Program Overview

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The Bergen International Conference on Hansen’s Disease 20 – 22 June

Tuesday, 20 June, 19:00-20:00

Wednesday, 21 June

09:00 Opening session

Greetings from Organizers

  • Margareth Hagen, Rector, University of Bergen

Greetings from Dignitaries

  • Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO (video)
  • Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (video)

Keynote speeches

  • Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman, The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination
  • Lorentz Irgens, Emeritus, Department of Global Health and Community Medicine, University of Bergen
  • Yuliati, Vice President, PerMaTa Indonesia

Statement by Organizers

  • Margareth Hagen, Rector, University of Bergen & Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador.
  • The Statement is read by Emmet Mc Cormack, Professor, University of Bergen

Greetings from the Minister

  • Ingvild Kjerkol, Minister of Health and Care Services, Norway

10:10 Stradivarius Mini Concert

  • Florian Schötz (1st vn), Pinchas Adt (2nd vn), Raphael Paratore (vc) - Goldmund Quartet members
  • Rino Yoshimoto (vn)

10:30 Coffee and Poster Exhibition

Theme: How to promote interruption of transmission

11:00 Session 1: Medical Challenges

Keynote Speech

  • “Interruption of transmission - a challenge” by Paul Fine, Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical medicine

Panel discussion with scientific perspectives

  • Moderator: Harald G. Wiker, Professor, University of Bergen
  • Liesbeth Mieras, Head of Medical Technical Department, until No Leprosy Remains
  • Paul Saunderson, Technical Advisor, American Leprosy Missions
  • Sundeep Chaitanya Vedithi, International Leprosy Association
  • Tore Godal, Global Health Advisor to Norway

12:20 Lunch and Poster Exhibition

13:50 Session 1: Medical Challenges (continued)

Panel discussion with practical perspectives

  • Moderator: Vivek Lal, Team Leader, Global Leprosy Program, WHO
  • Sudarsan Mandal, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India
  • Taye Letta, Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
  • Abdulaziz Ahmed Aden, Federal Ministry of Health and Public Services, Somalia
  • Sana Saleem, Director, Health Protection Agency, Ministry of Health, Maldives (online)

15:05 Coffee and Poster Exhibition

Theme: How to fight against stigma and discrimination

15:35 Session 2: Human Rights and Dignity

Keynote speech

  • “A disease, a human rights problem or something in-between: Why promises related to leprosy are seldom fulfilled”
    by Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members

Panel discussion with scientific perspectives

  • Moderator: Shigeki Sakamoto, Professor Emeritus of Kobe University, President of the Center for Human Rights Education and Training in Japan
  • Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director, Sasakawa Health Foundation
  • Geoff Warne, CEO, International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP)
  • Artur Custódio Moreira de Sousa, Volunteer, Morhan, Brazil
  • Pierre-Yves Thiebault, President, French Raoul Follereau Fondation

16:55 Highlights from DAY 1

  • Gottfried Greve, Vice Rector, University of Bergen

17:00 Stradivarius Mini Concert & Dinner

  • Hosted by Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination

19:30 Leprosy Museum Night Tour

Organized walks from Hotel Scandic and Hotel Ørnen at 19:30.

Thursday, 22 June 2023

09:00 Reflections of DAY 1

  • Harald G. Wiker, Professor, University of Bergen

09:05 Session 2: Human Rights and Dignity (continued)

Panel discussion with practical perspectives

  • Moderator: Jayashree P Kunju, Director, IDEA International
  • Taslima Akter, General Secretary, Bogura Federation, Bangladesh
  • Javahar Ram Paswan, Vice President, Association of People Affected by Leprosy, India
  • Brenda Silva de Menedez, MORHAN, Brazil
  • Woyneshet Urgessa Gutema, Executive Board Member, Ethiopian National Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy (ENAPAL) , Ethiopia

10:30 Coffee and Poster Exhibition

11:00 Special Session

  • “The Island: From Fact to Fiction” by Victoria Hislop, Author, UK

Theme: How historical preservation can contribute to zero leprosy

11:20 Session 3: History Preservation - Learning from the Past

Keynote speech:

  • Magnus Vollset, Associate professor, University of Bergen

Panel discussion with scientific perspectives:

  • Moderator: Morten Hammerborg, Professor, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
  • Lim Yong Long, Supervisor, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
  • Laurinda Rosa Maciel, Oswaldo Cruz Foundatin, Brazil
  • John Manton, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
  • Mesele Terecha, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Ethiopia

12:40 Lunch

13:40 Special Session

  • “My great grandfather, my mother, the documents, and me” by Abbi Patrix, Great grandson of GA Hansen, France

14:00 Session 3: History Preservation - Learning from the Past (continued)

Panel discussion with practical perspectives:

  • Moderator: Jose Manuel Amorós, Director General, Fontilles, Spain
  • Maria Rincon, Director of Medical Museum, Agua de Dios, Colombia
  • Charmaine Woodward, President, Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, USA
  • Arturo Cunanan, Representative, Culion Museum/ Medical Center Chief, Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital, Philippines
  • Cristina Nogueira, CEO, CultureAge (Rovisco Pais), Portugal

15:00 Closing Session

  • Closing Remarks: Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director, Sasakawa Health Foundation