scene ‘I'm a migrant; what about you?’ DAYA DEWFALL is a health professional, daughter, sister, wife, mum and very proud granny. She currently works in Public Health, having previously worked as a Staff Nurse in the ICU and PCC. During her time at the PCC, she took on and completed a master’s degree in Allergy from the University of Southampton in 2013. Prior to her career in nursing, she worked at a local fast food restaurant for 11 years - her first degree was in Hotel Management and Catering Technology.
‘The Plastic Brain’ Neurologist TREVELAYNE FALLER tells the audience how to be brainier. “The Plastic Brain” explores the ongoing research on the ability of the human brain to rewire itself if a neural pathway were to be disrupted, because of injury for example, when the brain would have to carve out an alternative neural pathway to continue carrying out an acquired behaviour. “The human brain is an extremely dynamic organ,” she explains. “It contains billions of neural pathways which connect and relay messages back and forth between multiple sub-structures. These neural connections are what allow us to move, think and feel as we do. Every time we think in a certain way, practice a specific task or feel a specific emotion, these neural pathways are also strengthened. For example, when learning a new behaviour, a new neural pathway is carved out in the brain. The more we repeat that behaviour, the stronger that neural connection becomes.”
“I have lived in many parts of the world; I was born in Ghana where I spent the first 10 years of my life, then moved to India. Almost 30 years ago, my path led me to beautiful Gibraltar. There is so much talk about migrants and immigrants, their struggles, and how lives are turned around in seconds. I was initially approached by Mark Montegriffo to take part in this year’s GibTalks and hey presto, I received an email from Julian thanking me for agreeing to take part. I wasn’t sure if I actually was at the time. Whilst a lot of my professional and private life involves communicating with people, I was still nervous about this public presentation. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to step out of my ‘comfort zone’ and plunge in.
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I have chosen to talk about my trajectory as a migrant; sharing my views and personal experiences in the hope of engaging the audience and illustrating that each of us is in some way a migrant, a traveller on a journey. My life certainly is fluid and remains in continuous movement. events, classic or modern. His GibTalks contribution starts from a ‘fateful day in May’ when he took a risk, as he explains: “Perhaps if I hadn’t taken that risk, I wouldn’t be doing this for a living and looking back at my journey so far and what else may come or not come. I am so glad I did. It is very important for me to get my message across to those unsure about taking the risk but - trust me - it is well worth taking it in the end.”
Scientists used to believe that our brains stopped developing once we reached adulthood and these neural pathways became hard-wired. However the good news is that research has shown that the brain retains its ability to alter itself well into adulthood. “Our brain is constantly updating and changing its responsiveness and connectivity, based on experience.” The purpose of Trevelayne’s talk is to make the concept of neuroplasticity accessible and explore the potential of utilising the brain’s capacity to rewire itself in order to find new ways to heal injured brains, or enhance the skill in healthy ones.
There are many moments that one feels foreign even in a place of familiarity and comfort, so being a national from another country or being of a certain colour certainly doesn’t make anyone less or more than what they are; we cannot put boundaries around people for their origin without looking at the richness and diversity of cultures and histories they bring to the world.
‘Impossible Is Nothing’ DAVID DIAZ is one of the main promoters of the renaissance of the Gibraltar Live Music Society and the presenter of a weekly podcast about local music, as well as an all-round music guru, ever-present at Gibraltar live music
He sums his journey under the Nike motto he borrows for the title of his speech: “The road has been tough and does come with its own bumps, crashes and a lack of belief but once you get going, you will arrive at the destination. When someone is born into a passion then it is just inevitable that somehow they will end up following their passion for a living. In May 2014 I took what I feel has been my biggest leap yet when I launched a podcast interviewing those local musicians I knew. Unemployment got the better of me, so what better way to overcome the boredom?” GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2018