Sujal Parikh Memorial Symposium on Health & Social Justice: Mar 26th

Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues and Admirers of our friend, Sujal Parikh,

We are pleased to announce the inaugural Sujal Parikh Memorial Symposium on Health and Social Justice. Sujal, a University of Michigan medical student, passed away in October 2010 after a road accident in Uganda where he was conducting AIDS research as an NIH-Fogarty Clinical Research Scholar.  Sujal was an inspiring global health and social justice advocate and had held leadership positions in AMSA, UAEM, PHR, Uganda Village Project, and U-M Center for Global Health.  Read more about him here (http://www.annarbor.com/news/u-m-medical-student-dies-while-doing-aids-research-in-uganda/) and here (http://sujalsymposium.org/about/). 

The goal of this event is to honor the life of Sujal Parikh and to carry on his vision by bringing together a community to advance health and social justice. This year’s theme is: The Social (Justice) Network.  See the below call for proposals for further details on presentations and content.

March 26th, 2011

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

You can register at: http://sujalsymposium.org/get-involved/participant-registration/  

The deadline for registration, which is free, is March 12, 2011.

For interested presenters:

We are currently soliciting presenters to discuss innovative ideas pertaining to one of the following themes that were important to Sujal: 

1) Curricula as an agent of social change: Education shapes future leaders’ views, values, and goals. In this way, curriculum can be a powerful tool for driving social change. Do you have an example of an innovative and effective curriculum related to health or social justice?

2) Defining health equity: A rigorous, vetted definition of this buzzword is critical for the next generation of leaders to advance meaningful change in global health.  How do we, as the millennial generation, define “health equity”? How can this definition guide practices and programs?

3) Innovations in global engagement: Global engagement is rife with controversy and ethical concerns, but these tensions can be negotiated with meaningful results. Are you pioneering a progressive global partnership? How can students and social justice advocates be sensitive to a community’s unique social context?

We hope to have a wide variety of speakers, from experts in their fields to students to community workers. Everyone is welcome to submit proposals!

-   Presentations should be no longer than 20 min. Please see http://www.ted.com/talks for the style of talks we envision.

-   The deadline for presentation proposal submission is February 18th, 2011.

-   If you are unsure you can attend the symposium, please let us know if you would be interested in submitting a remote presentation! The logistics for this are currently being arranged.

For details and the online application, please visit: http://sujalsymposium.org/get-involved/presenter-registration/

We look forward to seeing you soon and sharing ideas about advancing health and social justice on March 26th!  

- Uganda Village Project