The Premise of Change
Up to this day, on May 14th 2018, 7 622 110 000 people are walking on this Earth. They all have dreams, hopes and ambitions. They all have a mind of their own, different from all.
I am one of this very people with a distinct story, a mind of her own, her own set of ambitions and dreams.
My name is Palina Piankova and I was born in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, two years after the USSR collapsed leaving its people in a major climate of political instability and economic chaos. This brought my parents and my little self to Montreal, Canada a couple of years later. I was raised and educated here, provided with a new set of opportunities at every turn which I tried to make the most of.
I never left too far behind my Belarus heritage. Grateful for integrating a multicultural milieu in Montreal, it has allowed me to go to Russian school for 13 years of my life in addition to following the regular curriculum. It has allowed me to learn French and English for which I truly will be forever grateful.
I completed my science education with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, at McGill University and I am currently undertaking a Master of Science in Experimental Medicine. However, just now can I truly say that I am beginning to understand the extent of resource and knowledge inequality in the world.
The access to basic care is disparate across regions of the globe and limited by socioeconomic status. Access to basic vaccines and pharmaceuticals capable of a complete eradication of entire disease strains that have stained our worldwide history should be universalized. And what about investments in the fields of infectious, rare diseases and parasitology? Little resources are allocated to these fields for research purposes constraining the scientific community to little.
As you would have guessed, my interests and expertise lie within SDG 3 and SDG 4. I am interested in working on the premise of universalized health care access across the globe. I am interested in emphasizing the importance of translational science, efficient science communication between researchers and, strengthening the link between researchers and the general population. I want to contribute in working against mass scientific disinformation. I believe in the idea of quality education acting as a stepping stone towards global awareness, worldwide cooperation and healthcare universalization.
7 622 110 000 people are walking on this Earth. They all have dreams, hopes and ambitions. They all have a mind of their own, different from all. Yet, they all share the same basic needs: water, food, education and healthcare.
At the end of May, UNLEASH 2018 will bring together 1000 people from different backgrounds, with different stories. 0.0013% of the worldwide population will join their forces for a week to discuss, exchange and collaborate. They will try to do it on the behalf of 7 622 110 000 people, and work towards a common goal, the goal of global sustainability in all domains for everyone, everywhere.
Dreams lead to ambition, and strength relies on commonalities. This is the premise of change.
