In conversation with Karel Gyselinck and Esther Jurgens

FESTMIH Chair, Karel Gyselinck and FESTMIH Coordinator, Esther Jurgens

This week we spoke to two key representatives from the Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH) which jointly organises ECTMIH every two years with each host country.

Karel Gyselinck is the Chair of FESTMIH; he is a medical doctor and co-ordinator of the Health Unit at Enabel, the Belgian development agency. 

Esther Jurgens is the Coordinator of FESTMIH; she is a medical sociologist, offering consultancy services in global health, in addition to her roles at FESTMIH, the Dutch Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health, and the University of Maastricht. 

Both Karel and Esther have a long history of developing and delivering ECTMIH editions over many years; here are some of their reflections on the power and potential of ECTMIH 2023, building on previous editions, to encourage cross-fertilisation of ideas, new perspectives, and innovation in learning:

We also asked Karel and Esther to talk about the rationale for a European-based congress on tropical medicine and global health, and the specific focus and insights such a congress is designed to bring. Here's what they had to say:

Finally, we asked Karel and Esther to reflect on the planetary health focus of ECTMIH 2023 and to share their vision for this year's Congress from that perspective. Here are their thoughts: