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Theme Event | Disaster & Crisis Management The Theme event for EMR was divided into 4 separate practical workshops, which was a very nice step towards the increased interactivity of theme events universally. 4 workshops were precisely selected to satisfy the needs of 92 participants. Appointment of external speakers was done in precise and close coordination by the OC and the LRP. I highly appreciate collaboration and communication with the OC representatives, especially EMR regional director and the OC theme event coordinator. Following workshops were conducted, with respective facilitators: 1. Combat life saver and Tactical combat casualty care training by Mr. Malik Wehbi, Tactical combat casualty care trainer in Lebanese Civil Defense; 2. Management of dead bodies in disaster situations by Ms. Megan Bassendale - National Forensic Advisor and Ms. Lea Bassil - Forensic Advisor in Lebanese International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); 3. Obstacles facing refugees by Dr. Jakob Arhem Public health officer of UNHRC; 4. Role of Social Media by Mr.Ralph Aoun - Digital Entrepreneur and Blogger and Mr. AbdelHalim Abdallah of MENA Digital Communications Officer of MSF. Overall, the idea of having parallel theme event workshops instead of panel talk was very efficient. Topics were introduced in a more personal and specific way, participants had a possibility to engage with speakers and also try out some practical skills. The feedback from participants about this structure was very positive (compared to one panel talk or lecture), therefore I would recommend to keep (or at least include) such composition of theme events for future IFMSA meetings too.
Participants of the Theme Event at the EMR Regional Meeting 2017