Chapter Showcase: Dartmouth’s Health, Human Rights, and Environment Panel
By Elizabeth Richey (Friday, May 28, 2010)
DMS student Emma Wright, Thayer professor Daniel Lynch and NGO co-founder Deborah Peterson discussed their experiences on Tuesday. (Ashley Mitchell/The Dartmouth)
The other night, our PHR chapter at Dartmouth Medical School held a panel discussion to highlight the linkages between human rights, global health and the environment. The panel was diverse: Dartmouth Medical School student and former Peace Corps volunteer Emma Wright, Tibet-based NGO The Tendel Group co-founder Deborah Peterson, and Professor Daniel Lynch of the Thayer School of Engineering.
Our panelists were very engaging — we heard about solar cookers, schools, and community collaboration in Tibet, irrigation, sanitation, desertification, and maternal and child health in Mali, and the responsibilities of professionals to address human rights and the foundational importance of water and natural resources to the provision of these rights. The panel was followed by a lively discussion exploring the role that physicians have in promoting environmental sustainability and the opportunities and challenges of working with communities around the globe.
The response was wonderful from the mixed audience of about 50 people, mostly from the medical school and undergraduate college. We displayed copies of recent PHR reports that the national office provided, which helped snag several new interested students. And not only did we put together a great event, we were excited to see the event covered on the front paper of the Dartmouth College daily newspaper the next morning!
