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Ilona Selma Kickbusch (Munich, 1948), emeritus full professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and expert in global health, with a special interest in global health governance, will be granted an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Valencia (UV) this Friday March 24. The event, presided over by the rector of the academic institution, Mavi Mestre, will be in the assembly room of the historic building of La Nau, will begin at 11 a.m. and can be followed live on the channel https://www.uv.es/eventosuv/.
The recognition of Ilona Selma Kickbusch, who has had an outstanding role in the world of political science, sociology and health promotion, all with a feminist perspective, has been promoted by the UV as a result of “her undoubted leadership in the field of health promotion”, which was “recognised and synthesised” by the prestigious magazine The Lancet in its article “Ilona Kickbusch: reformadora de la salut mundial”.
In addition, the Honorary Doctrate, the highest distinction that the UV grants to a person for his/her career in the academic, scientific or cultural field, is based on Kickbusch’s “active collaboration” with UV teams in various lines of work such as health challenges with a gender perspective, health literacy in strategies for patient training and empowerment, and global health initiatives. José María Martín Moreno, full professor of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, will read the laudatio. Fabiola Maria Meco, professor of Civil Law, is the other godmother of the appointment.
Currently, Kickbusch is co-president of the World Health Summit Council, advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), vice president of the Gastein European Health Forum, founder and promoter of the Network of Young Leaders for Health, and member of the Advisory Council of Women in Global Health, among others. Since 2010, she has been director of the World Health Program of the University Institute of International Studies and Development, which she chairs.
Ilona Selma Kickbusch, graduate and PhD in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Constance (Germany), has been the main advisor for the Millennium Development Goals of the Pan American Health Organization and the main health policy advisor of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. He has worked in the Health Education area of the European Regional Office of the WHO and coordinated the first International Conference on Health Promotion in Ottawa, where the Ottawa Charter, key in Public Health, had a decisive role. She has also been director of Health Promotion, Education and Communication at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
Dr. Kickbush has received numerous awards and distinctions, among which the WHO Medal stands out for her role in the Ottawa Declaration, as well as Honorary Doctorates from the University of Labem (Czech Republic), the University of Girona, the Honorary Doctorate of the University of Gothenburg, and the Honorary Chair of the University of Charité in Berlin.
