Decolonising Global Health & Education: A conversation with Dr Seye Abimbola

About the event

The thematic Joint Strategic Framework on Higher Education and Science for Sustainable Development, in collaboration with Be-cause health present: Decolonising Education and Global Health, A conversation with Dr Seye Abimbola.  

Dr Abimbola is an ITM alumnus (2011) and Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney. He worked as Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Global Health and has published extensively on decolonisation. He also has a long track record of supporting institutions as they navigate decolonisation processes.

Decolonisation and its relationship with international cooperation have increasingly gained attention in higher education and research. Higher education and science institutions play a key role in the creation, legitimation and transfer of knowledge. The integration and adoption of decolonial perspectives and practices is important in the development of reciprocal, global partnerships among higher education and science institutions and between these institutions and other societal actors, as well as in their governance.  

During this event, we will explore key questions in the ongoing conversation about the institutional decolonisation of global health, equal partnerships and the decolonisation of knowledge and practices. We will share reflections and good practices on institutional decolonisation with a focus on higher education and global health. 

The open conversation will provide attendees with an opportunity to critically engage with the dynamics of power, history, and justice in higher education and science institutions, and to reflect on what meaningful change requires within and beyond our global health institutions. 

The event will bring together a diverse group of speakers and panelists, including: 

• Dr Seye Abimbola, Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney 

• Dr Özge Tunçalp, Executive Director, ITM 

• Yvon Englert, former rector of the ULB and lead expert on ARES's study on "Equal partnerships" 

• Adriana Moreno Cely, postdoctoral researcher at VUB  

• Prashanth Srinivas, Director, Institute of Public Health Bengaluru