By Chisomo Phiri
Rodrick Sambakunsi, a Science Communication and Community Engagement and involvement specialist at Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme (MLW) has been selected as a winner in the 2023 Falling Walls Science Summit to be held in Berlin from November 7 to to 9,2023.
At the summit, Rodrick who is among 20 winners is expected to interact and collaborate with globa leaders for Malawi’s better future.
In an interview,Rodrick said the project that has made him to win the summit is the one he is leading in the country called One for All, All for One.
This is a vaccine engagement project that has developed vaccine engagement resources, a comic book, an animation, and radio plays in collaboration with artists, students, young mothers, health surveillance assistants, religious leaders, local leaders, the youth, and researchers.
The project seeks to promote dialogue on vaccines and vaccine research.
“I am so excited to be selected as a winner! This recognition underscores MLW’s commitment in championing positive change in the way we do community engagement and involvement in health research,” he said.
He then dedicated the summit win to all the people that have been working with him on his project since 2019.
According to Sambakunsi,the 20 winners that have been selected are from a total of 207 submission.
To shade more light on the summit selection process, Tahabiso Mashaba,a member of the Engage Advisory Board and the co-founder and CEO of the Hands GSSE said: “The shortlisted participants are doing life-changing research and I am honoured to be part of the team that was tasked with sieving the very best from the best.
“The review process was both engaging and challenging, more so as there is a thin line between having a great reach, science communication and science engagement.”
Simply put,the Falling Walls Science Summit is a prestigious three day gathering that pools together the brightest minds in in science, politics, business and the media to explore ground-breaking research and foster collaborative solutions to challenges facing the world today.
Since 2018, every year, organisations and individuals active in Science Engagement are called upon to submit their projects or initiatives.
The best submissions annually are selected as Winners and invited to present their Science Engagement projects on stage in Berlin.
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