(Running title: Planetary Health Research for ECRs).

With the following objectives:

Introducing planetary health and its critical relevance for early career researchers (ECRs).

Highlighting opportunities to foster transdisciplinary research that addresses pressing planetary health challenges.

Exploring the contextual barriers and enablers to success in adopting planetary health research approaches.

DEC 3, 2023 | 4 PM | EGYPT PAVILION, BLUE ZONE

In collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Egypt, hosted an interactive session held in the Egypt Pavilion's Blue Zone in UAE.

Healthcare is undergoing profound transformations driven by artificial intelligence, ecological disruption, and changing social realities. While AI promises unprecedented advances in healthcare delivery, research, and education, it also raises critical questions about sustainability, cognitive outsourcing, ecological disruptions, and the future of human-centered care.

This two-day workshop explores the transdisciplinary intersection of Planetary Health (PH), Narrative Medicine (NM), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Participants will examine how emerging technologies influence health and well-being from the cellular to the cosmic scales, while reflecting on the importance of empathy, systems thinking, and ethical responsibility.

The workshop proposes a future-oriented framework that integrates contemporary scientific advances with heritage-based wisdom traditions for human and planetary flourishing in the age of AI.

Overall Workshop Objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the principles of Planetary Health & Narrative Medicine and their relevance as solutions-oriented paradigms in an AI world.

2. Critically examine the ecological, cognitive, and ethical implications of AI technologies on personal and planetary wellbeing.

3. Apply systems-based approaches to understand the interconnectedness between human health and environmental sustainability in the age of AI.

4. Analyze evidence-based research studies linking the cellular to cosmic interdependence, including the exposome, microbiome, and mitochondrial energy sciences. 

5. Evaluate heritage-based ethical frameworks such as Maat and Al-Mizan as potential pathways in restoring balance to human and planetary health systems.

6. Reflect on the enduring role of empathy, storytelling, and human connection in an increasingly automated healthcare landscape.

 Workshop Agenda 

DAY 1: Setting the Scene: Planetary Health, Narrative Medicine, and AI Intersections

Check-in & Icebreaker: 9:30-10 AM

Session 1 (10:00–11:00 AM): AI as a Tool for Planetary Health

Session 2 (11:00 AM–12:00 PM): Ecocidal Implications of AI in the Age of Sustainability. 

Session 3 (12:30–1:30 PM): The Paradox of AI and the Return of Narrative Medicine

Synthesis 1:30-2:00 PM

DAY 2: From Cellular to Cosmic Health: Restoring Balance in Human and Planetary Systems

Check-in & Icebreaker: 9:30-10 AM

Session 4 (10:00–11:00 AM): Interdependence Across Scales: Exposome Science, Microbiome and Mitochondria.

Session 5 (11:00 AM- 12:00 PM): Safeguarding Planetary Health & Heritage-based Ethics

Session 6 (12:30-1:30 PM): Mindset Matters for the health of people, place, and planet

Synthesis(1:30-2:00 PM)