Hello! The following blog will be used to document our experiences as students in the 2013 Kent State University College of Public Health/College of Nursing Global Immersion course in Geneva, Switzerland. I hope that through this blog, I can provide highlights of our two-week trip and share the many exciting things we will be seeing and doing.

Each year, a group of nursing and public health undergraduate and graduate students from Kent State University travel to Geneva to attend the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHA is considered the "decision-making body" of the WHO and is attended by delegates from each of its 194 Member States. As students, we have the opportunity to attend both plenary and breakout sessions at the assembly and to learn more about the priorities and policies that are established by the WHO related to major global public health issues. For more information about the WHO and the World Health Assembly, check out their website: http://www.who.int/en/ and http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2013/wha66/en/index.html

In addition to our time spent at the WHO, we will also have the opportunity to visit other major international organizations dedicated to global public health. Included in our trip will be visits to the International AIDS Society, the World Council of Churches (who is sponsoring our visit to the WHA), the International Red Cross, the International Council of Nurses, Doctor's Without Borders and others.

And it won't be all work and no play!  We will also have free time to spend in Geneva, as well as a trip into the alps - where we will visit Mont Blanc (Europe's highest peak), a visit to Nyon, France, and a beautiful day trip to Paris, France!

We are all scheduled to arrive in Geneva by Saturday, May 18th. I hope to update this blog daily during our trip, so please stop back! I'm looking forward to sharing this adventure with you!

Au revoir,
Diana :)