2018 CoMO Global Conference in Singapore
/In March 2018, CoMO members came together in Singapore to attend the 7th CoMO Global Conference. 42 delegates from 27 organisations flew in from around the world to attend the two day conference, which focused on identifying ways that both our members and regions can be empowered. Since 2009 Patsy Schanbaum, President of The J.A.M.I.E. Group has had the honor of serving as America’s Regional Leader an area that covers North America to South America
The jam packed weekend saw:
Tailored workshops on fundraising and regional development
Presentations on Vaccine Updates and Fundraising Strategies from two expert guest speakers
Case studies from members and global project updates
An evening filled with old and new friends and even some karaoke!
Through the sharing of member stories, ideas, and information and resources, our conference delegates were able to discover new ways to develop both their own organisations and regions.
We opened the Global Conference with introductions from each organisation. Hearing from so many people reminded us of how indiscriminate meningitis is; from taking the lives of young children in Peru, South Africa and France, to leaving teenagers severely disabled in America and South Korea, we listened to our delegates share their accounts of how meningitis has affected, and continues to affect, their lives.
As a global organisation with 75 members from 34 countries, the majority of communications between our members occur digitally. Our Global Conferences provide our members with the opportunity to share innovative ideas and build new relationships. This helps our members to develop their own plans and increase the impact that they have both in their communities and internationally
Our final session was an opportunity for members to feedback on what the key challenges are in their regions and how they can work together to strengthen campaigns, and how CoMO can best support these activities. It is in sessions such as these that new areas for collaboration are identified and common themes are discovered.
Although our time together was short, we identified key priorities and goals that will enable CoMO to empower both our members and regions, and I believe that we are all now more inspired, united and ready to reduce the impact and incidence of meningitis worldwide.
