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Dear IFMSA member,Welcome to the IFMSA’s inaugural E-newsletter !

NOVEMBER 2012

ISSUE1ST

In this Issue

President`s Message

News and updates from:• President’s Message • NMOs• Regions• Project Support Division• Training Support Division• TeamofOfficials• Upcoming Events

Dear IFMSA members, Dear partners and Dear friends,

There are few moments in one’s life that one has the opportunity to serve an organisation as diverse, as representative, and with as much history and potential as IFMSA. It is with great honor, that I begin my term for 2012/13.

IFMSAfindsitselfinauniqueplace—asoneofthefeworganisationsintheworldthatfocuseson capacity building and outreach to medical students worldwide. Over the years we have seenIFMSAaddressingavarietyofsocialandhealthissues—andstrivingtobeattheforefrontof increasing awareness, amongst other global health activists. We focus our efforts locally, nationally and internationally.

As I embark on this one-year journey to serve IFMSA and its members, I will focus on embody-ingthespiritofIFMSAthathasinspiredmethroughoutmymedicaleducationandtraining—col-laboration, friendship and open-mindedness.

Our founders came together in a period of history where growing disparities in the socio-economic and political arenas challengedthehealthandwellbeingofpeoplearoundtheworld.Whilewefindourselvesinaworldwheretheboundariesandtoolshavechangeddrastically,westillfindourselvesinaworldwheretherearegrowingdisparitiesandlackofeq-uity—ineducation,socio-economicopportunities,environment,personalsafety,andhealth.Thesedisparitiesarefurtherchallenged by gender, sexuality, discrimination, and socio-political factors. IFMSA is a Federation that aspires to offer future physicians a comprehensive introduction to global health issues. Through ourprogramsandopportunities,wedevelopculturallysensitivestudentsofmedicine,intentoninfluencingthetransna-tionalinequalitiesthatshapethehealthofourplanet.

We aim to:• Exposeallmedicalstudentstohumanitarianandhealthissues,providingthemwiththeopportunitytoeducatethemselvesandtheirpeers;• Facilitatepartnershipsbetweenthemedicalstudentcommunityandinternationalorganisationsworkingonhealth,educationandsocialissues;• Giveallmedicalstudentstheopportunitytotakepartinclinicalandresearchexchangesaroundtheworld;• Provideanetworkthatlinksactivemedicalstudentsacrosstheglobe,includingstudentleaders,projectmanagersandactivists,sothattheycanlearnfromandbemotivatedbyeachother;• Provideaninternationalframeworkinwhichmedicalstudentprojectscanberealized;• Empowerandtrainmedicalstudentstobecomeadvocatesinleadingsocialchange.As President, I plan to focus on the objectives set by our members and work with medical students and partners to achieve social change on the issues that impact the health and wellbeing of people around the globe.

This year we will have a special focus on: • Socialdeterminantsofhealth(withafocusondevelopmentandenvironment)• Universalhealthcoverage(inthecontextofcomprehensiveprimarycare)• Openaccesstoessentialmedicinesandresearch/informationsharingMy personal approach will be to work in a collaborative and transparent manner, with a special emphasis on outreach and empowerment of IFMSA internally and externally.

I look forward to working with all of you and representing IFMSA amongst the leaders of health.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at president@ifmsa.org , as I am here to serve you and your needs.

Sincerely,Roopa DhattIFMSA President 2012/13

Roopa DhattIFMSA President 2012/13

Register yourself for MarchMeeting 2013 in USA

Here

Find out about what happened at RIO+20 and the fu-ture that we want Here!

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly News Here

Please use the Hyperlinks above for easy Navigation and Klick on Bar Flower to go back the 1st Page :)

NMOs

Brazil:Libras emSaúde: A Brazilian Way to Break The SilenceBy Ana Beatriz Silva Carvalho (NOME IFMSA- Brazil)

Conceived from the transnational project “Breaking the Silence”, Libras emSaúde is a projectwhosemainobjectivesaretointroducehealthprofessionalstoLIBRAS(Brazil-ianSignLanguage),toinstigatediscussionaboutitsmandatoryinclusioninthemedicalcurriculum, and of course, to increase awareness of the realities facing deaf people in Brazilaswellasworldwide.AstoryofinclusiontoldbyIFMSA-Brazilsince2010,LibrasemSaúdehasbeenasuc-cessful spur for integration and accessibility in health. It’s happening now and all over the country.

Dominican Republic:SCOMEdiansin Action: Importance of Optimal Patient Security in The Clinical SettingBy VanesaDisla de Jesús (NOME,IFMSA-Dominican Republic (ODEM))

In June 2012, our ODEM SCOMEdians collaborated with senior academic leaders to complement program activities of the 6th National Medical School conference,which wasattendedby700students fromfivecities. Toemphasizethatourfirstpriority isourpatient,ourposterdisplayincluded“patientsafety”topics:1)communicationduringpatient transfers;2)safedisposalanduseof injectiondevices;3)medicationerrors;4)handhygieneandsanitation.Teammembersalsodevelopedabrochure,“Tenkeypoints about patient safety.” As we combine enthusiasm, creativity and dedication, our voices(healthmessage)areloudandourworkefforts(healthprojects)areexamplesofsolid and effective collaborations.

SCOPHians in Action: The Importance of Ocular HealthBy Cynthia C. Then Morlas(LPO, IFMSA-Dominican Republic (ODEM))

From October 15-19, 2012, our ODEM SCOPHians celebrated World Sight Day by or-ganizingthemedicalseminar,“Vision:Clinicalknowledgeandskillsforalifetime,”givenby expert ophthalmologist, Dr. Faroche Melgen, to over 90 health science students. Dr. Melgen not only discussed several ophthalmologic pathologies that patients may present with at the primary care clinic, but also showed the “human touch” in caring for patients.Teammemberswereinvolvedinmakingcolorfuleducationalflierstodisplayatuniversities,andwrotescientificnarrativesonriskfactorsforoculardiseaseandtheimportanceofhealthyhabits,whichwereuploadedontovarioussocialmediasites(e.g.listserve,blog,Facebook).

SCORPions in Action: Peace For Our Communities

SCORAngels in Action: Adolescent Health

By Dahiana Espino Genao (Miembro active, IFMSA-Dominican Republic (ODEM))

By Keithel Jonathan Brea de la Cruz (LORA) and Franchesca Mirre González (NORA) (IFMSA-Dominican Republic (ODEM))(IFMSA-Dominican Republic (ODEM))

On September 21, 2012, our ODEM SCORPions celebrated the International Day of Peace in four different cities: Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macoris, Neiba and La Vega.Teammembersdevelopedalogoandfliers,compiledalistofpeacequotesinEnglish and Spanish for the IFMSA community,and took inspirational photos in green shirts to share via social media. From October 1-7, 2012, our SCORPions celebrated the InternationalDayofOlderPersonsbyspending timewithelderlycitizens inruralcommunities and sharing messages of peace, as well asby developing a logo and shar-ing positive messages via social media.

In August 2012, our ODEM SCORAngels delivered the health campaign, “Preventing pregnancies and STDs in adolescents,” to 60 students between the ages of 13-16 years at the Republic of Panama primary school in East Santo Domingo. The interactive presentation included puberty, basic anatomy and physiology of reproductive organs, menstrual cycle and pregnancy, family planning and available conceptive methods. Following the presentation, the team facilitated an open discussion in order to clarify anyquestions related to thesehealth topics. Theadolescent audienceparticipatedactively indiscussion,andtheacademicleadershiprequestedthatourSCORAngelsinclude their school for future health campaigns.

Portugal:CEMEF’s

Closer Medicine Project

CEMEF’sisanannualschemeorganizedbyPorMSICwhichprovidesstudentsenrolledin Portuguese medical schools with the opportunity to conduct two-week medical clerk-ships during the summer vacation. Every year more than 700 students between their 3rd and 6th years of medical school take part in this activity in Portuguese hospitals and/or primary healthcare centers.During clerkship, students are integrated into a clinical service of their choice, allowing them to expand their knowledge and clinical skills. Thus, CEMEF’s provides an opportu-nity for students to grow professionally while learning about an area that interests them.For more information please contact: cemefs@anem.pt

TheCloserMedicineProject isorganizedbyAEFML,alocalcommitteeofPorMSIC-Portugal.Itsgoalistodeliverhealthcaretopopulationsthathavedifficultyinattainingit.The project has both a national and an international component.The main aim of the national component is to provide basic health care through health promotionactivities(suchasscreeningforcardiovascularriskfactors)inkindergartens,schools, and daycare centers.TheinternationalcomponenttakesplaceinMozambique,andaimstoprovidemothersandtheirchildrenwithbasichealthcare;aswellaseducatepatientsabouthowtostayhealthy through health promotion lessons. For more information please contact: saudepublica@aefml.pt

Humanising Healthcare - Congress

Med on Tour Initiative - by SCORA and SCOPH

This November, one hundred Portuguese medical students, teachers and healthcare professionals from different backgrounds met in the city of Porto for PorMSIC’s National Congress.Theywerealltogetherwithauniquegoalinmind:toadvocateforthehu-manisation of healthcare. Through sharing ideas, and by attending workshops, perspectives were shifted away frombeingstronglyfocusedontechnologicalandscientificdevelopmentstobeingmoreholistic in outlook. This event was featured by “+Humans”, a project of PorMSIC that is currently changing the face of healthcare in Portugal!For more information please contact: norp@anem.pt

Between the 25th and the 28th of October, 33 medical students had the opportunity to make a difference in a small Portuguese townthrough the Med on tour initiative. During those 4 days, 250 middle school students and 70 elderly people participated inpeereducationsessions;100peoplehadtheirbloodpressureandglycaemicindexchecked;andchildrentooktheirtoystotheTeddyBearHospital,whilsthavingtheop-portunity to concurrently learn about reproductive health. Med on Tour was a great event that inspired everyone involved to be the change they want to see in the world.For more information please contact: nora@anem.pt or npo@anem.pt

Scientific Insight @

PET and T4PE together

InOctoberPorMSICorganizedaformalsocialgathering(tertúlia),inthecitiesofBraga,Oporto,Covilhã,CoimbraandLisbon.Thethemeofthegatheringwas“NobelPrizes”,andstudentshadtheuniqueopportunityofmeetingfamousscientistsandprofessorstodiscussthetopicsassociatedwiththemostrecentNobelPrizes.Theeventprovidedarelaxed environment in which both knowledge and stories were shared.

For more information please contact: nore@anem.pt

Last May PorMSIC’s SCOPE and SCORE organised two PET and T4PE sessions that tookplaceinthePortuguesecitiesofLisbonandBraga.OrganizingthePETandT4PEfor the same day and the same city provided more outgoing exchange students with the opportunity to attend these events where they were given the chance to share ideas and make travel plans with others. After the sessions participants generally felt better prepared for their exchanges.

For more information please contact: neo@anem.pt or nore@anem.pt

Venezuela:

Who are we?

Unconditional support:

Unconditional support:

FEVESOCEM is the Medical Students’ Association at Los Andes University in Táchira State;wepractisescienceandbringsmilestopeople.Inthepasttwoyearswehavehad many great achievements, among which are community activities such as giving gifts to children in poor communities, and screening for hypertension in San Cristóbal, Táchira’s capital city. One of our main foci is on emphasising the importance of re-search to Los Andes’ medical students. In the last few years our medical students have published more and more of their work and have performed well at both national and international congresses.

We must acknowledge our consultant, psychiatrist Dr. Oscar Medina, who has over the years given us his unconditional support. Dr Medina has been the basis of many of our achievementsandcommunityrelationships;hehasallowedustorealisethatresearchissimpleandthatit justdependsontheflamethatburnsinsideus.Wealsowanttothank our school coordinator, Dr. Rafael Labrador, who has always reached out to us andallowedustocarryonwithactivitiesthatarebeneficialtoourstudents.

In the course of the next year we have many new activities planned, including the “Fun-damentalsWorkshop” forstudents inpsychiatry; theScientificAcademicConference(ACUEM);“TáchiraCommunityServiceDays”;andworkshopsinsurgicaltechniques,management of trauma patients, electrocardiogram interpretation and many other top-ics.OurultimateaimistohelpmoreVenezuelanmedicalstudentsjoinourIFMSAfamily.

Introducing FEVESOCEM, IFMSA-Venezuela’s new Local Committee!

Regions

ASIA-PACIFIC:

By Dr. Vincent Khor (Regional Coordinator for Asia-Pacific; OC Chairperson for APRM 2012)

TheAsia-PacificRegionalMeeting(APRM)2012washeldsuccessfullyfromthe13thtothe16thofSeptember2012,atBayviewGeorge-town Hotel, Penang, Malaysia, and was attended by 258 medical students from around the region. The theme for the APRM was “Transi-tions2012:Doctors-in-TrainingChangingtheGlobalHealthLandscapeofAsia-Pacific”. Asia-Pacificisarapidlyevolvingregionwhosecountriesarestrivingtotransformtheirhealth systems, adopt new medical technologies, address emerging health threats, andreducelingeringhealthinequities.Indeed,theentireAsia-Pacificregionisinitselfa health system in transition. The region’s medical students should join this massive transformation. Now more than ever, we need a new generation of doctors with a deep understanding of the complex changes happening in global health, both in the region andintheworldatlarge.Furthermore,the21stcenturyAsia-Pacificdoctormustbeatthe forefront of action in addressing these transitions, committed to achieve the global health future that we all profoundly want and deserve.

ThefirstdayofAPRM2012commencedwithawelcomeorientationandwelcomelunch,followedbytheStandingCommitteesessions.Dr.TikkiPang(theformerDirectorofResearchandCooperationattheWHO)deliveredakeynotelecture,afterwhichdelegatesweretreatedtothegaladinnerofficiatedbytheHonorableLydiaOng,Penang’sStateAssemblyman.Thedelegateshadagreattimeandendedthenightwithan“OppaGangnamStyle”dance.

Thehighlightsof theseconddayweretheAsia-PacificGlobalHealthFairandExhi-bition,GlobalHealthDebateandGlobalHealthFilmFestival.During theexhibition,representativesfromanumberofGlobalHealthNGOsspokewiththedelegatesabouttheir work. And at the Health Fair NMOs had the opportunity to educate others about their respective country’s health care system through posters and other multimedia methods. In theevening thefirst-everGlobalHealthDebate in IFMSA’shistory tookplace, following which was a sumptuous buffet dinner at the Revolving Restaurant, and theGlobalHealthFilmFestival.

Thethirddaystartedwithaparallelforumcomprisingthefollowingsessions:(1)Tran-sitioninMedicalEducationandResearch;(2)EpidemiologicalTransitions:Non-Com-municableDiseasesinAsia-Pacific;(3)GlobalGovernanceofHealth.TheforumwasfollowedbyaStudentPanelonComparativeGlobalHealth which allowed participants to give presentations about their respective country’s health care system. Since the third day fell on September 15th - the International Day of Democracy - the National Food and Drink Party, and Cultural Night were combined in order to celebrateourdiversityandrecognizedemocracyasthepathto“healthforall”.ThenightwascappedoffwiththePenangHawkerFestival,reflectingthevibrantculinaryheritageofPenang-thefoodheavenofAsia!

On the last day, delegates participated in the Penang Heritage Trail Tour and enjoyed the farewell lunch and closing ceremony where del-egates took part in singing the theme song “Doctors of Tomorrow” while viewing a slideshow of photos from the previous 3 days – a truly nostalgic moment!

Pre-APRM workshops were held from the 10th to the 12th of September at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Two workshopswereorganised:SocialDeterminantsofHealth&GlobalHealthEquity,andTrainingNewTrainers;andapublicforum“GlobalHealth - Why Bother?” was opened to Pre-APRM participants and Malaysian medical students alike. The forum discussed why Malaysian medicalstudentsshouldcareaboutglobalhealth;whatthelinksarebetweenlocalhealthandglobalhealth;andwhatourroleasdoctors-in-training is.

September 2012 Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting in Malaysia

AFRICA:

AMERICAS:

By Waruguru Wanjau (Regional coordinator for Africa 2012-2013)

By Alheli Calderon Villarreal (Regional Coordinator for the Americas)

ThisDecembertheIFMSAAfricaregionwillholdits8thAfricanRegionalMeetingatthefootofMountKilimanjaroinArusha,Tanzania.Aru-shaisknownforitsscenicviewsandisthehuboftheEastAfricanCommunity.TheARMishostedbyTAMSATanzania,andtheorganizingcommittee is headed by Florence Mwitwa who is also the Co-DA for NMO development 2012-2013.From the 14th to the 23rd of December medical students from around the region will interact and inspire each other with the aim of think-ing “regional” and going back home to act local. The regional assistants are working hard, together with the standing committee directors, at preparing engaging sessions. The theme event this year will be “Health Crisis in Africa” with the subthemes of health policy, human resources for health and health infrastructure. The subtheme of human resources for health will provide future physicians from the region with an opportunity to discuss “brain drain”, a topic that will affect them directly as they make their future professional decisions.

TheIFMSATeamofOfficialshasputtogether5pre-ARMworkshops:2TNTs,AfriPET,ProjectsworkshopandaThinkGlobalworkshopbasedonthepost-MDGagenda.ThesessionsattheARMwillbetailoredtoafoundationforNMOactivitiesinthe2012-2013term,anditis hoped they will provide participants with information and skills they can take back to their NMOs. The regional team also hopes that the new skills and ideas generated will serve as the fuel needed to have a more active African region within IFMSA.

For more information please visit the website www.arm2012arusha.com and look out for photos, updates and tweets from the African Re-gional Meeting 2012 this December !

Hello IFMSA family!TheAmericasRegionisreallylookingforwardtoournextIFMSAmeetingsintheRegion(RM13 El Salvador, MM13 USA, AM13 Chile).Wewill start 2013 celebrating PAMSA’s 10th anniversary with our Regional Meeting in El Salvador! The RM will be held in Los Cabanos, El Salvador from the 6th to the 11th of January with the theme “Health Systems in America and the Caribbean”andsupportedbyPAHO.ThePre-RMhasfourwonderfulworkshops:Exchanges,PaPET,TNTandGlobalHealthEquity;andtheuniquepost-RMwilltakeplacein2CentralAmericanCountries:SanSalvador(ElSalvador)andAntigua(Guatemala).Let´scontinueRocking!

December 2012 African Regional Meeting in Tanzania

January 2013 PAMSA Regional Meeting in El Salvador

Project Division

The Projects Support Division believes that the path to a bright future is best achieved through motivation that is aided by a realistic plan ofactionbasedonpastachievements.Basedonthisbelief,theDivisionhasworkedoncreatingthefirstonlinearchiveforTransnationaland Initiative Projects.ThisarchivecontainsalloftheDivision’sofficialdocumentsincludingprojectproposals,half-yearreports,IFMSA letters of recommenda-tion, past applications for Project Fairs and Project Presentations, and publications materials. The current plan is to use the archive as a tool to aid in the handover process and to monitor the progress of Transnational and Initiative projects over the years. It is hoped that this information will be made available to NMOs in the near future to keep them updated with regards to the objectives of each adopted project.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

The Projects Support Division has ensured that a standard application procedure is in place for all Transnational and Initiative Project Co-ordinators(asperIFMSAbylaws).Transparencyisalsoensuredwithregardstomethodologyandselectioncriteria.NMOpresidentsandIFMSA members can view these criteria on the IFMSA server. Accordingtothemethodology,ifnoTransnationalProjectCoordinator(TNP)applicationsarereceivedforaparticularproject,urgentreviewis carried out to investigate the lack of interest and to highlight any weaknesses that need addressing. For sustainability and standardisation purposes,thisprotocolwillsoonbeincorporatedintotheDivision’sInternalOperatingGuidelines.Currently the Division is working on ensuring a smooth handover process between the outgoing and incoming Transnational Project Coor-dinators through the newly-created PSD archive and the TNP yahoo server.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

Keepingsustainabilityinmind,thePSDTeamisworkingcollaborativelywithIFMSAsTeamofOfficialsandVicePresidentforInternalAf-fairsondevelopingtheDivision’sInternalOperatingGuidelines.Thesewillincludetheselectioncriteriaofallapplicationprocessescon-cerning the Projects Support Division in order to ensure transparency.TheInternalOperatingGuidelineswillbeavailableforfutureProjectsSupportDivisionTeamstoensureasmootherhandoverprocess.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

The “Quality Assurance and Improvement Assistant” position has recently been created to ensure that collaborative work with the Project ProposalReviewCommitteeraisesthebarwhenitcomestothequalityofprojectsthatrepresentIFMSAindifferentcountries.Furthermore,theDivisionhopestosendoutsurveystotheNMOserverwiththeaimofattainingideasonhowtoachievehighqualitystandards within IFMSA.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

Project Support Division Online Archive

Transnational Project Coordinators Selection

Projects Support Division Internal Operating Guidelines (IOGs)

Quality Assurance and Improvement

As the Projects Support Division is keen on supporting NMOs regionally, preparations for new and improved regional Projects Fairs and Projects Presentations are currently underway.Additionally, at the Pre-African Regional Meeting in December, the Division will be conducting a Projects Workshop to provide the African region with the basic knowledge and skills needed to develop their projects. And at the Pan-Americas Regional Meeting in January the Divi-sion will be running projects-related training sessions. It is hoped that the Projects Support Division will provide assistance to other regions during their Regional Meetings as well. Feel free to contact the Regional Projects Assistant of your respective region for information regarding projects at your Regional Meeting.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

This campaign is a new initiative by the Projects Support Division to support both IFMSA Projects as well as National Projects Divisions. Through this initiative NMOs will be able to schedule meetings with a Projects Support Division representative who will be able to provide them with support and advice. Information will shortly be released to inform NMOs on how to use the doodle system to make individual ap-pointments. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

For more information please contact: projects@ifmsa.org

Projects Regional Empowerment

“Let PSD Support You” Campaign

Training Support Division

By Andres Marin (Training Support Division Director)

The IFMSA Training Support Division is based on the training of trainers and the organisation of trainings. Our working team is composed of approximately 50 trainers led by four motivated group leaders who are capable of doing an outstanding job, and as Training Support Division Director, I am proud to announce that the Division started off the new term in a very positive way. By working in conjunction with the trainers, we have decided to tackle our three main weak points:

•theInternalOperatingGuidelines•theTrainers’Database•theResourceCentre

Andnowthefirstresultsarestartingtoshow.Hopefullybycontinuinginthislineallofourstructuralobjectivesestablishedatthebeginningof October will be accomplished in time.

Onthatnote,evenwithlittleconcreteinformation(buthopefullywithalotofprojectsinmind),Ithankyoufortakingthetimetoreadthisnewsletter and thus keep yourself up-to-date with our developments.

For more information please contact: training@ifmsa.org

Training Support Divioin in 100 Words:

Team of Officials

By Roopa Dhatt (IFMSA President 2012/13)

By Roopa Dhatt (IFMSA President 2012/13)

IFMSAwasoneamongtheglobalhealthleadersattheAnnualWorldHealthSummit(WHS)inBerlinthispastOctober.Wewererepre-sentedbyourLiaisonOfficertoPublicHealth—AltynaiSatylganova,President—RoopaDhatt,VicePresidentforExternalAffairs—UsmanMushtaq,LiaisonOfficertoWHO—RenzoGuinto,andoutgoingStandingCommitteeDirectoronPublicHealth—AnnaKlicpera.

IncollaborationwithBVMD-GermanyandUniversitiesAlliedforEssentialMedicines,IFMSAhostedapre-WHSeventtoprovidetheop-portunity for health students to discuss key aspects of the summit and approach the event through the lens of an informed participant.

During the WHS, IFMSA was involved in several key components:• PanelrepresentationbyUsmanMushtaqonResearchandDevelopment• PanelrepresentationbyRenzoGuintoonMedicalStudents’PerspectivesonGlobalHealthEducation• SpecificmentionofIFMSAbyinternationaleducatorsonthesuccessandimpactofmedicalstudentsinpushingforglobalhealtheducation • DirectquestionsansweredbyIFMSAPresidentRoopaDhattatavarietyofsessions

Asaresultoftheimmenseworkdonebymedicalstudentsatthisyear’ssummit,IFMSAmembers(andmedicalstudentsingeneral)willhave more opportunities to participate in future Summits, as well as regional sessions.

Aspecialthankstothosethatorganizedthepre-WHSeventandtheIFMSAteamthatrepresentedattheWHSthisyear.

For more information please contact: president@ifmsa.org

SpendingmoretimewithourNMOsisafocusforthisyear’sTeamofOfficialsandExecutiveBoard.Manyofusbeganthenewtermwiththe IFMSAwareness campaign, which aims to reach out to local IFMSA members and help them integrate into our family. The campaign has been running since last term however in 2012/13 IFMSAwareness will be more active with initiatives such as trainings on IFMSA structure and function taking place.

OurTeamofOfficialsandotherknowledgeableIFMSAianswillalsoberepresentingusatvariousNationalGeneralAssembliesaswellasother events to improve awareness about IFMSA amongst the general medical student population. Already, a few members of our Team ofOfficialshaveattendedtheNationalGeneralAssembliesofTurkMSIC-Turkey,IFMSA-Poland,ANEMF-France,AECS-Catalonia,andIFMSA-Serbia to name a few.

IFMSAPresident,RoopaDhatt,andLiaisonOfficerforReproductiveHealthIssuesincludingAIDS,JoškoMiše,recentlyhadtheuniqueopportunity of providing a 2-hour training on IFMSA to ANEM/PorMSIC student members at their National Training Weekend. Participants walked away not only feeling part of IFMSA’s international family, but also inspired to be more involved in our activities.

We encourage all NMOs to take part in IFMSA-related discussions and forums so that their members can learn about the opportunities that existattheinternationalandlocallevels.PleasecontactourVicePresidentforInternalAffairs(VPI),LujainAlQodmani,ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutgettinginvolved.

AsPresident,IfindthatacloserelationshipwithNMOsisextremelyrewarding;Ihavealwaysfoundagreatdealofinspirationfromourlocal members. Keep up the great work!

For more information please contact: president@ifmsa.org

World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany

Reaching out to NMOs

By Roopa Dhatt (IFMSA President 2012/13)

TheTeamofOfficialsfortheTerm2012/13havejusthadtheirfirstTeamofOfficials(TOM)meetinginBarcelona,Catalonia(hostedbyAECS-Catalonia).Itwasaveryproductiveoneandweareveryexcitedfortheupcomingyear.

IwantedtotakethisopportunitytointroducetheTeamofOfficialsfortheTerm2012/13toyouandtothankyouforyoursupport.Overthenext 12 months we will do our utmost to serve the members of our federation and move things forward together. Sincerely,Roopa DhattIFMSA President 2012/13president@ifmsa.org

IFMSA Executive BoardPresident-RoopaDhatt(president@ifmsa.org)VicePresidentforInternalAffairs-LujainAl-Qodmani(vpi@ifmsa.org)VicePresidentforExternalAffairs-UsmanMushtaq(vpe@ifmsa.org)SecretaryGeneral-AlexandreMoser(secgen@ifmsa.org)Treasurer-FabianKlein(treasurer@ifmsa.org)

Regional Coordinators

RegionalCoordinatorforAfrica-WaruguruCWanjau(rcafrica@ifmsa.org)RegionalCoordinatorforAmericas-AlheliVillarrealCalderon(rcamericas@ifmsa.org)RegionalCoordinatorforAsiaPacific-VincentKhor(rcasiapacific@ifmsa.org)RegionalCoordinatorforEurope-MiguelCabral(rceurope@ifmsa.org)RegionalCoordinatorfortheEasternMediterranean-MonaFaramawy(rcemr@ifmsa.org)

Standing Committee DirectorsDirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonProfessionalExchange-DavidArku(scoped@ifmsa.org)DirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonResearchExchange-IvanaDiSalvo(scored@ifmsa.org)DirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonPublicHealth-KittiHorvath(scophd@ifmsa.org)DirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonReproductiveHealthIncl.HIV/Aids-DésiréeLichtenstein(scorad@ifmsa.org)DirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonMedicalEducation-LuisaGeorgianaBaca(scome@ifmsa.org)DirectorfortheStandingCommitteeonHumanRightsandPeace-FaresAl-fares(scorpd@ifmsa.org)

Liaison OfficersLiaisonOfficertoTheWorldHealthOrganization-RenzoGuinto(lwho@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoUnitedNationsEducationalScientificandCulturalOrganizations-FredrikJohansson(lunesco@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoResearchandMedicalAssociations-MariaAroca(lorma@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoStudentOrganizations-AleksandarLukic(loso@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoMedicalEdcuation-AgostinhoSousa(lme@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoReproductiveHealthincludingHIV/AIDS-JoškoMiše(lra@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoPublicHealth-AltynaiSatylganova(lph@ifmsa.org)LiaisonOfficertoHumanRightsandPeace–Unfilled

Support Division DirectorsProjectsSupportDivisionDirector-KarimMAbuZied(projects@ifmsa.org)PublicationsSupportDivisionDirector-BronwynJones(publications@ifmsa.org)NewTechnologiesSupportDivisionDirector-MateuszKolator(ntsdd@ifmsa.org)AlumniRelationsSupportDivisionDirector-CharlesNwobu(alumni@ifmsa.org)Advocacy Support Division Director - PendingTrainingSupportDivisionDirector-AndresMarin(training@ifmsa.org)

Supervising Council AndreaLabruto,MichaelEichinger,DespinaPolidou(supco@ifmsa.org)

Team of Officials 2012/13

Upcoming Events

AEICBAS stands for“the Students’ Association of Abel Salazar’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Oporto Universi-ty” and is one of PorMSIC-Portugal’s local committees. From the 5th to the 7thof April 2013 the first AEICBAS Biomedi-cal Congress will take place in Oporto, Portugal, focusing on the theme “An innovative multidisciplinary approach to life sci- ences”. This congress aims to unite both students and professionals from all over the world in the fields of Medicine, VeterinaryMedicine,AquaticSciences,BiochemistryandBiomedicalEngineering.The interdisciplinary focusaswellas theexchangeofprofes-!sional experiences, knowledge and conceptual ideas, will contribute to an understanding of life as we know it. Hope to meet you there

For more information please contact: aeicbasbc@gmail.com

AEICBAS Biomedical Congress

Sponsors

E-newsletter Team

Join us on

Co-Editors of the E-newsletter:• Ismail El-Kharbotly• Khalid Hamid

Layout and Designing:• Ibrahim Mousa• Airin Aldiani• Hassan Aboul-Nour• EricMelendez

IFMSA Publications Support D.D:• Bronwyn Jones