A delegation from the University of Montreal will visit Belgium from April 22 to 24 to explore new ways of international cooperation around the concept of One Health as a response to current and future health challenges. This approach advocates an integrated vision in which issues affecting people, animals and the environment are addressed jointly, in a responsible and sustainable manner, with the goal of the common good.
This delegation consists of Malek Batalprofessor at the Department of Nutrition and holder of the Canadian Chair for Research on Nutrition and Health Inequalities, Olivier Beauchetprofessor at the Faculty of Medicine and co-chair of the Creative Economy and Welfare Research Chair of the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Society and Culture, Evelyne de Leeuwprofessor at the UdeM School of Public Health and holder of the Canada Research Chair One Urban Health, Isabelle Lépine, director of the European Office, and Nicolas Macia, chief coordinatorOne Health Initiative.
Here is an overview of the upcoming mission in three main points.
Dialogue between art, science and politics
Highlighted by General Dream Festivalthere One day of healthorganized under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will illustrate the desired relationship between art, science and democracy for the holistic action advocated by the One Health approach.
This day of discussion will see participants from diverse backgrounds explore the One Health approach as a strategy to better respond to realities on the ground, from those with experience in hospital systems to food insecurity in cities.
Nicolas Macia, who will moderate the round table at the University of Montreal, whose discussions will be included in the collective declaration that will be drafted, emphasizes that, “from the perspective of our One Health initiative, we will have a unique opportunity to explore how the academics of the initiative can strengthen their connection with organizations and groups working in line with the One Health approach, and we will consider their potential impact beyond the boundaries of teaching and research to be firmly rooted in the realities on the ground.
Strategic priorities and concrete solutions
In Louvain, the event “One Health: Research and Innovation at the Crossroads of Environment and Health», also organized under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union by KU Leuven, will highlight topics aligned with UdeM’s strategic priorities such as urban health, sustainable agriculture and the use of data and artificial intelligence with the aim of developing more effective scientific and public policies adapted to contemporary challenges at the crossroads of human, animal and environmental health.
Exchange of ideas and experiences
The third highlight will be a networking day between the One Health Initiative of the University of Liège and the One Health Initiative of the University of Montreal. This working meeting between the rector’s team and several members of the University of Liège community and the UdeM delegation was proposed after the visit of the delegation from the University of Liège to Montreal in November 2023.
Like that, Luke Stafford, Associate Provost for Research and Co-Director of the One Health Initiative, mentions that “this first meeting in Montreal has already made it possible to identify many points of commonality between our One Health strategies. This continued dialogue in Liège will lead to an opening to new collaborations that could be catalyzed by the many opportunities offered by the Horizon Europe program in relation to One Health.