An interactive videoconference and discussion—“The Coming Avian Flu Pandemic: Its Scope and Consequences on a Global Society”—was held at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) on 3 November 2005. It was the first collaborative event in a series between the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), FDU and the United Nations Association of the United States of America. The partnership seeks to develop a higher education outreach project, using videoconferencing as a communications and learning tool.
The panel focused on the some of the “practicalities” faced in the advent of an avian flu outbreak. It explored the uncertainties that have remained on the spread of the virus, including global preparedness, and discussed the need for a worldwide pandemic containment and eradication strategy. What emerged from the videoconference was a deeper understanding of the best practices in dealing with the pandemic and the necessity for knowledge-sharing among policy makers, universities and the public in order to prevent and contain the influenza virus.
Participants from the United Nations included, Richard Alderslade, Senior External Relations Officer, World Health Organization; moderator Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the Civil Society Service of the DPI Outreach Division; and Russell Taylor, editor of the UN Chronicle magazine, Educational Outreach Section. Ittiporn Boonpracong, Minister Counselor of the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations, was also a panellist, and Donald Zimmerman, Executive Director of the FDU Center for Healthcare Management Studies, served as host and facilitator. In addition to the audience at FDU, those at Western Michigan State University, Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, and World Vision International in California helped broaden the discussion through a question-and-answer session.
Fairleigh Dickinson University has been associated with the United Nations since 1945 and that relationship has deepened recently through partnerships with the Ambassador’s Club at the United Nations and the UN Pathways Program. Each semester several ambassadors and diplomats visit FDU for lectures and discussions with students.
In 2002, FDU became one of only three universities in the United States to be associated with DPI as a non-governmental organization, bringing a wealth of programming and special access to the University’s faculty and students. Future events will expand the interactive videoconference broadcasts from the United Nations via FDU to include colleges and universities nationwide and internationally.
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