Doha: The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), has announced that Anthony Kennedy Shriver will join the 2015 Summit in Doha as a keynote speaker to address mental health – and specifically the universal issue of integrating people with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) into our communities, relative to enhanced socialisation and competitive employment opportunities.
WISH inspires and diffuses healthcare innovation and best practice, remaining aligned with QF vision and mission to unlock human potential and underscore Qatar’s role as an emerging centre for healthcare innovation.
Shriver is Founder and Chairman of Best Buddies International, the non-profit organisation dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with IDD.
Founded in the US in 1989, Best Buddies has grown from one chapter to more than 1,700 middle and high schools and college chapters worldwide. Today, its eight formal programmes (Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e-Buddies, Jobs, Ambassadors, and Promoters) engage participants in all 50 states of the US and over 50 countries, positively impacting the lives of more than 800,000 people with and without disabilities.
Shriver said, “The delivery of enhanced healthcare practices and lifestyle enrichment that can make a difference to people with IDD is integral to WISH’s work regionally in Qatar and across the world.
“I am excited to join the WISH community and look forward to exploring how we can share our knowledge and work together to find innovative solutions that can make a difference to people’s lives.”
Professor Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair, WISH, and Director, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College of London, said, “As WISH and other initiatives propel us into a new era of global healthcare collaboration, some of the most exciting developments are taking place in the previously neglected area of mental health provision.
“Shriver is a dynamic, forward-thinking leader whose work has made a profound difference to hundreds of thousands of people with IDD. He has championed the case for greater economic and social inclusion with originality and we are excited to welcome him into the WISH community.”
Shriver is one of prominent speakers at the summit, where world experts will join an influential community of heads of state, government ministers, academics, clinicians, policymakers and business leaders to discuss innovative solutions to some of the most pressing global health challenges.
WISH will publish reports on delivering affordable cancer care; communicating complex health messages; diabetes; dementia; universal health coverage; mental health and wellbeing in children; and patient safety and maternal and newborn health. The Peninsula
