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In 2022, we convened our Congress with an expert panel to discuss pressing issues such as the lived experiences of floods and heatwaves in Australia and the region. The panel emphasized the need for integrating and respecting diverse knowledge systems, including those of global and First Nations communities, and examined the effectiveness of communication platforms used to drive action.
The discussion focused on the commitments required from individuals and institutions to achieve planetary health—a concept encompassing the well-being of human civilizations and the natural world upon which they depend. We explored actionable steps to enhance our collective efforts and identified areas where increased collaboration is needed.
The panel was co-chaired by Dr. Selina Lo, Executive Director of the Australian Global Health Alliance, and Georgia Langmaid, a young leader in planetary health. The distinguished panelists included:
- Dr. Akeem Ali, Team Coordinator, Suva, World Health Organization
- Professor Kathryn Bowen, Professor and Deputy Director at Melbourne Climate Futures, and Professor of Environment, Climate, and Global Health at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
- Dr. Kim Loo, General Practitioner, Chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia (NSW), and Council Member of the Australian Medical Association (NSW)
- Professor Anne Poelina, Co-Chair of Indigenous Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Nulunugu Research Centre
- Distinguished Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley AC, Faculty of Health and Medicine at the University of Newcastle, and Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal of Australia
- Professor Susan Sawyer AM, Geoff and Helen Handbury Chair of Adolescent Health at the Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, and Director of the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital
