QF/Wish Education City Speaker Series to Focus on COVID-19’s Impact on Mental Health

An international line-up of experts will focus on the global impact of COVID-19 on people’s mental health in an online edition of Qatar Foundation’s Education City Speaker Series next week, organized in collaboration with the World Innovation Summit for Health.

Health fears, social distancing guidelines, the need to self-isolate, and the widespread disruption to daily life caused by the pandemic are taking their toll on the mental wellbeing of people around the world. The Education City Speaker Series will explore the mental health challenges that coronavirus and the global lockdown it has forced continue to pose, and the support that needs to be provided to those struggling to cope.

The virtual interactive event, titled Global Perspectives: Mental Health in a COVID-19 World, will take place at 2pm on Wednesday, May 13, and will open up insights on this topic from Qatar and around the world, with its online audience being invited to put questions to the experts during the discussion.

Speakers will be Dr. Devora Kestel, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization; Dr. Sharifa Al-Emadi, Executive Director of Doha International Family Institute, a member of Qatar Foundation; Paola Barbarino, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Disease International; Paul Farmer, CEO of UK-based mental health charity MIND; Yasmin Mogahed, author and international public speaker; and Dr. Janice Cooper, Senior Project Advisor – Global Mental Health, The Carter Center.

Moderated by journalist and documentary-maker Mishal Husain, they will tackle topics including how families can safeguard their mental health during lockdown, the challenges that social distancing create for elderly and vulnerable members of society and their families, and what the pandemic means for the provision of mental health services both now and in the future.

Through its biennial Doha summits and year-round activities, WISH – QF’s global health initiative – brings together healthcare leaders, practitioners, and innovators in a combined effort to build a healthier world through innovation and collaboration. Central to WISH’s events are panel sessions where thought-leaders from its global community can advance the conversation about the future of healthcare, share knowledge, and unlock new insights.

Launched in 2018, the Education City Speaker Series has since become one of QF’s most popular platforms for dialogue, enabling its audience to both hear from and interact with expert speakers on the key topics shaping the world. Previous speakers have included UN leaders and climate change experts, athletes, entrepreneurs and innovators, film-makers and journalists, and His Excellency Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.

To watch and participate in this online edition of the Education City Speaker Series at 2pm next Wednesday, visit www.qf.org.qa/ecss/