In November we convened our Annual Network Meeting in Johannesburg, hosted by the SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (PRICELESS SA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. This was our 7th annual meeting as a network. We brought together our research partners from Brazil, Cameroon, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom to explore the critical topics of urban health, physical activity, diet, and climate change. See day one, day two, and day three reflections.
South Africa’s Apartheid past
We started the day with a sobering and insightful trip to the Apartheid Museum to learn more about the injustices in South Africa’s past, the people’s organisation and upheavals for their rights and how all these have shaped the country today.
GDAR’s evolution
The fourth, and final, day of the Annual Network meeting revolved around the question, “How has our network evolved in terms of collaboration, impact, and structure, and what lessons can we draw from this evolution to shape our post-2025 action plan?” Tiago Canelas (University of Cambridge) and Feyi Wayas (University of Cape Town) led us through a session on different versions that the GDAR Network could take, including a network of networks and a community of practice. Network members got the chance to imagine what these possible futures might be, and what would be needed to make them happen. Overall, there was a strong desire across members to continue GDAR’s work beyond its current funding cycle, with continued workshopping on how this will look.
The day concluded with a panel discussion featuring PIs from each GDAR site, who reflected on their experiences, the adoption of new methodologies, and the value of fostering transdisciplinary connections. It’s not always easy in a large network but, as aptly summed up by Vicki Lambert (University of Cape Town), “the challenges are opportunities.”
It was fantastic to get a global network of researchers in the same room to work together and build on relationships. In particular we enjoyed the quality Global South-South collaboration that does not often happen in traditional global health networks. We look forward to all that comes from this meeting as we move into the next phase of GDAR. A huge thank you needs to be extended to the Annual Network Meeting working group for putting on a wonderful event, particularly to Aarika Sing at PRICELESS SA and Kenneth Anujuo at the University of Cambridge for steering the ship, and to the catering services and IT team that kept us going through all the meeting days.
