COP26, or the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, under the presidency of the United Kingdom. The summit will bring civil society, governments and companies together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

COP26

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Virt India

Awareness Days

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Faith

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is an annual gathering of Ministers of Health, health leaders and delegations from all 194 United Nations Member States. In addition to official WHA plenary and committee meetings, there are also many events held on the sidelines of WHA.

World Health Assembly

Arts & Culture

Race & Ethnicity

Gender

World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. The theme this year is "Mental Health in an Unequal World." Check out virt's curated list of events organized around the awareness day and other mental health events.

World Mental Health Day 2021

Mental Health & Wellness

UNGA Guide

World Hepatitis Day is observed each year on 28 July to raise awareness of viral hepatitis. The theme this year is "Hepatitis can't wait," highlighting the urgent need to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Check out virt's curated list of events organized around the awareness day and other hepatitis-related events. 

World Hepatitis Day

Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet is designed to address the most pressing challenges faced by the world today by deploying the convening power of World Expos and the UAE to galvanise collective and meaningful action.

Expo 2020 Dubai

Join the Planetary Health Collective for this one-of-a-kind panel series in which we sit down with leaders and change-makers who have succeeded in merging their passions for human and environmental health into an unconventional career in food and nutrition.
In each session of this 5-part series, we will highlight 2-3 leaders with a unique background, story, and contribution to the fight for a climate-resilient future. We will learn how each of our panelists use food and nutrition as their vehicle for impact. This event is open for all who recognize the power of food for transformational change in both human and environmental health, regardless of experience in the field.
We will highlight the central roles of intersectionality, social justice, and health equity in the pursuit of food and climate justice, and provide opportunities to learn about and engage with individuals whose work serves as a model for how each and every one of us can channel our passions to improve human health and environmental sustainability.
You will have the opportunity to participate in a live Q/A, where you can network and get real-time feedback on how YOU can join this work, all while leveraging your unique passions and skills in food and climate.
This Event is hosted by:
Marie Spiker, PhD, MSPH, RDN
Marie Spiker, PhD, MSPH, RDN is an Assistant Professor in the Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Washington School of Public Health. As a core faculty member in Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health, she teaches interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses that prepare students to join an evolving food systems workforce. Dr. Spiker conducts research on public health nutrition, sustainable food systems, food loss and waste, systems modeling, and food systems governance. Dr. Spiker completed her PhD in human nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a registered dietitian nutritionist.
Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RD
Sarah Reinhardt is a senior analyst for food systems and health in the Food &amp; Environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, she applies nutrition science and public health research methods to develop policy positions in support of a more healthful, sustainable, and equitable food system.
Prior to joining UCS, Ms. Reinhardt served both the United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the YMCA of Metro Detroit as a nutrition consultant. Ms. Reinhardt is a registered dietitian with a master&rsquo;s in public health from the University of Michigan, where she also earned a B.A. in women&rsquo;s studies.
Naudia Jones RD, CDN
Naudia Jones RD,CDN is a NYC based clinical dietitian within the New York Presbyterian hospital system, where she provides medical nutrition therapy to patients with a variety of health conditions. She is also the founder of Brooklyn Nutrition Practice, a culture focused nutrition counseling platform.
Naudia currently serves as the co-chair of The Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Special Interest Group (HENSIG) for the Greater New York Dietetic Association. In this role, Naudia helps to promote food security and community and environmental health, while utilizing, sustainable agricultural practices. In her free time, you can find her leading small space and urban gardening classes to empower people to grow their own food.

Registration Required

Planetary Health Collective

English

Planetary Health on the Menu: Sustainability in Food & Nutrition Careers

Many conversations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic were framed as a trade-off between individual liberties and the health of the public. Was this the right framing? What are the implications of the moment for future conversations?
This program is a part of &ldquo;The Next Normal&rdquo; series, designed to take a moment to pause and ask, as we emerge from the pandemic, what we have learned and why, in order to promote the health of all, we cannot return to pre-pandemic normal.

Boston University School of Public Health

The Next Normal: Civil Liberties and Health

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of politics and policies in mobilizing and protecting the public. What can we learn from the political failures and successes of the Covid-19 era to create a healthier world?
This program is a part of &ldquo;The Next Normal&rdquo; series, designed to take a moment to pause and ask, as we emerge from the pandemic, what we have learned and why, in order to promote the health of all, we cannot return to pre-pandemic normal.

The Next Normal: Politics and Health

<span data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Gender Queer is a gathering which provides gender queer individuals a safe space for open dialogue, connection and information on the topic of non-binary gender and identity. We welcome those that are gender queer and would like to build support and friendships with other individuals who identify as gender queer. Your stories and questions are welcome. There is no pressure to share, we welcome all levels of participation.\n\nIn This Group We:\n-welcome each other as chosen family\n-honor each other's stories with non-judgement and confidentiality\n-celebrate genuine curiosity and exploration&quot;}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:8961,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;16&quot;:8}">Gender Queer is a gathering which provides gender queer individuals a safe space for open dialogue, connection and information on the topic of non-binary gender and identity. We welcome those that are gender queer and would like to build support and friendships with other individuals who identify as gender queer. Your stories and questions are welcome. There is no pressure to share, we welcome all levels of participation.

In This Group We:
-welcome each other as chosen family
-honor each other's stories with non-judgement and confidentiality
-celebrate genuine curiosity and exploration

Peer Support Space

LGBTQ+

GenderQueer

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD is an infectious disease epidemiologist and the COVID-19 Technical Lead at WHO. Dr Van Kerkhove specialises in outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. She completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University,&nbsp;an&nbsp;MS&nbsp;degree at Stanford University, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Apart from being the Technical Lead for COVID-19, Dr Van Kerkhove is also the Head of the Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit and the MERS-CoV&nbsp;Technical Lead in the WHO&rsquo;s Health Emergency Program. Dr Van Kerkhove&rsquo;s main research interests include zoonotic, respiratory and emerging/re-emerging viruses such as avian influenza, MERS-CoV, Ebola, Marburg, plague and Zika. She is particularly interested in investigating factors associated with transmission between animals and humans, the epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens, and ensuring research directly informs public health policies for action.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Prior to WHO, Dr Van Kerkhove was the Head of the Outbreak Investigation Task Force at Institut Pasteur&rsquo;s Center for Global Health where she was responsible for establishing public health rapid response teams for infectious disease outbreaks. She was previously employed by Imperial College London in the MRC Center for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling where she worked closely with WHO on influenza, yellow fever, meningitis, MERS-CoV and Ebola Virus Disease.&nbsp;

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Annual Lecture 2021 with Dr Maria Van Kerkhove

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged at a time when multilateralism is under unprecedented stresses and tensions. At the same time, the pandemic has transformed the ways in which we live and work &ndash; accelerating pre-existing trends towards digitalization, and opening up further opportunities for the use of innovation and creativity to drive growth.
In this address, Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), will reflect on the ways in which WIPO and the global intellectual property ecosystem can respond to these developments and the challenges they bring.
The address will be followed by an interactive discussion with Mr Tang, hosted by Professor Andrew Christie, Melbourne Law School, and Ms Janelle Borham, President of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia. Attendees will be able to pose questions for discussion.

Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

The future of intellectual property and WIPO in a time of crisis and opportunity

How does cultural bias impact mental health treatment, prevention &amp; recovery? This one-hour session includes discussion of the origins of understanding mental illness, how misinformation is spread, and how stigma impacts individuals and families. Learn tips for correcting negative perceptions in this one-hour session.
Certificates of attendance are provided at no cost.
About the instructor:&nbsp;Jaymi Dormaier, LMSW, holds a master's degree in social work from Michigan State University. In Jaymi's career as a social worker and therapist she has worked with a diverse population focusing on a variety of issues including homelessness, depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, foster care, adoption, and addiction. She is passionate about helping others live a life they love.
Jaymi is on the board of a non-profit organization focused on bringing more happiness to the world through random acts of kindness. In her free time Jaymi enjoys spending time with her dog, volunteering in her community, and camping.

Mindspring Mental Health Alliance

The Psychological Origins of Stigma & Bias

Diagnosing mental illness isn't like diagnosing other chronic diseases. Are mental illnesses simply physical diseases that happen to affect the brain? Or do these disorders belong to a class all their own? An accessible guide to understanding causation, prevalence, treatment and prevention of mental illness. Separate myths and facts on this often-misunderstood topic in this one-hour seminar with a licensed therapist.
Certificates of attendance are provided at no cost.
About the instructor: Jaymi Dormaier, LMSW, holds a master's degree in social work from Michigan State University. In Jaymi's career as a social worker and therapist she has worked with a diverse population focusing on a variety of issues including homelessness, depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, foster care, adoption, and addiction. She is passionate about helping others live a life they love.
Jaymi is on the board of a non-profit organization focused on bringing more happiness to the world through random acts of kindness. In her free time Jaymi enjoys spending time with her dog, volunteering in her community, and camping.

The Science Behind Mental Health 

The term &lsquo;stress&rsquo; is used loosely in our culture. What does it really mean and how vulnerable are you? Understand the biology of stress and explore realistic and practical ways to manage distress and calm your nervous system in this one-hour session with a licensed therapist.
Certificates of attendance are provided at no cost.
About the instructor:&nbsp;Jaymi Dormaier, LMSW, holds a master's degree in social work from Michigan State University. In Jaymi's career as a social worker and therapist she has worked with a diverse population focusing on a variety of issues including homelessness, depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, foster care, adoption, and addiction. She is passionate about helping others live a life they love.
Jaymi is on the board of a non-profit organization focused on bringing more happiness to the world through random acts of kindness. In her free time Jaymi enjoys spending time with her dog, volunteering in her community, and camping.
&nbsp;

Stress: Signs, Symptoms, Management, & Prevention

It is sometimes argued that adolescent medical transition is ineffective and unethical because its mental health benefits are unproven. Drawing an analogy to reproductive healthcare, Florence Ashley (they/them) argues that this misrepresents how we justify definitional medical interventions &mdash; that is, interventions that are sought for their own sake as an instrument of self-definition and autonomy over fundamental aspects of personal identity. Understood as definitional medical care, adolescent medical transition is effective if it brings about the desired physiological changes and is ethical unless proven overwhelmingly harmful.
Florence Ashley, BCL/JD, LLM (Bioeth) is a transfeminine jurist and bioethicist based in Toronto, where they are a doctoral student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Joint Centre for Bioethics. Their doctoral project examines how science is deployed and used within the legal system to simultaneously bolster and undermine trans youth&rsquo;s autonomy. Their research is supported by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship. Prior to their doctoral studies, they served as clerk to Justice Sheilah Martin of the Supreme Court of Canada (2019-2020), being the first openly transfeminine person to clerk at the highest court. Prior to clerking, they completed degrees in civil law and common law followed by a master&rsquo;s in law and bioethics at McGill University. Florence&rsquo;s book, Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis, is forthcoming with UBC Press. They are <a href="https://twitter.com/ButNotTheCity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@ButNotTheCity</a> on Twitter.

Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity, Providence Health Care

Science, Abortion & the Effectiveness of Adolescent Medical Transition

Join us for the launch of the capstone report in our flagship World Resources Report series, <a href="http://citiesforall.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Towards a More Equal City</a>.
Synthesizing six years of research from 160 authors and reviewers, Seven Transformations for More Equitable and Sustainable Cities presents a new vision for urban planning and development that can lead to better quality of life for under-served urban residents, and citywide economic and environmental benefits. Seven crucial transformations and detailed recommended actions for key actors show how to reimagine urban service provision, how to include the excluded, and how to create the enabling conditions for real, lasting change.
As the world looks to recover from COVID-19 and accommodate the more than 2.5 billion people that will be added to cities by 2050, the stakes&mdash;for vulnerable communities, our economy, our planet, and our common future&mdash;could not be higher. Lack of access to core urban services not only holds back individual livelihoods but also keeps everyone from contributing fully to the city; it lowers productivity, causes poor health outcomes, has enormous environmental consequences and locks people into poverty for generations.
Decisions made today can widen the &ldquo;urban services divide&rdquo; in ways that grow harder to reverse and worsen the risks of climate change. But cities can also lead transformative change for people and the environment.
Hear from global and local leaders and WRI experts on how to spur action and create more equal, prosperous, and sustainable cities for all.
Speakers
&bull; Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO at World Resources Institute
&bull; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
&bull; Bijal Brahmbatt, Director, Mahila Housing SEWA Trust&nbsp;
&bull; Parks Tau, Member of the Executive Council (MEC), Gauteng Department of Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, South Africa
&bull; Frannie L&eacute;autier, Senior Partner, SouthBridge Group; CEO, SouthBridge Investments
&bull; Anjali Mahendra, Director of Global Research at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
&bull; Robin King, Director of Knowledge Capture and Collaboration at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
&bull; Rogier van den Berg, Director for Urban Development and Acting Global Director at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
&bull; Kathleen Koch, Former CNN correspondent, Author, Journalist, and Founder, LeadersLink (moderator of fireside chat)

World Resources Institute

World Resources Report Synthesis Launch: Seven Transformations for More Equitable and Sustainable Cities

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<div>From poet Victoria Chang, a collection of literary letters and mementos on the art of remembering across generations. For Victoria Chang, memory &ldquo;isn&rsquo;t something that blooms, but something that bleeds internally.&rdquo; It is willed, summoned, and dragged to the surface. The remembrances in this collection of letters are founded in the fragments of stories her mother shared reluctantly, and the silences of her father, who first would not and then could not share more. They are whittled and sculpted from an archive of family relics: a marriage license, a letter, a visa petition, a photograph. And, just as often, they are built on the questions that can no longer be answered. Dear Memory&nbsp;is not a transcription but a process of simultaneously shaping and being shaped, knowing that when a writer dips their pen into history, what emerges is poetry. In carefully crafted collages and missives on trauma, loss, and Americanness, Victoria Chang grasps on to a sense of self that grief threatens to dissipate. In letters to family, past teachers, and fellow poets, as the imagination,&nbsp;Dear Memory&nbsp;offers a model for what it looks like to find ourselves in our histories.</div>
<div>Victoria Chang&nbsp;is the author of&nbsp;Dear Memory. Her poetry books include&nbsp;OBIT, Barbie Chang, The Boss, Salvinia Molesta,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Circle.&nbsp;OBIT&nbsp;received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and the PEN Voeckler Award; it was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Prize and the Griffin Poetry Prize, and was long-listed for the National Book Award. She is also the author of a children&rsquo;s picture book,&nbsp;Is Mommy?, illustrated by Marla Frazee and named a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;Notable Book, and a middle grade novel,&nbsp;Love, Love. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Fellowship, the Poetry Society of America&rsquo;s Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award, a Pushcart Prize, a Lannan Residency Fellowship, and a Katherine Min MacDowell Colony Fellowship. She lives in Los Angeles and is the program chair of Antioch University&rsquo;s low-residency MFA program.</div>
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Strand Independent Bookstore

Victoria Chang + Kat Chow: Dear Memory

<h2>In conversation with the artist and activist Ai Weiwei, a doctor and an economist explore the links between health and structural injustices, and set out a radical vision for a fairer world.</h2>
What is the link between gut biodiversity, structural racism, and mental health?
How does colonialism continue to cause lethal disease around the world?
Why are First Nation people who speak their native language better protected against diabetes?
In conversation with artist and activist Ai Weiwei, physician Rupa Marya and economist Raj Patel will present a bold new thesis. Journeying across the human body &ndash; through our digestive, endocrine, circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems &ndash; they will illuminate the hidden relationships between our biological systems and the profound injustices of our political and economic systems.
Their boldly original research shows how inflammation is connected not just to the food that we eat and the air that we breathe, but is also linked to the traumatic events we experience, the stories we tell, and the arts of diagnosis that physicians practice &ndash; and fail to practice &ndash; every day.
Professor Marya and Professor Patel will point the way toward a deep medicine that has the potential to heal not only our bodies but the world.
<h2>Praise for Raj Patel and Rupa Marya&rsquo;s&nbsp;Inflamed:</h2>
&lsquo;A work of exhilarating scope and relevance to this infected moment in the body politic.&nbsp;Inflamed&nbsp;mixes medicine, argument, and metaphor into a post-pandemic poultice: reading it is the first step in the deep medicine it prescribes. What a rare and powerful experience to feel a book in your very body.&rsquo; &ndash; Naomi Klein, author of&nbsp;On Fire
&lsquo;At last! A book about medicine and healthcare that is holistic in the broadest sense in that it integrates histories of colonialism, conflict and inequality with alternative forms of knowledge. And all that while remaining compellingly readable and engaging.&rsquo; &ndash; Amitav Ghosh, author of&nbsp;Jungle Nama&nbsp;and&nbsp;Gun Island
&lsquo;Science and medicine are often treated as fields that are subtracted from social movements, separate from the struggle for power that billions of human beings are embroiled in and abstracted from the material conditions around us. Luckily for us, Rupa Marya and Raj Patel are out here making these connections and encouraging us to see these as processes we all must take ownership of as we fight to have control of our surroundings. This book is on fire.&rsquo; &ndash; Boots Riley, frontperson for&nbsp;The Coup&nbsp;and Writer/Director of&nbsp;Sorry to Bother You
&lsquo;A critique of the wreckage of capitalism and colonialism for our time&ndash;beautifully written, storytelling at its best. This book can change your life.&rsquo; &ndash; Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of&nbsp;An Indigenous Peoples&rsquo; History of the United States

How To Academy

Ai Weiwei Meets Raj Patel and Rupa Marya On Health, Medicine, and Global Injustice

<h2>Join social neuroscientist Tania Singer for evidence-based techniques to change your internal mindset, improve stress, and boost your mental health.</h2>
Based in Berlin&rsquo;s Max Planck Society, Germany&rsquo;s most successful scientific research institute, Dr Tania Singer is a pioneering psychologist and neuroscientist whose research focuses on social emotions like empathy and compassion. Her ground-breaking study on the effects on meditation on brain, behaviour, and mental health bridges the worlds of neuroscience and wellbeing, demonstrating a scientific basis for deep inner change.
In this livestream talk, she&rsquo;ll share accessible, evidence-based tools to reduce stress and improve your mental health. You&rsquo;ll learn how to be more present, stabilising your mind to increase our attention and awareness; you discover how to cultivate compassion and gratitude, and become more accepting of difficult emotions; and you&rsquo;ll learn to develop metacognitive awareness of thoughts and perspective taking.
It&rsquo;s an unmissable opportunity to explore the new science of wellbeing from a world-leading researcher.

Registration Fee

A Neuroscientist’s Guide to Happiness and Well-Being

<h2>Upending Western concepts of sexuality, the Renaissance, orientalism and genocide, Marc Baer presents the story of the six-hundred-year dynasty that connected East to West as never before.</h2>
The Ottoman Empire has long been depicted as the Islamic-Asian antithesis of the Christian-European West. But the reality was starkly different: the Ottomans&rsquo; multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multireligious domain reached deep into Europe&rsquo;s heart. In their breadth and versatility, the Ottoman rulers saw themselves as the new Romans.
Recounting the Ottomans&rsquo; remarkable rise from a frontier principality to a world empire, Marc David Baer traces their debts to their Turkish, Mongolian, Islamic and Byzantine heritage; how they used both religious toleration and conversion to integrate conquered peoples; and how, in the nineteenth century, they embraced exclusivity, leading to ethnic cleansing, genocide, and the dynasty&rsquo;s demise after the First World War.
Join historian Marc Baer for a magisterial portrait of a dynastic power that will put much of the modern world, from the rise of Erdogan to the war in Yemen, into context.

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