by Sarah Edo
At the end of February, Munk One’s Global Health Lab from the fall’s Global Problem-Solving course had the opportunity to join Professor Kramarz and our lab’s TA on a three day trip to Washington, DC for the University of Maryland’s 7th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium.
Our first day began with a tour of the National Institutes of Health, a medical research agency composed of 27 Institutes and Centres dedicated to clinical research of rare medical conditions. It was great to learn how much care and detail goes into the hospital environment to ensure a comfortable experience for patients who contribute to such critical research.
The next day was the symposium at UMD. The keynote speaker, Shira Shafir, Director of Social Innovation and Impact at TOMs Shoes, explained the one-for-one model of social impact investment, and future projects being launched on issues related to maternal health, safe drinking water, and sight restoration.
We then attended a panel discussion on Social Entrepreneurs and International Development with speakers from the U.S. Department of State and the Unreasonable Institute. The panelists spoke about approaching hard global problems with both emotional and social intelligence. Next, we attended mini workshops on themes related to social problems and social change. Some of us went to a workshop called “Artist & Social Innovator: Social Change”. There, we heard other undergraduate students speak about their current projects on humanities-based interventions for issues like human trafficking and educational inequities. Next, we saw students from UMD participate in a fair showcasing their own social enterprise in hopes of making the final round of the Do Good Challenge competition. We used our ‘Do-Good Dollars’ to contribute to the project that delivered the best pitch and most innovative idea. The last portion of the symposium consisted of networking with speakers, students, alumni and other entrepreneurs.
On our last day we had the pleasure of being hosted by former Senior Manager of the World Bank and Munk School Senior Fellow, Paul Cadario. Here, we got to speak to Lead Health Economist at The World Bank, Abdo Yazbeck. Yazbeck spoke to us about his work-related experience in maternal health and inequality while also answering our questions on mReminder, our lab group’s project. He gave us advice on next steps: he encouraged us to strive for big impact; embrace our advantages as a younger and technologically-savvy generation; and, accept that sometimes failure is inevitable – though it is worth it in the end! We finished off our trip with some free time that we spent visiting the National Mall and Memorial Parks.
Overall, the trip was packed with new insights, invaluable experiences, and incredibly tasty food! As a first year student, the Munk One program has not only been an enriching experience at school, but abroad too. A huge thank you to Professor Kramarz, the Munk School of Global Affairs and the University of Toronto!
