In 2017, more than 1 million people around the world gathered together in the largest event for science advocacy in history. In Malawi, we gathered in a garden and had 70 participants.
In 2018, we will actually march and we hope to have more than 300 participants: advocates, science educators, scientists, and concerned citizens.
The international theme for 2018 is “Science, Not Silence.”
We’re busy organizing for the April 14 event, which will start at Top Mandala Museum, Blantyre, at 8 a.m. (We’ll have some time to make signs before we march.)
The overall theme of the Malawi March for Science is “Evidence-Based Policy Decisions.” There will be six short talks on this theme at the end of the march, in the amphitheater at the Polytechnic. We’ll have a sound system and police presence during the march. There will be dancers welcoming us at the Polytechnic at the end of the march, as well as banners.
Data-Driven Success Stories in Malawi
- Dr. Grace Malenga (Emeritus Paediatrician): Malawi’s move AWAY from chloroquine
- Prof. Ken Maleta (College of Medicine): Using science to develop therapeutic feeds
- Harold Chirwa (independent pit emptier): Research improves “emptying technology”
Challenges facing Malawi
- Dr. Wezi Mkwaila (LUANAR): Cassava brown streak disease: how data could drive policy
- Monica Mburu (PhD student, College of Medicine): Banning plastic bags: the Kenyan experience
Live music!! Code Sangala and Annemarie Quinn (part of the “Music Against Malaria” tour)
We have a Facebook page for the march, with a link to my PayPal account coming soon, if you’d like to donate. Follow us on Twitter, too: @scimarchmalawi. Posters are in development!
