HARMONY Special Edition - December 2021
BREAKING BARRIERS - BRIDGING GAPS SILVER JUBILEE
EDITORIAL
BY- DR INDRANIL CHAKRAVORTY
The Silver Jubilee Conference was a celebration of many firsts for the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO). It was the the first major milestone in the life-cycle of an organisation; it was the first time that the group had met in person after the catastrophic 18 months that the COVID-19 pandemic had wreaked on us and the world; it was the first time that arms-length bodies of the organisation - the Bapio Institute for Health Research, the Bapio Faculty of Leadership and the Forum for Wellbeing were introduced to the rest of the organisation- having been conceived and delivered their many initial successes in the virtual world; it was the first time with the formation of British Indian Nurses Association - the organisation became truly multiprofessional; It was the first time that BAPIO had conceived and delivered a complete project on one of the topics closest to its heart - the launch of the report on tackling differential attainment - (Bridging the Gap 2021 Report); it was the first time that BAPIO was consolidating its mission into the 4 pillars- that had been a vision in the minds of the leadership. There is no event linked with the Indian psyche that does not include some ethereal connection with Bollywood. We were lucky to have one of the leading lights of the ‘thinking man’s Bollywood’ represented by none other than the charismatic director Shekhar Kapur. Shekhar was witty and thoughtful, sharing his ideas on inequalities and his passion for tackling climate change.
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