International Federation of Medical Students' Association (IFMSA) Conferences
- IFMSA General Assemblies (GA)
- IFMSA Asia Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM)
- IFMSA Youth Pre-World Health Assembly (WHA) Workshop
Click HERE for to find out more about the personal experiences from our medical students
IFMSA General Assemblies
IFMSA General Assemblies are among the biggest youth-led events around the world. Held twice a year – once in March, once in August – they are attended by over 800 medical students from 100+ countries! Host countries are elected one year prior to the meeting by the National Member Organizations (NMOs) of the Federation, giving the organization committee plenty of time to put together the optimal settings for medical students to learn, discuss, meet and exchange.
The IFMSAs General Assemblies hope to inspire the next generation of future physicians to become leaders and advocates through the exchange of ideas, networking and learning from the various programming sessions. They feature namely: meetings of each Standing Committee; governance and decision-making sessions; training opportunities for self-skills development; inspiring activities and projects presentations. The executive board is elected at the March Meeting, while the rest of the Team of Officials and the members of the Supervising Council are elected at August Meeting.
IFMSA Asia Pacific Region Meeting
The Regional Meetings take place every year in each IFMSA Region and are hosted by at least one NMO from the respective region. The candidatures are voted by the NMOs of the Region, and the respective Regional Director is in charge of providing full support to the OC, and to develop the content of the sessions, together with the Regional Teams.
The registration systems are announced by the Organizing Committees on the IFMSA Servers; the number of participants, as well as other details such as dates, venues etc are informed by the Organizing Committee as well. Just like the General Assemblies, the Regional Meetings are usually preceded by a pre-Regional Meeting, which are 3 days of workshops that go along with the specific needs and priorities of the regions.
IFMSA Youth Pre-World Health Assembly (WHA) Workshop
Since 1969, our global network of 1.3 million medical students from 122 countries has constructively engaged with the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure active youth participation and engagement in global health governance. The most significant opportunity for engagement is the World Health Assembly, the premier arena for global health discussions between member states and civil society.
As global health governance is a complex field, there is a need to provide high-quality training to youth, to strengthen their health advocacy efforts as they endeavor to represent the youth voice. The Youth Pre-World Health Assembly (Youth PreWHA) does exactly this. Held over 5 days prior to the World Health Assembly (WHA), it is a unique opportunity for 50 youth health advocates from all over the world to develop skills, gain knowledge, and contribute to collective advocacy.
The Youth PreWHA revolves around analyzing and exploring contemporary debates pertinent to the issues tabled in the agenda for the WHA. We also develop the necessary soft skills to be successful advocates in the global health arena. This allows participants to be critical thinkers and influential advocates at the WHA.
Hundreds of our students have participated in the PreWHA and have taken up positions as leaders in their respective fields. They have also joined civil and foreign service, taken up active roles in their national professional associations, and joined various NGOs and international organizations. Their impact on global health is inspiring and it is a privilege to be a part of their journey.
Our Experiences...
IFMSA March General Assembly 2016
The IFMSA March Meeting 2016 was the 2nd year that Singapore sent a delegation to the IFMSA GA. Being relatively new to the organisation, it was an eye-opening experience for all of us. IFMSA is the one of the largest youth organisations worldwide, and the March Meeting saw the coming together of medical students from all over the globe to share ideas and push forward initiatives, as wells as to gain new skills thrugh training sessions and new perspective on global health.
The theme of the event was: The Past: “Millennium Developmental Goals”, The Present: “Sustainable Developmental Goals- Changing the Way We Change. The goal was to learn from the strengths and weaknesses in the MDGs, and considering implementation of SDGs to improve heal outcomes of populations around the world. The conference included activities ranging from training sessions, joint sessions, small working groups and different standing committee sessions. The event was a humbling experience as the scale of the event overwhelmed us where so many like-minded medical students from all over the world were congregated to discuss on healthcare issues globally. We saw the passion and energy that the medical students have in their projects and initiatives, which inspired us to do more back in Singapore. There were also countless opportunities to get to know other medical students, from social programmes such as the cultural night, exchanges fair or joint sessions, and we got to experience the international diversity of the GA. The trip was an insightful and enriching experience, and we look forward to future GAs and establishing Singapore’s position in IFMSA.
Bryan Lee & Dexter Sia, Year 2
IFMSA Asia Pacific Regional Meeting 2016
APRM Thailand 2016 was an amazing experience, filled with eye-opening and intriguing moments. In just a few short days, we've gotten to know the other delegates, and learned about each other’s medical education systems, beliefs and healthcare scenes. Aside from that, we've had time to explore the various issues that each of the standing committees discuss and focus on, gaining new insights and perspectives that have broadened our views. The theme events, centred on the aspect of resource allocation in healthcare, also gave us food for thought in our future practice as doctors. When we're not busy with the more academic aspect of the conference, our time was spent taking in the sights and delights that our wonderful hosts had to offer. Our Thai friends were very warm in their welcome to us, and made sure that we were well taken care of during our stay. One of the most memorable moments was the cultural night, before the end of the conference. Delegates from the representative countries displayed through dance, song and food the rich heritage behind their different cultural backgrounds, as we socialised with them before we bade our goodbyes the next day. Truly, it was an irreplaceable experience and overall unforgettable 5 days in Thailand.
Eugene Koh, Year 3