Ahead of our International Women's Day conference next week, (Wednesday, March 8), we're taking a look at the line up of inspiring speakers who will join us on campus.
Professor Devi Sridhar, from the University of Edinburgh Medical School holds a Personal Chair in Global Public Health, and will discuss what is was like to be a scientist working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is well placed to lead this discussion - her books include ‘Preventable - How a pandemic changed the world & how to stop the next one’ (Penguin, 2022), ‘Governing Global Health: Who Runs the World and Why?’ (OUP, 2017) and ‘The Battle against Hunger: Choice, Circumstance and the World Bank’ (OUP, 2007) and she has published in Nature, Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet and the British Medical Journal.
She is the founding Director of the Global Health Governance Programme and has also served on the board of Save the Children UK, on the World Economic Forum Council on the Health Industry and co-chaired the Harvard/LSHTM Independent Panel on the Global Response to Ebola.
Her work is concentrated in three areas: international health organizations, financing of global public health and developing better tools for priority-setting.
Devi said: “I’m looking forward to celebrating IWD together at the University of Aberdeen and sharing my experience of working through the pandemic - and in academia over the past two decades. Women working together to shape our future can help us move towards a more healthy and peaceful world.”
Also taking to the stage at King’s Conference Centre, is Rosalind Main, an Artist Body Image Campaigner and Model. Rosalind’s talk will look at body inclusivity and social media.
Since graduating with a BA with Honours in Three Dimensional Design from Gray’s School of Art in 2016, Rosalind has been working both solo and collaboratively around Scotland on projects and events, curating exhibitions in venues such as Whitespace Gallery in Edinburgh and The Vacant Space in Glasgow.
Rosalind has been a fashion model for over a decade and in 2017 Rosalind co-founded the I Am More Than Project (instagram: @iam_more_than) with friend and fellow model Morgan McTiernan who shared the same vision to work towards more inclusivity and representation in the fashion industries and beyond through amplifying voices and collaborating.
Together they have curated exhibitions, events, fashion shows and have appeared on national television and radio, talking about important issues surrounding body inclusivity and social media. Rosalind completed a MA in Contemporary Art Practice in 2020 from Edinburgh College of Art and an MSc in Modern and Contemporary Art: History, Curating and Criticism in 2022 from The University of Edinburgh.
Rosalind commented: “Taking part in the International Women's Day event at Aberdeen means so much to me because I will be talking about body image and social media, topics that many can relate to. Body image campaigning has led to empowering and educational journeys which I look forward to referencing in my talk.
“I will be talking about body inclusivity, seizing opportunities and seeing how beautiful our own personal journeys can be when we put our minds to it'
“As a speaker for the International Women's Day event, it is such an exciting chance to talk on a panel alongside ambitious and inspirational women, I look forward to hearing their talks and I'm really looking forward to the event!”
Completing the trio of speakers is Ravensbourne Students Union Manager and founder and CEO of Black Impact, Ceewhy Ochoga. Black Impact is a national African and Caribbean student network that seeks to support the leadership development and career aspirations of Black students in the UK. Its key objectives are the desire to challenge structural racism, social and economic injustice and discrimination within higher education and wider society in general. Black Impact’s mission is to raise, train, support and empower African and Caribbean students in three main areas of development: ethical leadership, social/community activism and political representation/engagement as well as promoting good Black mental health and wellbeing. Through owned and collaborative events and activities, Black Impact strives to achieve each stream of its mission under Ceewhy’s leadership.
Ceewhy’s enthusiasm for student activism and engagement began when she was an undergraduate at Middlesex University (Mauritius campus) where she formed the international association as the first student group on the campus in 2011, and was then elected as the first president. One of her significant achievements in Mauritius was working alongside the university to lobby the Mauritian government to give international students the right to work in Mauritius.
Ceewhy’s conference topic is ‘What’s your flavour? Being a woman of influence. She said: “"I'm really excited to be coming back to Aberdeen for this talk especially on the occassion of IWD. I love the concept of IWD, because it gives women who would otherwise not be seen or recognised, to have a moment of acknowledgement and recognition. At the event, I'm looking forward to being in an empowering community of women where we can draw from each other".
The conference is open to all and is free to attend, however booking is essential. Further information about the Conference, including the full programme, speaker biographies, and how to book is available from www.abdn.ac.uk/iwd