The WOAH-FAVA-AAVS-IVSA-GEDSI Seminar in WVAC 2026, Tokyo, Japan

The WOAH-FAVA-AAVS-IVSA hybrid seminar on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion, GEDSI in the Veterinary Sector in Asia and beyond had been successfully held on April 23, 2026 9am-12pm in World Veterinary Association Congress 2026. The attendees of seminar were 160 attendees both onsite and online which were many stakeholders; FAVA, AAVS, IVSA members and guests. In the opening session, the seminar was honoured to welcome address from Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran, WOAH Director General (or representative Dr. Ju Hyung Hur, FAVA President, and Dr Masako Kurimoto, JVMA Vice President.

The seminar started with the tIntroduction on GEDSI and Animal Health by Dr Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, WOAH Gender Technical Advisor, which was very interesting on the insightful background of GEDSI to the attendees. Subsequently, the GEDSI among veterinarians and veterinary students in Asia – findings from GEDSI surveys Campaign among 3 organizations during December 2025-February 2026, are presented: Professional in service-Practitioner: Dr. Achariya Sailasuta, FAVA, Professional in service-Educators: Prof. Noraine Medina, AAVS and Professional pre service-Veterinary students: Ms. Bertina Sum, IVSA respectively. By obtained the results from the survey, It could be concluded that; the variation in gaps across associations further implies that the context of whether workplace, educational, or institutional have plays a significant role in shaping experiences of inclusion. These results highlight the need for targeted, context-specific strategies to improve inclusivity, particularly for minority groups at different stages of the veterinary profession.
The seminar received many interesting questions and valuable inputs from the attendees. Which we are very useful for further evaluation of GEDSI project in the next step. After that, the Panel Discussion in Veterinary sectors by Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran, WOAH Director General, Dr Bambang Pontjo Priosoeryanto, FAVA Secretary General, Dr Peachy Domingo, AAVS GEDSI project consultant, Ms. Bertina Sum, IVSA Asia Pacific Regional Representative, Dr Ronello Abila, PVS expert, former WOAH Sub-Regional Representative and Shannon Mesenhowski, Gates Foundation & WVA council member accordingly. There were many interesting inputs from many sectors on GEDSI in global Veterinary profession that could be the scenario of Asia and pacific to move forward. Finally, the winner of the GEDSI Comics Competition Award Ceremony has been announced that the 1st Prize was awarded to Dr. Alfathitamara Timmy, a veterinarian from Indonesia for her outstanding comic ”Gentle hands: Man& Gentle Woman. The work powerfully highlighted empathy, inclusion, and respect in veterinary profession. The accomplishment of seminar has shown the outstanding outcomes in the lens of empowering the GEDSI among veterinary profession in Asia and Pacific