The University of Guelph's iconic Begging Bear sculpture welcomed more than 160 delegates from 14 countries to the Global Development Symposium held May 6-9.
The symposium opened with a keynote address from Stephen Lewis, who urged participants to continue working to convince world leaders that human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked and that a coherent approach to all three areas is needed to solve the world's most urgent problems.
Audience members speak to Stephen Lewis following his keynote address on May 7.
Stephen Lewis with the symposium co-chairs: Dr. Elizabeth Stone, OVC dean (left) and Dr. Cate Dewey, Department of Population Medicine.
Dr. Andria Jones Bitton, Population Medicine, discusses "Community-driven research dissemination strategies in an Inuit community."
Retired OVC Prof. David Waltner-Toews, a leader the field of ecosystem approaches to health and founding president of Veterinarians Without Borders-Canada, was an invited speaker.
Dr. David Waltner-Toews discusses "Beyond Anxiety: Reinventing Development in an Out-of-Control World" to close the opening day session.
The keynote speaker Tuesday was Dr. John McDermott, a former OVC professor who has lived and worked in Africa for 25 years, and is now director of the Agricultural Research Program, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. McDermott's talk was titled "Agriculture, Food, Health and Security: View From a Rapidly Changing World."
The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) is a world leader in veterinary health care, learning and research. We work at the intersection of animal, human and ecosystem health: training future veterinarians and scientists, improving the health of our animal companions, ensuring the safety of the food we eat and protecting the environment that we all share. It's been that way since 1862.
We are dedicated to the advancement of veterinary and comparative medicine through teaching, research and service.
