Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge; Experts Gather for the Global Health Council's 31st Annual International Conference 5/26/2004
From: Lynnette Johnson Williams of Global Health Council, 202-327-5003 or 202-255-0565 (cell) News Advisory: Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge WHAT: Global Health Experts Gather for the Global Health Council's 31st Annual International Conference WHEN: June 1-4, 2004 WHERE: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 The Global Health Council today announced its partners and programs sessions for the 31st annual international conference. World health leaders and nearly 2,000 conference participants from more than 85 nations will gather in Washington, D.C. for the 2004 conference: Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge. Participants and presenters are healthcare providers, community organizers, program managers, policymakers, researchers, advocates and youth from around the world. Dr. Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Council, said the conference will provide a vibrant forum for exchanging ideas and lessons learned regarding health-related interventions initiated for youth, and increasingly by youth. "The coordinated promotion and improvement of youth health and development is one of the most vital enterprises a global society can undertake to secure its future. The unprecedented health risks facing the world's one billion young people -- the largest generation in history -- must be addressed globally and comprehensively. I have every confidence that this year's conference will add to our legacy of advancing improved health care throughout the world," Daulaire said. The Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge conference will offer more than 40 panel sessions, 8 workshops and 22 auxiliary events in the following interest areas: Access to Health Information and Services; Advocacy and Human Rights; Disaster and Refugee Health; Gender Issues; Health Systems, Policy and Research; HIV/AIDS; Peer Education, Life Skills, Leadership Skills; Reproductive Health; and Youth Participation/Inclusion and Communications. CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE: Celebrate Youth! sessions combine serious health messages with drama, music and poetry focusing on middle and high school youth: -- Tuesday, June 1 -- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Palladium Ballroom A Generation Rising: Sharing Experiences through Drama, Music and Dialogue will focus on middle school and high school youth from the Washington, D.C. area and provide them with an opportunity to interact with youth from outside the United States. A drama group from TRANSFORMARTE, a Brazilian youth HIV prevention program, will perform as will the Ndere Troupe, a theater ensemble from Kampala, Uganda. Both performances will invite participation from the student audience. -- Wednesday, June 2 -- 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Regency Ballroom Staying Alive: A Celebration of MTV Networks International's Campaign to Reach Youth Around the World with HIV Information will feature MTV's president, Bill Roedy. It will be followed by a Spoken Word event, which combines the art of performance and poetry. PLENARY SESSIONS will explore the following: -- Wednesday, June 2 -- 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., Regency Ballroom Future's Threshold: Examining the Risks, Rights and Potential of Global Youth will examine progress in advancing youth health and development, with an emphasis on research, programming and the critical role youth play in shaping their own futures. Session Moderator: Nils Daulaire, MD, MPH; President and CEO, Global Health Council Featuring: DC Children's Choir, directed by Angela Powell Walker. Speakers: Robert Blum, MD, MPH, PhD; Professor and Chair, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health; Maria Alcalde, Founder of the Youth Coalition, and of the Latin America and Caribbean Youth Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Conference Co-Chair); Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD; Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Director and Professor of the Division of Public Health Practice, Harvard School of Public Health (Conference Co-Chair). -- Wednesday, June 2 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Regency Ballroom Tuned in, Turned on: the Impact of Media and Marketing on Youth Behavior will explore the challenges and potential for mass media, along with commercial and social marketing strategies, to reach youth with messages that stimulate behavior change. Session Moderator: Jane Bertrand, Director, Center for Communications Programs, Johns Hopkins University Speakers: Mandla Sibeko, South African youth and National Programme Officer for LoveLife; Bill Roedy, President, MTV Networks International; Drew Altman, PhD, President and CEO, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. -- Thursday, June 3 -- 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., Regency Ballroom Threats and Sources: Addressing Substance Abuse and Violence among Youth will examine the factors influencing threats to youth from violence and substance abuse, and interventions to reduce the direct harm and complementary risks they provoke. Speakers: Gary Barker, PhD, Director, Instituto PROMUNDO; Neo Morojele, PhD, Medical Research Council, South Africa; Cheryl Healton, DrPH, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation; Evaline Akello, a 13-year-old Ugandan girl representing thousands of children in Northern Uganda who are "night commuters," children who hike from the countryside to an urban area at night for protection from kidnapping, then return to their homes in the morning. -- Friday, June 4 -- 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., Regency Ballroom Special Session: Early Marriage: Advancing the Global Agenda will focus on the policies and programs comprising a global agenda-setting campaign for the prevention of early marriage, including promising strategies of empowerment and gender equality for girls 10-19. Session Moderator: Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA Speakers: Kakenya Ntaiya, a native of the Maasai Tribe in Western Kenya, engaged to be married when she was five years old; Aminata Diallo, Minister of Health, Senegal; Judith Bruce, Program Director for Gender, Family and Development, Population Council; Geeta Rao Gupta, President, International Center for Research on Women. -- Friday, June 4 -- 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Regency Ballroom How Do You Spell Success? Debating the ABCs of HIV/AIDS Prevention will engage presenters and audience in a frank and substantive dialogue across the broad spectrum of perspectives on the ABC approach and some of the critical issues that have surfaced as points for discussion. This closing session will feature a collaborative presentation from our youth performance groups, TRANSFORMARTE and the Ndere Troupe, and presentation of the 2005 White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Awards. Session Moderator: Helene Gayle, MD, Senior Advisor for HIV/AIDS, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Speakers: Doortje Braeken, Senior Youth Advisor, International Planned Parenthood Federation; James Wagoner, President, Advocates for Youth; Shepherd Smith, President and Founder, Institute for Youth Development; Edward Green, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. GALA BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY -- Thursday, June 3 -- 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., Regency Ballroom William H. Gates, Sr., Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will present the $1 million Gates Award for Global Health at the awards banquet. Scott Simon, host of National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday, will serve as emcee for the special evening gala to honor those who, through their dedication, advocacy and ingenuity, have made significant and lasting contributions in the field of global health. Featured awards include: -- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Award -- The Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights -- The Best Practices in Global Health Award -- Excellence in Media Award -- Global Health Photography Award More conference information on the Web: http://www.globalhealth.org/view_top.php3?id=223 NOTE: Sessions will be webcast by kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Webcasts, transcripts, and related resources of the following sessions will be available at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/ghc/jun04. The following panel sessions will also be webcast: -- Thursday, June 3 -- 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Regency Ballroom Global Youth Culture and MTV's Global HIV/AIDS Campaign -- Friday, June 4 -- 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Regency Ballroom Getting the Message Out: Adapting HIV Education to Local Needs Conference Supporters: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Family Health International; Merck; Pfizer; PATH; Abbott Laboratories Fund's Step Forward Program; Management Sciences for Health; Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB); Pathfinder International; Population Services International (PSI); Abt Associates; African Youth Alliance; Chemonics International; U.S. Fund for UNICEF; and Logenix International, LLC. ------ NOTE TO EDITORS/REPORTERS: Media with press credentials can register for the annual conference at no cost. On-site registration is available at the registration booths. ------ The Global Health Council is the world's largest membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world. The Council serves and represents thousands of public health professionals from 103 countries on six continents. http://www.globalhealth.org |