Belgrade in focus – the Deans’ and Directors’ Retreat 2011

“Bosnia genocide suspect Ratko Mladic jailed in Serbia” (CNN, 27. 05. 2011)

“Belgrade protest against Mladic arrest turns violent” (Reuters, 29. 05. 2011)

These are only some of the news headlines that you might have come across during the last week of May. Since then, Belgrade and Serbia have been the center of international media attention. Ratko Mladic, former general of the armed forces of the Republika Srpska and suspect of the massacre of around 8000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995, was arrested in Belgrade on May 26^th, 2011. Whereas demonstrations in favor of and against the detention of Mladic began to form and international political leaders started to discuss the further procedures in treating his case, the European Public Health community looked to Belgrade in attention of the 2011 Deans’ and Directors’ Retreat, organized and hosted by the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER). As an intern at the Brussels office of the network for public health academia and as the current project coordinator of the working group on ethics, I was given the chance not only to attend and experience this important week in Belgrade but also to contribute to the conference. This high-level meeting was dedicated to public health education, practice and research within the European Region and aimed at evaluating previous activities in the field, as well as at discussing, planning and organising future pathways for coordinated actions in public health. The deans and directors of public health schools and honours members of ASPHER were joined in their debates by discussants and delegates from various prominent European institutions, such as the WHO Europe, DG Sanco, ECDC and the Serbian Ministry of Health, as well as by representatives from ASPHER’s partner organisations (WFPHA, EPHA, EHMA and EUPHA etc.). The topics that were dealt with ranged from accreditation of schools of public health, the development of core competencies, doctoral programmes and good practice in public health education to topics concerning global health challenges, ethical challenges and communication and advocacy for public health. The result was two and a half days of hot debates, critical questions and promising outcomes that further increased my understanding of and commitment to the cause of public health.

Being involved in the process of developing and shaping agendas for tackling the challenges in public health in Europe and further contributing towards shedding light on unsolved issues was an experience I did not have before to such extent. Thus I particularly appreciated the unique opportunity to present my bachelor thesis project to the most excellent academics in the field of Public Health. Both with respect to their academic professionalism and their outstanding personality, the participants of the Deans’ and Directors’ Retreat I became acquainted with, have truly left a lasting impression which I am sure will influence my further work in public health to a great extent.

Caroline Brall

Kosova Calling

After years of turmoil including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the NATO intervention in 1999, the NEWBORN sculpture in Prishtina marks the declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo just three years ago in 2008. Today, Kosovo is Europe’s youngest state and remains a country in transition. It is exemplary for the huge disparities that still persist in the European region as - contrary to the greying of populations in most of Europe - Kosovo has a very young population and has had consistently high birth rates over the last years. Along with the demography, also epidemiological patterns differ profoundly with infectious disease control as well as maternal and child health still being top priority. Poverty, particularly in rural areas, complements the picture in terms of public health.

As a 3^rd year bachelor student of European Public Health, it is precisely this peculiar setting which made me curious. I’m very grateful for the opportunity of enjoying a 4-month stay between February and June. My internship at the National Institute of Public Health in Prishtina involves the supervision and quality control of a UNFPA funded research project on elderly people in Kosovo. I’m glad to contribute to this pioneer project as the specific needs of elderly people have largely been neglected in health research and policy here so far. Besides work, I’ve had the time to travel around the region and see the major cities and attractions in Kosovo as well as going on a weekend trip to Belgrade. My plan for the coming two months is to further enjoy springtime in the Balkans and visit some more cities with Skopje, Tirana and Sarajevo being top on my list.

Christoph Schwarz (4 2011)