Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, society has become widely aware of the risks posed by the virus and ways to mitigate them, including by wearing PPE, social distancing, and quarantining. However, these COVID-19 safety measures have also restricted people from fulfilling important daily tasks and activities, and when people stop moving, growth and innovation can stop as well. The only way to regain progress is for the entire world, across all sectors, to take a stand against infectious diseases together.
“The World Beyond COVID-19” lecture series dives into combating infectious diseases through the lens of art, humanities, and environmental sustainability. The series consists of four sessions, each with an infectious disease specialist as a panelist and a special guest as an MC. The series dives into possibilities on how to look at the world through the filter of combatting infectious diseases. In the latter half of each lecture, three participants representing the younger generation of Japan engage with the panelist and special guest.
Lecture 1: “A World Without Borders” (Globalization x Infectious Diseases)
The first lecture in this series introduces Dr. Osamu Kunii, Head of Strategy, Investment, and Impact Division at the Global Fund. Dr. Kunii, who has been supporting infectious disease countermeasures in more than 130 countries around the world, shares his knowledge about the notion that “infectious diseases have no borders” and examines the responses of national leaders…
Lecture 2: “Unyielding World” (Art x Infectious Disease)
In this second lecture of “The World Beyond COVID-19” series, Dr. Tairiku Hozumi, who has been involved in health policy projects in more than 20 countries over the past 20 years, discusses the world of art, which has held strong even through infectious disease crises…
Lecture 3: “The Wounded World” (Human Rights and Gender x Infectious Diseases)
In this third lecture in the series, Dr. Motoko Seko, a lecturer in the field of international cooperation and gender studies at Eikei University in Hiroshima, and a member of the Global Fund’s Technical Review Panel (TRP) in the areas of human rights and gender, discusses the world scarred by infectious diseases…
Lecture 4: “A World on the Rise” (Sustainability x Infectious Diseases)
The final lecture of “The World Beyond COVID-19” series features Dr. Taro Yamamoto, a tropical diseases researcher at Nagasaki University whose work focuses on diverse areas ranging from international contributions to environmental epidemiology, statistics, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Dr. Yamamoto discusses the world of survival and recovery from infectious diseases…
To watch all of these videos and more, visit the FGFJ’s YouTube Playlist.
