PAST EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
Saturday, September 12, 2009 - noon to 3pm - please join us at the next Wallenberg sponsored event. Please click here for more information and to RSVP. Wallenberg Board member Roger Eaton will speak to offer our InterMix Group Dialog Software, developed with the Wallenberg, for an LA / Tehran online dialog.
In this Global Forum on Peace and Security, Dr. Muhammad Sahimi will speak on "Democracy in Iran and the Role of the Diaspora Community." Dr. Sahimi will be joined by former political prisoner and citizen-peacebuilder Ali Shakeri, who will speak on "Practical Steps for Citizen-Peacebuilding on Behalf of Iran," discussing what we can do to lend support to the democracy movement in Iran today, and to build more dialogue between Iranians and Americans. Joining this distinguished forum is Roger Eaton from the LA Area Nuclear Disarmament Coalition. There will be ample time devoted to audience participation after panel members' remarks.
Guests will first enjoy a light lunch of refreshments and Middle Eastern mezzes from 12-1 pm, with both indoor and outdoor garden seating, before Jordan Elgrably, artistic director at Levantine Cultural Center, helps introduce and moderate the afternoon's discussion, with opening remarks by IGM Gallery director Lynn Crandall.
This program is presented by USC's Institute for Genetic Medicine Art Gallery, in partnership with Levantine Cultural Center and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics, Americans for Informed Democracy, Los Angeles-Tehran Sister Cities and with assistance from the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at UC Irvine.
Global health forum focuses on fighting epidemics
By Jessica Ogilvie - Sept 4, 2009
http://www.usc.edu/hsc/info/
Featuring a keynote address by Keck School of Medicine public health expert Jonathan M. Samet, the Institute for Genetic Medicine (IGM) Art Gallery hosted a day-long forum on Aug. 22 to help educate the local health care community about international health issues. Dozens of community members and health care professionals attended the event on “Mobilizing and Engaging Communities for Global Health” to discuss ending global epidemics.
Samet, an epidemiologist, founding director of the new USC Institute for Global Health and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School, kicked off the event with a discussion of the word “epidemic,” which he said is generally understood to be something that “affects more people than it should.” As such, current epidemics include not just viruses like H1N1, SARS and HIV/ AIDS, but also man-made diseases such as obesity and tobacco.
Modern epidemics are far more difficult to contain than they have been in the past, Samet explained. Because of the interconnectedness of our world, a virus can spread across the globe incredibly quickly, as was the case with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The spread of SARS is believed to have started in an international hotel in Hong Kong, and from there it traveled -- incubating in human bodies -- to the rest of the world. In order to understand the nature of a modern epidemic, said Samet, leaders and experts in the field must use instances like SARS and examine them primarily from a global standpoint, but also take into account the “upstream and downstream” ways in which they spread -- rom global to local to a family home, and back again. In attempting to stem the spread of epidemics, it is vital that global health leaders and active members of the community focus on finding the links between the disease and the epidemic, he said.
For this, experts turn to the epidemiologic triangle. The triangle demonstrates the way in which a vector transports the cause of the disease through an agent to a host, and the ways in which environmental factors play a part in ensuring this transmission. Using the example of tobacco, the tobacco industry is the vector, and the diseases are transmitted through a cigarette (agent) to a smoker (host).
Environmental factors that might ensure transmission include marketing campaigns, age, peer influence and familial influence.
Samet demonstrated how the triangle works with HIV/AIDS and obesity as well. The event was co-sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy, the IGM Art Gallery, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Ethics, and EMERGENCY USA.
Established nearly 30 years ago, the IGM Art Gallery implements a range of community programs including art exhibits and forums on complex social issues that interface with molecular biology and health.
The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics
recently held a special conference
The Muslim Mystique: Facing Fears and Stereotypes
An exploration into the Jewish Image of the "Other"
- Islamic extremism
- Perspectives from the Koran on peace and violence
- Israel
We will also be screening excerpts from the award winning documentary, Encounter Point - "a true story about the everyday leaders who refuse to sit back as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalates" - illustrating the difficult choices
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2006
Time: 9:30 a.m. -- 2:30 p.m.
Place: Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue
24855 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
Interfaith educators from Abraham's Vision will facilitate this event.
Abraham's Vision is a highly recognized educational organization comprised of Jewish and Muslim trainers. This year they participated in President Clinton's Global Initiative "Mitigating Religious and Ethnic Conflict" which included notables such as Eli Wiesel, Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, Bill and Melinda Gates, His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Warren Buffet, and President Jimmy Carter.
Suggested donation $18 - No one turned away. A light lunch will be served.
For more information and to RSVP (reservation required) please contact RebeccaTobias@gmail.com
Co-sponsored by the Salaam Shalom Educational Foundation