It took 24 hours to get from New York, where I live, to Singapore. Not the easiest trip, to say the least. It was a long time to remain in the same position, but the people in the plane were very nice and polite, and I had the feeling I was going to a fine place.
At the beginning of May, together with my colleagues Sandra Mullin, Yvette Chang (both from WLF), and Jayson Miller from the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), I went to Singapore to facilitate a five-day Union workshop on mass media and communications. Twenty-seven public health professionals participated in our course, coming from governmental organizations and NGOs in India, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Despite cultural differences, some language barriers (the workshop was conducted in English), varied levels of experience in communications, and of course, jet lag, by the end of the first day all shyness was already forgotten in the class.
Sandra and Yvette led the presentations, while I helped with facilitation and group discussions. Jayson provided excellent support. We also had two wonderful guest speakers: Salma Khalik, a journalist from The Straits Times, and Pearlyn Tseng from the Singapore Health Promotion Board.
We were very productive, too. I think the participants learned a lot about how to work with the media, how to develop a strategic plan, and how to drum up support for a cause, but I also learned a lot—about national projects and about community public health programs in TB, HIV and other public health issues around the world.
In addition to basic media communications skills, we also got instruction in yoga, thanks to two participants from India, Nalini Krishnan and Chitra Mahesh. While I am a beginner to yoga, I learned many new ways to stretch my muscles (and fight jet lag!).
At the end of the workshop, each participant prepared a communication plan for his or her organization. These documents incorporated their learnings and were quite impressive. We hope these will be useful for their organizations.
Finally, I've never eaten such delicious food. In any place, a restaurant or on the street, any time of the day you could find fresh food from Malaysia, China and India.
So, now we are back home (after another 24
hours of travel :) ), very satisfied, full of
ideas, and with 27 new FRIENDS!
Alexey
Kotov
Research and Training Specialist
World Lung Foundation