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Center for Global Initiatives' Newsletter
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Greetings and welcome to the latest edition of our growing newsletter! Volume 1, Number 1 News and Reports 1) CGI is honored to announce that Kris Singh has joined our Board of Advisors. Kris Singh has been a senior leader in the IT industry for more than 25 years. Kris has worked for major IT companies in the Silicon Valley like IBM Research, AMD, Intel and National Semiconductor. At IBM Almaden Research Kris was the Strategic Programs Director for IT Services Research where he created the global IT Service Research and Innovation Institute, SRII (www.thesrii.org). SRII mission is to drive IT Innovation for major sectors of the economy and to build a better world. SRII members include senior leaders from industry, academia, research, government and key professional organizations at the global level. Before IBM Research, he was the Director at AMD CTO Office responsible for Product and Technology roadmap definition working closely with major customers and industry ecosystem partners. Prior to AMD 1
CTO Office, Kris worked for Intel as a Director of the Data Center technology/product/solution roadmap planning team. At Intel he also worked with CIOs around the world to better understand the Data Center “Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)” model and help drive down the cost of IT Services/Solutions. Before Intel, Kris was with the National Semiconductor where he managed various groups like Product/Technology development, Global Manufacturing & Suppliers Management and major Customer programs. Kris was an Industry Fellow in the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley and an adjunct professor in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science department at Santa Clara University, CA. He is on the Advisory Board of several major universities helping drive “The Innovation in Education System and Building Entrepreneurship Program”. Kris is also on the board/advisory member of several start-up companies in Silicon Valley and he is a regular speaker at major forums/conferences around the world. 2) US Global Health Impact Updated results and impact from U.S. global health programs were recently released concurrent with the African Leaders Summit last month. Since 2009, the U.S. Government has invested over $50 billion in foreign assistance for health and, as a result, saved millions of lives. In Fiscal Year 2013 alone, the U.S. Government supported life- saving antiretroviral treatment for 6.7 million men, women, and children; reached 12.5 million children with nutrition programs; and protected 45 million people from malaria with a prevention measure. Learn more about the progress made and view a snapshot of key successes. See: http://www.ghi.gov/results/#.VAncIvmwJK4 3) CSIS Global Health Policy Center on Infections Disease Our friend and colleague, J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President, Director, Global Health Policy Center, has noted as September opened, a striking consensus emerged among global health leaders that the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea has transmuted into a colossus that continues to gather force: It is 2
"spiraling out of control" (Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC); “We understand the outbreak is moving beyond our grasp” (Dr. David Nabarro, Senior UN System Coordinator for Ebola Disease ); “The outbreak will get worse before it gets better, and it requires a well-coordinated big surge of outbreak response.” Ebola is “a global threat” (World Health Organization Director General Dr. Margaret Chan); “Six months into the worst epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with the transnational threat” (Dr. Joanne Liu, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) International President). The CSIS Global Health Policy Center has recently published a variety of media to further the conversation surrounding Ebola. Read Stephens latest commentary, Ebola’s Hard Lessons. You may also want to read a recent piece, The Power of Belief: What Polio and Ebola Have in Common, by Dr. Heidi Larson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, that analyzes the similarities between the current efforts to combat Ebola and the international push to eradicate polio. CSIS has also produced two videos, “The Continuing Ebola Outbreak” and “The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa,” and aCritical Questions. These pieces analyze the history of the outbreak and its impact on our future. In addition, we recently hosted a roundtable with Professor Lawrence Gostin, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Dr. Tim Evans, where Ebola was extensively discussed. 4) Partners in Health Ebola Response Partners In Health announced plans to work alongside two organizations based in Liberia and Sierra Leone to bring the staff, supplies, and expertise to help stop Ebola. Already, Ebola has killed more than 2,200 people in West Africa—but the muted international response has been astonishing. In the weeks and months ahead, PIH will be working with two longstanding mission partners, Wellbody Alliance in Sierra Leone and Last Mile Health in Liberia, who have dedicated themselves to bringing high-quality health care to people in rural and marginalized areas. Together, they’ll be setting up two new Ebola treatment units in rural locations, training health care workers to identify and treat patients, and working to strengthen the fragile primary health care systems that millions of people are relying on. We can and must stop the spread of diseases like Ebola in West Africa—and TB, cholera, and 3
malaria around the world. Everyone deserves high-quality care, and together we can make it happen. For more information: http://www.pih.org/ 5) The Path of Ebola New genomic data reveal clues about the origin of the Ebola virus and provide insights that may lead to effective therapies and vaccines. Long before the current outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) began in West Africa, NIH-funded scientists had begun collaborating with labs in Sierra Leone and Nigeria to analyze the genomes and develop diagnostic tests for the virus that caused Lassa fever, a deadly hemorrhagic disease related to EVD. But when the outbreak struck in February 2014, an international team led by NIH Director’s New Innovator Awardee Pardis Sabeti quickly switched gears to focus on Ebola. Read more at: http://directorsblog.nih.gov/2014/09/02/using-genomics-to-follow-the-path-of-ebola/ Grant and Funding Opportunities 6) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now inviting applications to Grand Challenges Explorations The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now inviting applications to Grand Challenges Explorations, which has awarded over 1070 grants in over 58 countries to date. Grand Challenges Explorations seeks innovative global health and development solutions. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations as well as for-profit companies. Two-page proposals are being accepted online from September 4, 2014 until November 12, 2014 on the following topics: - Surveillance Tools, Diagnostics and an Artificial Diet to Support New Approaches to Vector Control. - New Approaches for Addressing Outdoor/Residual Malaria Transmission - New Ways to Reduce Pneumonia Fatalities through Timely, Effective Treatment of Children - Enable Universal Acceptance of Mobile Money Payments to Create an Economic Ecosystem that Will Help Lift the Poorest Out of Poverty - Explore New Ways to Measure Brain Development and Gestational Age - New Ways of Working Together: Integrating Community-Based Interventions 4
Initial grants will be US $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1 million. Full descriptions of the new topics and application instructions are available at:www.grandchallenges.org/explorations. They look forward to receiving innovative ideas from around the world and from all disciplines. If you have a great idea, please apply. Please also note their Global Health Innovation Group on LinkedIn. Developed in collaboration with Grand Challenges Canada, this group offers a platform to connect and communicate with innovators from around the world. Anyone with a LinkedIn account can join and make use of this forum. Upcoming Conferences and Events 6) You are invited to the SRII Global Conference 2015 4th Annual SRII Global Conference Driving Research and Innovation for IT-Enabled Service for a Better World, March 25th, 2015 – March 27th, 2015, at the PayPal Campus in Silicon Valley, California. Details are at: http://www.thesrii.org/images/stories/PDF/SRII_Global_Conference_2015_Flyer.pdf Other SRII Global events are in India, Europe and Asia. Please see details at: www.thesrii.org 7) You are invited “To Grow a Dream” Our friends, Martin & Allie Schreiber would enjoy your company on October 3rd at 7:30PM in the famous Willis Tower as Sr. Mary Owens the executive director of Nyumbani returns to Chicago from Kenya. This year BBC praised the efforts of Nyumbani http://www.bbc.com/news/world- africa-28372121 Please join them for another exciting eventas we help to “Grow ADream” for the children through sustainability. Consider donating to the silent auction or simply forward the below invitation to a friend. 5
8) Call for Proposals 3rd Annual International Conference on Transgenerational Trauma: Communal Wounds and Victim Identities ~ 2014 2-Conference Series in Jordan and Turkey ~ October 15-18, 2014 ~ Amman, Jordan October 22-24, 2014 ~ Istanbul, Turkey ______________________________ ~ Call For Proposals ~ ______________________________ Full Conference Details: www.cbiworld.org/home/conferences/ A Sharing of Skills - Learning and adapting proven skills for healing trauma at the individual and communal level. 6
A Search for New Models and Methodologies - Developing new models and methods at the societal level for healing and preventing communal trauma and it’s transfer into future generations. The Social Health Care (SHC) Training and Treatment program will be presented as an example of a local capacity building model for healing communal trauma. A Focused Dialogue and Deliberation - Identifying and addressing the dynamics of inherited, unresolved communal trauma from one generation to the next, including historical understandings, the development and perpetuation of communal victim identities, exclusive cultural membership and rites of belonging based on polarization, and implications for present and future relations between communities – particularly war and violence. Transgenerational trauma is an underlying and potent fuel for the eruption of violence between and within communities - past, present, and future. Understanding it’s dynamics, influences, and implications, and developing new ways to effectively treat communal trauma, are essential to healing and reconciliation, promoting compassionate local and global relations, and achieving sustainable peace. The mission of this working conference is to place the issue on the public table and invite concerted dialogue, study, and collaborative action. Sponsored by: Common Bond Institute (US) International Humanistic Psychology Association Michigan State University International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations Endorsed and Supported by: over 100 professional associations, organizations, and universities internationally Official Partner of Charter For Compassion and Parliament of World’s Religions ~ Registration is Open To All ~ Held in conjunction with: * The Social Health Care (SHC) training and treatment program – a model for building local capacity and empowerment for healing communal trauma * The Global Network for the Study of Transgenerational Trauma – a multi-cultural, interdisciplinary professional network engaged in the study of inherited, unresolved communal trauma, and the implications for violence and war within and between communities ____________________________________________________ For DETAILS on Registration, Program, Accommodations, & Travel visit our website or CONTACT: Common Bond Institute Details at Website: www.cbiworld.org Steve Olweean, Conference Co-coordinator Ph/Fax: 1-269-665-9393 Email: SOlweean@aol.com Facebook: tinyurl.com/CBIonFB 7
9) Global Health Chicago MeetUp When: October 15th, 7:30pm Where: TBD Register: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/ global-health-chicago-meetup-tickets- 2136357904?aff=efbevent Come connect with other Chicagoans who are interested in / work in / think about global health and international development! Following the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' event with Nicholas Kristof, we will meet at a nearby location (TBD) for informal networking and conversation (possibly some food and drink too!). This is an ideal opportunity to connect with like-minded folks and enjoy a stimulating evening. *DISCOUNT! The Chicago Council is offering members of our group the membership rate of $10. If you're a non-member, use the promo-code HALFTHESKY to receive the member rate when registering online. Thanks! I hope you have found this issue to be informative and helpful in your work. Please send me any information you’d like posted in upcoming issues. And any recommendations to improve this communique would be most appreciated! Cheers, and thank you for your work, Chris http://DrChrisStout.com Founding Director, http://CenterForGlobalInitiatives.org LinkedIn Influencer: http://www.linkedin.com/influencer/3055695 American Psychological Association International Humanitarian Award Winner, http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec07/rockstar.html 8