Dental students from around the world get ready to drive change

At a recent workshop held on the sidelines of the International Association of Dental Students (IADS) Congress in Kazakhstan, the FDI World Dental Federation and the IADS discussed practical ways to drive improvement in oral care in their home countries.

With the title “How to Implement an Advocacy Project”, the workshop was held as part of FDI’s Capacity Building Workshops, which, aligned with its Vision 2030 initiative, “make the case for upstream, systems-level change to achieve real and important improvements in oral health for all.” 

Recognising that dental students are often the drivers of changes in oral health awareness as they enter the dental profession, the workshop sought to give them the knowledge and tools they will need to drive this change, specifically providing them with practical skills for tackling risk factors such as sugar, tobacco, electronic nicotine delivery systems and physical inactivity, in their countries.

The attendees from the seventeen countries involved pledged, as part of the workshop, “to implement an advocacy campaign in their countries.”

“The dental students of today are the future leaders of our profession. I am so inspired by their conviction and passion to improve oral health in their countries. I stand behind each and every student pledging to advocate for improved oral health. I hope the skills you learned in this workshop will help you to continue being champions of oral health in your countries and beyond”, says Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya, FDI President. 

"I am confident that such workshops will foster the right advocacy climate and nurture a resilient young professional workforce. […] This will aid in raising the youth's self-awareness and thus confidence to turn their advocacy skills into practical solutions. When the youth become part of the reporting system, then system reforms start and we shepherd through a positive social change." Huthaifa Abdul Qader, Immediate Past President, International Association of Dental Students (IADS)

You can find the original story at “Students join forces and commit to oral health advocacy initiatives”