huq (Chairman of Public Health Foundation of Bangladesh, Professor Dr. Akhtarun Nahar (Director at NIPSOM) and Professor Dr. Dilip Kumar Dhar (Principal of Sir Salimullah Medical College) were called on stage and honored for their presence. After a short thank you speech from Professor Dr. Ahmad Neaz (Advisor of Masters in Public Health program, AIUB) the prize-giving ceremony began.
