04/01/2026
🌍 Reflecting on the 4th Annual Online Health Geography Symposium (10–11 December 2025)
Under the umbrella of the International Geographical Union, the 4th Annual Online Health Geography Symposium highlighted the IGU’s strong commitment to early career researchers, inclusivity, and global collaboration.
The symposium was organised by the IGU Commission on Health and the Environment and chaired by Eva Pilot, Scientific Secretary of the Commission. Held fully online and free of charge, the event welcomed over 100 participants worldwide, creating a supportive, accessible space that reduced barriers and amplified emerging voices in health geography.
The programme opened with an inspiring keynote by Roger Frutos on Anthropogenic Planetary Alteration and Infectious Diseases, setting the tone for two days of rich exchange across 57 presentations covering planetary health, climate change, urban health, migration, gender, infectious diseases, and health geography.
A key moment for early career scholars was the publication discussion session with Susan Elliott, Editor of Social Science & Medicine and Wellbeing, Space and Society, who shared valuable insights into publishing, peer review, and building academic careers.
The symposium also celebrated emerging excellence during the Health Geography Award Session, chaired by Varun Goel, congratulating award winners Angelo Andi Petre and Abhishek Rao.
The event concluded with closing reflections by Rafael de Castro Catão, reinforcing the importance of openness, kindness, and international solidarity in advancing health geography research.
🙏 Thank you to our Organising Team
A special thank you to the dedicated organising committee whose collaborative spirit made this event possible:
Alexandra Cioclu, Arindam Mondal, Asraful Alam, Cazacu Cristian, Eva Pilot, Debaroti Das, Haokun Liu, Manyu Amarasinghe, Mariana Andreotti Dias, Marta Rodeschini, Matthew Hobbs, Md Areful Hoque, Narendra Kumar, Oluwaseun Ipede, Oluwasegun T. Adetunde, Priyanka Jha, Phoebe Eggleton, Sejal Gharde, Shahnaz Basheer, Tiago Nelva Mesquita, Varun Goel, and Zainul Abedin.
👏 The IGU is proud to support initiatives like this that empower early career researchers, foster inclusive scholarly spaces, and strengthen global dialogue on health, place, and planetary futures.
