Discussions on project activities, participation in a conference and exchange of experiences and good practices were just some of the highlights of an intensive trip to Bergen attended by staff from the Centre for Sustainable Development. The visit to the Pandemic Centre at the University of Bergen (23-23.10.2023) took place within the framework of the NAWA intervention project ‘Increasing migrants’ access to vaccine information in the Tri-City’.
The Pandemic Centre, which is located in the Alrek Health Cluster at the University of Bergen in Norway, is involved in initiating interdisciplinary research activities and education to prevent and manage pandemics in the long term. The University of Bergen (UiB) is an internationally recognised research university with a focus on academic diversity and high quality research.
Elżbieta Czapka, PhD, coordinator of the International Cooperation programme at CZRUG, was a speaker at an interdisciplinary international course for doctoral students. She presented a lecture entitled “The Pandemic as seen from Poland”. Participants in the course included doctoral students from Chile, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Peru,Turkey, China and Malawi.
Afterwards, Elżbieta Czapka, PhD together with Jolanta Mrozek-Kwiatkowska, CZRUG project manager, attended a meeting with members of the ‘Health Ambassadors’ project team. The conversation was an opportunity to share experiences and good practices.
In Bergen, details of Prof. Esperanza Diaz and Marta-Johanne Svendsen’s arrival in Gdansk were also discussed. The main focus of the visit, which will take place in November, will be to hold a workshop.
Planning further project activities was also an important element.
On the last day of the visit, Dr Elżebieta Czapka attended the conference “Long-Term Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Society”, where she presented a poster “Increasing migrants’ access to information about vaccines in Tricity – an intervention study”. The researcher also participated in a panel debate “Lessons of the day and a view on Lessons learnt but not implemented: is there still time to improve?”.
Intervention grant
The visit to Bergen was organised as part of the NAWA intervention project “Increasing migrants’ access to vaccine information in the Tri-City”. The project addresses a significant social and civilisational problem with both global and regionally relevant implications. It focuses on access to vaccination knowledge among refugees, disparities in vaccination calendars, low enforcement of vaccination obligations, and the anti-vaccination movements’ growing activity. Sharing knowledge, asking questions and collectively addressing concerns about vaccination can influence a sense of collective responsibility regarding public health in Poland, which can benefit both immigrants and the Polish population.
You can read more about the project and the NAWA intervention grants on the project website.