The 2023 AGM on October 27th was held as a hybrid event with YURA members invited either to attend an in-person meeting with a luncheon or “virtually,” via Zoom videoconference. Invitations were sent to all registered YURA members. Agendas, minutes and reports were posted on the Association’s web site one week in advance of the meeting.
Guest Speaker, Dr. Eileen de Villa – Address to the Membership
Dr. de Villa’s talk, delivered in her trademark calm, clear and empathetic style, focused on Public Health Challenges and Opportunities. She was forthright in her explanation of what public health encompasses and emphasized its focus on our collective safety and well-being. She was also open about the challenging environment in which public health decisions are made. She noted that practical and political considerations need to be addressed, and that her work involves monitoring and assessing myriad concerns among them, scientific discoveries, demographic factors, environmental threats, and vulnerable groups.
Dr. de Villa delineated the paradoxical nature of the type of preventative work that is at the heart of public health. Paradoxically the more successfully public health does its job, the more invisible it risks becoming and the more challenging it becomes to maintain visibility and the necessary resources. This can be seen in the way populations easily take for granted the widespread availability of safe drinking water and the safety of our food supply.
The COVID pandemic was a transformative moment, one Dr. de Villa called “apocalyptic” for its transformative impact on all of us. Dr. de Villa remains deeply concerned about the especially cruel way the pandemic exposed health disparities and inequities. Dr. de Villa underscored that through the pain and havoc of the pandemic, there have been strong examples of resilience, and of commitment to our collective well-being and shared humanity. She concluded her talk by engaging in a discussion of lessons to be learned and emphasized that organizations such as YURA have a role to play in strengthening connections and collective well-being.
The AGM Business Meeting
Following Dr. de Villa’s talk, which concluded with several interesting questions and answers, there was a half-hour lunch break before the annual business meeting of the Association was called into session by Co-President (non-academic), Steve Dranitsaris. A link to the AGM agenda, minutes of the 2022 AGM and 2022-2023 reports can be found below.
58 YURA members attended the Association’s business meeting portion of the AGM: 36 in-person and 22 online.