by Rebecca Stoner, on behalf of the Malta Medical Students’ Association

This August, 8 students from the Malta Medical Students’ Association (the MMSA) made the long journey to Taipei, Taiwan to represent Malta in the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA) 63rd General Assembly August Meeting.

The Maltese delegates attended various workshops which focused on topics such as medical education, disaster risk management and mental health.  These informal learning settings are the perfect opportunity for students to discuss ideas and important topics, learn about global issues and are trained in how to advocate for them.  

They also acted as representatives in all sessions, including human rights and peace, reproductive health, medical education, public health and exchanges.  These sessions give students vital skills in their respective fields which they can then take back home with them and share with other students within the association. 

The theme this year was ‘Sustainability in the New Era’ and there were a number of seminars focusing on this topic.  Expert speakers from all over the world educated and discussed global topics, relevant to participants not only as student activists but also as future health care workers.  Also, fortunate to be in a country with such a unique culture, students were also given the opportunity to learn and practice different kinds of Chinese Medicine including acupuncture and moxibustion. 

2 Maltese projects were presented at the activities fair, were all countries are given a chance to display their national projects so that other may adopt them.  Furthermore, the delegation had the honour of representing all Maltese medical students during the plenary sessions which took place throughout the meeting.

This General Assembly was also a special one for the Maltese delegation because 2 members of our association contested for positions on the IFMSA Team of Officials.  It was also a momentous one because the MMSA announced their candidature to host the General assembly in Malta in March 2016.  Their bid will be presented in the next March Meeting in Turkey, and should we be elected, 1000 IFMSA members will be coming to our beautiful island in 2016 to take part in these productive and inspirational sessions, all organised by our medical students.  

These General Assemblies hosted internationally are the perfect example of students who are active and interested in making a positive change, through education and advocating for what they believe in.