Dear friends,

We are only a couple of weeks away from this year’s World Health Summit. Reflecting on these past months of living in the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hopeful that this global health crisis emphasizes the essential nature of international, multilateral cooperation and will lead to the strengthening of multinational structures and organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO). The Academies of Sciences and Medicine under the umbrella of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and other members of our M8 Alliance and the research community as a whole are important role models for successful international cooperation.

The World Health Summit and the M8 Alliance provide an ever more important forum for science, industry, civil society and politics. We are looking forward to welcoming so many diverse speakers from different organizations who contribute tremendously to advancing science and educating the public. An educated public is more important than ever in this unprecedented health crisis to understand the voice of science and to understand the necessary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

At the World Health Summit 2020, we comply with all official stipulations, implement necessary measures, and follow all rules regarding hygiene, protective gear, distancing, number of participants to do our part to minimize the risk of spreading the virus. Additionally, all sessions will be broadcast online live for all digital participants. This will not require any registration. Participation in the digital World Health Summit is free of charge; each session will be accessible via a separate link in the program.

As we continue to prepare this new hybrid World Health Summit 2020, we will continue to provide you with updates, particularly via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and of course, via this newsletter. 

Please remain healthy, keep safe and join us for the World Health Summit 2020, October 25 to 27 in Berlin and digital!

Participation will be possible in person on-site (invitation only) and remote but active via Internet

In this very special year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Summit will take place as an on-site conference in Berlin and at the same time as a fully digital, interactive conference with cost-free availability of all sessions of the program.

On site (Kosmos, Berlin, Germany):

- Following all official stipulations established by governments
- Implementation of necessary measures
- Following all rules (hygiene, protective gear, distancing)

Digital (via internet, worldwide):

- Digital participation of the entire program (all sessions)
- Possibility of worldwide participation via internet
- Widely used standard video conferencing software with intuitive features
- High reliability through load-balancing features for low-bandwidth situations
- One proper entry link per session
- Access possible via PC, tablet, smartphone
- Interactive formats through chat, Q&A function, screen and document sharing

More

Check out our Newsroom and get the latest Press Releases and the #WHS2020 Press Kit 

Each week leading up to the World Health Summit 2020, we introduce many of this year's incredible speakers on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Health is the Greatest Wealth - The curent pandemic has led to an increase in public interest in health and trustworthy information sources. Find out more on global developments from our COVID-19 data visualization. 

World Health Organization Calls for Applications for its Science Council

The WHO's Science Division is soliciting applications and nominations of high-level experts to serve on its Science Council. The WHO Science Council serves as the voice of scientific leadership directly advising WHO about high-priority scientific issues, and advances in science and technology that could directly impact global health. Find out more about the Science Council and the qualities necessary for successful application. Application deadline is September 14, 2020. 

The World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Uganda will take place on June 27-30, 2021.

Get all the information on the Regional Meeting in Uganda here