The Conference
Part of our vision for this year’s conference includes bringing in diverse perspectives on healthcare in the District of Columbia, including discussions of HIV/AIDS, materal health, mental health, and health equity. In April of 2018, GlobeMed at GWU had the opportunity to host our first Hilltop Conference. Hilltop Conferences are held by various GlobeMed chapters throughout the country to give students the chance to come together and discuss critical issues in public and global health.
GlobeMed at GWU’s conference was inspired by our location in the heart of Washington, DC, being surrounded by the very individuals and organizations that initiate and carry out change. Accordingly, our first conference, Capitol HillTop: Health Policy in the United States, followed the theme of healthcare policy. Our second conference focused on the theme of global healthcare, so our goal this year is to bring discussions of health equity back home, and provide a space to learn more about and discuss the public health issues that truly define the District.
In the past year, GlobeMed at GWU has grown. This year’s Capitol Hilltop Conference will reflect that growth by working with professors, speakers, organizations, and students from schools and disciplinaries across DC. Together, we hope to engage students in a series of discussions and activities in order to involve them - and our speakers - in the current health dialogue about the ways we can work to transform public health on a local level.
While there is immense progress being made in the field of global health today, we still have a long way to go. It is imperative to bring together students who care about creating change and connect them not only with each other but with the professionals that are driving forward progress and shaping the world of public health in DC. It is today’s students who will become tomorrow’s public health advocates, addressing the plethora of health issues that plague communities in DC. At GlobeMed at GWU, we are ready to start having those conversations.
