MSU launches Diversity and Ethno-Cultural Film Fest project
KOTA KINABALU: Migration and integration into indigenous communities have resulted in a culturally diverse South East Asia.
Supporting a coordinated approach to advocating the International Organization for Migration (IOM) policies on migrant workers’ human rights as well as the United Nations’ Global Compact for Migration (GCM) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is the Migrant Workers Health Congress (MigWHealth) organized by Management and Science University (MSU) with North South Initiative (NSI).
Themed ‘Towards Equitable Health Accessibility Initiatives’, MigWHealth seeks to raise more than awareness into the state of migrant workers’ health.
Its objectives include channeling research into migrant workers’ health, building capability as well as opportunity for research into migrant workers health, and increasing collaborations with Health Equity Initiatives (HEIs) and NGOs in research into migrant workers’ health.
Remarked MSU President Professor Tan Sri Wira Dr Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid in welcoming participants to MigWHealth 2018, “United Nations statistics show one in every thirty is a migrant, and the current 258 million migrants approximate to 3.5 percent of the world population. Sixty million are forcibly displaced. Migration is a human phenomenon and a global issue, and an area to which we can contribute our perspective through the research ecosystem at MSU.
“Our effort in hosting MigWHealth 2018 is a manifestation of our aspiration to be a leading transformative global university, engaging the society as a caring institution, delivering relevant translational research and a holistic education to create a better future for all.”
MSU MigWHealth 2018 presented six tracts encompassing Wellness and Quality of Life, Health Management and Accessibility, Mental Health and Work Related Life Stress, Communicable Diseases and Non-Communicable Diseases, Women’s and Children’s Health, and Migrant Health Education.
Its launch at MSU Performing Arts Theatre saw health clinics provided to migrants as well as visitors, supported by MSU Medical and Health Sciences cluster comprising MSU International Medical School, MSU School of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and MSU Medical Centre.
Launched in conjunction with the MigWHealth Congress 2018 was the DEFF Project, a video documentary competition open to Asean university students.
Adapted from the Freedom Film Fest Network, the Diversity and Ethno-Cultural Film Fest (DEFF) Project is an MSU Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP) promoting a caring institution, ensuring equal opportunities for advancement in life irrespective of socioeconomic standing, besides highlighting the uniqueness of the Asean community.
Established as a flagship Asean community engagement programme, the MSU DEFF Project aims to identify social justice gaps and highlight issues among community’s marginalized by harnessing the power of media exposure to aid the plight of minority migrants.
Winning entries from the DEFF Project will be screened at the next MigWHealth Congress in December 2019.
In developing a knowledge database and establishing a research reference point for Asean collaborators and research into migrant workers’ health, MigWHealth seeks also to maximize research capacity by preventing overlaps.
Scientifically and ethically collected data on migrant workers’ health will be peerreviewed for validation through research articles bound for ISI and Scopus-indexed journals.
MigWHealth 2018 also featured a workshop for students on writing without plagiarism and copyright infringement.
The programme by MSU Research Management Centre (RMC) counted co-organizers International Relief and Development Inc. (IRD) Blumont USA, United Nations University – International Institute of Global Health (UNU-IIGH), All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).
MigWHealth 2018 sponsors were MSU Foundation, MSU Eye Centre, MSU Medical Centre, International Vision and Eyecare Alliance, and Alcon Novartis.
Steeped in a culture of research and innovation as well as social entrepreneurship, technology driven MSU comprises the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, the Faculty of Business Management & Professional Studies, the Faculty of Information Sciences & Engineering, the International Medical School, the School of Pharmacy, the School of Education & Social Sciences, the School of Hospitality & Creative Arts, the Post Graduate Centre and the Centre for Fundamental Studies.
For more information on the programme offered at MSU, please call 03-5521 6868, email enquiry@msu.edu.my or visit www.msu.edu.my