The Global Health Colloquium (GHC) is an annual event organized by IFMSA-Québec, the International Affairs Division of the Quebec Federation of Medical Students (FMEQ). This year it is organized in collaboration with the Indigenous Health Interest group at the University of Montreal.
IFMSA-Québec brings together medical students of Quebec and its mission is to raise awareness about and mobilize them around social, cultural and global health issues. Through its outreach projects, its international exchange programs and its policy statements, IFMSA-Québec is dedicated to improving health locally and abroad.The Global Health Colloquium falls directly under IFMSA-Québec’s mission with both educational and awareness components.
GISA is a group of medical students and other health professional students. Its goal is to inform and educate students about Indigenous culture and health issues specific to this group, as well as to encourage community involvement and community practice.
The mission fo GISA is to train professionals who are culturally competent and optimally trained to promote fruitful exchanges and collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in an effort to create a health system in Quebec that is well-adapted to the needs of the Indigenous peoples. For this reason, GISA has annually organized a preparatory training session discussing cultural competency in relation to Indigenous Health. This year, GISA has partnered with IFMSA-Québec to integrate this training into the GHC.
ABOUT THE GHC
The Global Health Colloquium is an inspiring weekend filled with lectures and activities open to students from Quebec, Canada and abroad. Participants are mainly medical students, but there are also a number of other future health care professionals as well as participants from the general public. The GHC aims to raise awareness and allows participants to learn about a variety of topics directly related to global health. Speakers are invited to talk about public health, sexual health and HIV / AIDS, global health, human rights and peace, ethics of clinical exchanges abroad and more. Participants will have the opportunity to attend lectures given by experts and actors in global health, and to participate in interactive activities where speakers are invited to meet with participants in smaller groups over a meal.
VISION
Global health is a subject of increasing popularity, many conferences and seminars are held each year on this fairly new area of health. However, most of these events are targeted for health professionals rather than students. It is because of this that IMFSA-Québec decided 8 years ago to have its first Global Health Colloquium, an event created by students for students. This colloquium has become a major annual event for IFMSA-Québec, and now aims to become the conference of choice among university students interested in global health by the quality of its speakers and activities.