Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We, the South Florida community, go the extra mile to reach children and families wherever they need us – down the street, across the region or around the globe.  Bridging the NSU Interdisciplinary Scientific Summits with the Fort Lauderdale Country Club the award winning Fore Kids: Saving Lives Charity Golf Classic has proven a highly successful combination by all measures.  

We live in a world in which borders are bridging. As you are well aware, children’s health is a global problem that requires global conceptualization and interventions.  With that in mind, the Institute for Child Health Policy at Nova Southeastern University is honored to host the 2008 International Child Health Forum where experts from the Pan American Health Organization, United Nations and World Health Organizations will share their knowledge from research, as well as real experiences in the fields of medicine, mental health, and politics.  Our keynote speaker is the World Health Organization Assistant Director General Howard Zucker MD JD.

Participants will be offered the rare opportunity to directly take part in promoting standards reflective of the International Pediatric Congress Global Health Ministerial Declaration in the spirit of the Olympic ideals. To address the goal of examining and sharing best practices, the International Child Health Forum will serve to foster global partnerships, collaborations, and alliances by providing platforms to encourage communications between participants.  NSU Office of Information Technology will provide special videoconferencing capabilities, live continuous Webinar broadcasting of the forum and PODcast made available on the internet thus transforming the forum into a world of global learning. 

Rapid socioeconomic, demographic, and technological changes have led to an epidemic of childhood health problems worldwide, including obesity and diabetes, emerging viral threats, and malnourishment. It is vital at this moment in time to acknowledge our neighbors, in cities, states, and countries, to identify our similarities and learn from our differences.     

On behalf of the planning committee, I would like to express our excitement in being able to take part in this moment in history, which will transform and advance the way children’s health concerns are understood, investigated, and remedied.

Funds generated from the Fourth Annual Fore the Kids: Saving Lives Charity Golf Classic on Friday, May 2, 2008 will serve to support and add excitement to this superior event.  Looking forward to seeing you on the links at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club!

Sincerely,

Deborah Ann Mulligan, MD FAAP FACEP
Director, Institute for Child Health Policy
Nova Southeastern University

Beth C. Zeldis, PsyD
Post Doctoral Psychology Resident
Institute for Child Health Policy
Nova Southeastern University
954.262.1942