The Future of One Health: When Plants, People and Insects Collaborate
Vector-borne diseases such as malaria or dengue fever represent 17% of all infectious diseases globally. Often transmitted by mosquitoes, they affect predominantly tropical regions in Central America or West Africa. As temperatures rise all over the world, so do mosquito populations - a few isolated cases were already registered in Europe.
By 2050, more than 68% of global population will be living in cities, and we must be prepared for future disease outbreaks with an appropriate integrative, sustainable, One Health-based solution that involves all parties concerned.
Alongside researchers, psychologists and open innovation specialists from Haiti, Burkina Faso, and France, we have formed a multicentric group that seeks to imagine a better world through collaboration between plants, people and insects.
On this year's International Day of Education, we're partnering with the Learning Planet Festival in order to explore the concept of One Health. 🌍
Our virtual panel will bring together a group of experts from around the world discussing how to tackle vector-borne diseases through open innovation, plant research, arts and culture or education.
Speakers:
Ammcise Apply (Krèm, Haiti)
Daphenide ST-LOUIS (Université Quisqueya, Haiti)
Yerbanga R Serge (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (Burkina Faso)
Sophie Demoures (SoScience, France)
Graphic design concept: Jolana Sýkorová & Corentin Echivard
Ammcise is a psychologist working in the fields of public health, child protection, women empowerment, and capacity building. A member of the Haitian Studies Association, she has been elected as an International Affiliate by the American Psychological Association (APA), and received the Prix Chercheur Junior Féminin 2021 award by the Rectorat de l’Université Quisqueya. Her mission is to raise awareness among the Haitian population about climate change and life skills, both through research and effective support for youth and women’s networks.
Sophie is a graduate of the ESPCI engineering school and began her career as an innovation management and financing consultant. For 10 years, she assisted companies of all sizes in putting together their funding applications and optimising their R&D processes. Passionate about open innovation and aware of the societal and environmental issues associated with R&D, Sophie works currently as Head of The Future Of programmes at SoScience in order to take concrete action for responsible research and innovation.
With over 13 years of experience, she has worked as a coordinator and manager in several nutrition, immunisation, community health and HIV/AIDS programs for public and private organisations in Haiti. Currently a PhD candidate at the Quisqueya University in Port-au-Prince, Daphenide studies the mobility and distribution of mosquito vector agents responsible for emerging diseases related to climate change in the Nord-Ouest department of Haiti, urban and rural areas. Her goal is to continue to broaden her horizons to better serve society.
Serge is a senior researcher at Health Sciences Research Institute and director of academic affairs at Institute of Science and Technology (INSTech) in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. His research mainly focuses on pharmacognosy, parasitology and biochemistry exploring epidemic and post-epidemic response to COVID-19 and malaria co-infection, and health implications of such situations in Africa.
Alexandra is a co-founder of Haenke, a Prague-based initiative that champions the importance of plants and nature in various aspects of our society, from health and science to arts or design. A graduate of the Goldsmiths College, University of London, she works as a communications consultant on the intersections between arts, culture, and sustainable development. She contributes to the media, and has recently published a book exploring plants, cities and society.
Concept and graphic design: Jolana Sýkorová and Corentin Echivard.
Artist statement:
At a time when the ecological emergency is at its height, the One Health initiative is emerging as a solution for our future. It evokes a synergy between protection and preservation of our environment. The proposed track explores the representation of plants, humans and insects through a single identity. Human footprints, plant veins, insect patterns, all have formal similarities that have been exploited in the development of typefaces. The organic letters are drawn from human footprints. Breaking the boundary between these three entities, these letters illustrate a hybridization between the plant, the human and the insect as if they were part of a whole. Like a framework that illustrates the content, each letter is staged by evoking the initials of the event or of the different participants.
