Global South Arts and Health Unveils Inaugural Envoys
Yinka Olatunbosun
For the inaugural cohort of the Global South Arts and Health Envoys (2024 GSAH Envoys), participants were selected from 27 countries.
A selection based on their innovation, expertise, and leadership influence in Arts and Health, their experience and expertise span cultural production, healthcare practice, education, training, research, technological innovation, administrative policy, community engagement, and philanthropic activism. Their records of accomplishment extend across Africa, Asia, and South America, known as the Global South, and include the Global North when Envoys have ancestral affiliations to the Global South.
Hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds and broad professional careers, these 2024 GSAH Envoys are inspirational change-makers in different thematic areas related to good health and well-being: mental health, geriatric health, neuroscience, public health, maternal health, child health, health promotion, health education, health innovation, climate change and environmental health, as well as disability studies.
They also tackle wide-ranging topics such as decolonization, social justice, social innovation, inclusive and safe society, creative economy, natural disaster, violent extremism, displacement and migration, indigenous languages and cultural narratives.
In their respective fields and ways, each 2024 GSAH Envoy employs innovative solutions to address health-related crises at the local, national, regional, and global levels, supporting ethnic minorities, vulnerable groups, and marginalized communities. Most of them are passionate human rights and peace activists, championing causes related to climate change, gender equality, sexual reproductive health and rights, disability rights, child rights, and creative aging. They support different populations in their home countries or countries of residence through their Arts and Health initiatives; some of them collaborate with other professionals internationally to bring positive changes to human lives.
The populations positively impacted include persons with disabilities and suffering from health disparities; patients with infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and COVID-19; patients with chronic illnesses like cancer, stroke, psychopathology, and dementia; LGBTQI communities; refugees displaced by natural disasters, terrorism, and wars; victims of human trafficking, banditry, domestic violence, among many other factors that negatively affect human health and well-being.
The selected Envoys will attend the virtual inauguration of the Global South Arts and Health Envoy in January 2024, and those with similar areas of interest will host town hall meetings to present their works, share best practices, and collaborate on mutual projects.
The GSAH Envoys will have the opportunity to present their works as speakers and panellists at the Global South Arts and Health Week, a program co-led by the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship in collaboration with WHO-Jameel Arts and Health Lab, Open Mind Project, and other reputable institutions. The event is scheduled to take place in November 2024 in Doha, Qatar, where Envoys will receive awards in recognition of their leadership and influence in creating positive changes in their home countries and regions.
“The objective of the GSAH Envoy is to acknowledge the influence of individuals within their communities and to facilitate connections between professionals in the diaspora and those in the Global South. The resulting professional relationships will foster potential collaborations, exchange of knowledge, and transferable skills for the development of Arts in Health and creative therapies through education, research, innovation, activism, policy, philanthropy, and best practices,” said Kunle Adewale, Curator, Global Development Lead, Global South Arts in Health Week.
