IFMSA GA August 2008

Dear fellow medical students,

The Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) is proud to open applications for the Australian delegation to attend the 57th March Meeting of the General Assembly (GA) of the International Federation of Medical Students' Association (IFMSA). This year's March Meeting will be held in Monterrey, Mexico from the 1st to the 7th of March, 2008.

The IFMSA, as the student WHO and the largest student organization in the world, is dedicated to the work of helping the world's poorest through projects, initiatives and other endeavours. It is the goal of the IFMSA to help produce future doctors who are culturally aware, internationally minded and have a broad understanding of the consequences of international health.

The IFMSA GA, held last year in Mandurah, Western Australia provides medical students from all over the world with the opportunity to meet and discuss issues of international relevance, ranging from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the influence of globalization on international medical curricula. As many Australian students can now attest, the IFMSA GA, under its various themes (Public Health, Reproductive Health and AIDS, Rights and Peace), provides a unique forum for future doctors to participate and engage in international health on the world stage.

In Monterrey, the theme for this March Meeting will be "Migration and Health: demographics and its impact on the 21st century", and will cover the broad range of topics from the influence of migration on health, refugee health and the issues which they face in their journeys to internally displaced people who move within borders of countries.

AMSA is allowed to send a total of 14 delegates to the August Meeting. We are hoping to select the delegation as early as possible. This is because of the cost of tickets, and the cost of early registration (which closes in mid November)

Applicants need to do the following things to apply:
1. Read the Selection Criteria
2. Send a CV (max 2 pages) and a letter of interest (maximum 1 page) via email, mail or fax to the AMSA International Officer (contact details below).

The selection criteria for the delegation will be placed on the AMSA website (www.amsa.org.au), and will be based upon the applicant's interest in international health and their involvement in medical student and extra-curricular activities.

Registration: At the time of writing, the cost of registration has not been set by the Organising Committee of the General Assembly. Conservative estimates around A$400

Flights: the cost of flights during peak-time to Mexico will range from $2000-$2500.

AMSA is aware that this is quite expensive, especially for medical students. AMSA will provide assistance (letters of support, and funding opportunities) in the sponsorship of students to make the trip to Canterbury. Although we cannot promise that all the money will be provided through sponsorship, we are confident that with AMSA's assistance, delegates will be able to get the majority of funds needed to get to the GA..

We are looking to select our delegation as soon as possible, in order to allow delegates to organize their finances accordingly. The due date for applications is the 1st of November at 5pm AEST. The final selection of delegates will be made over the following days with successful applicants known by the 15th of November. Please make sure you will be in contact for this period of time, otherwise the organizers may need to select other applicants.

If you have any questions regarding the process, selection, or funding queries, please don't hesitate to contact Arnab Ghosh, the AMSA International Officer (contact details below), and I will answer all your queries as soon as possible.

I would strongly encourage everyone interested in international/global health to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of the General Assembly. With over 600 students from 92 countries attending, the GA is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience global health and international collaboration on a grand scale.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Arnab Ghosh
International Officer
Australian Medical Students' Association

AMSA National Office
293 Royal Pde
Parkville 3052
Victoria

PO Box 917
Parkville 3052
Victoria

T +613 9347 7303
F +613 9347 7103
M +61 438 093 482
E international@amsa.org.au
W www.amsa.org.au

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