Passport to Global Health Celebration
Watch Dr. Rosling’s keynote speech below, or view event photos.
About the Passport to Global Health Celebration
Seattle BioMed hosts the Passport to Global Health Celebration, which is a large-scale community event aimed at increasing public awareness of global health while raising funds for innovative infectious disease research. Throughout the event's 6 year history, more than 3,500 people have joined Seattle BioMed to raise visibility of the need to improve health for undeserved populations.
Seattle BioMed’s sixth annual Passport to Global Health Celebration was held March 25, 2010, at the Seattle Westin. Watch our Web site for news about the 2011 Passport event, or contact passport@seattlebiomed.org for more information.
Hans Rosling Dazzled Crowd of 550+ with Global Health Statistics
“When Seattle calls, you come,” Dr. Hans Rosling told a crowd of more than 550 global health enthusiasts at the sixth annual Passport to Global Health Celebration at the Westin Seattle on March 25, 2010. The event raised more than $300,000 to support Seattle BioMed’s infectious disease research, while raising awareness of the need to improve health of undeserved populations. “This is an investment in a better world,” Rosling said. “Look at Seattle BioMed as an investment in a better life for your children and grandchildren.”
Rosling, well-known as a showman on stage as well as a global health “mythbuster,” had the audience alternately gasping and applauding as he offered a new way to look at complex social and economic development statistics, illustrating how infectious diseases and poverty play a key role in the development of the world. At his Gapminder Foundation, Rosling and his research team provide free data-bubble software that illustrates how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. This software has been used to visualize global health data in a number of high-profile presentations by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the TED Conference.
Advancing Global Health Award
Ken Stuart, Ph.D., president and founder of Seattle BioMed, presented Rosling with the “Advancing Global Health Award,” presented each year by Seattle BioMed to someone who has made significant strides in the field of global health. In addition, Stuart presented a special community award to the Seattle Sounders FC for its role in raising awareness of the need to eradicate malaria. Kevin Griffin, director of fan development & community relations for the Sounders, was on hand to accept the award and offer Sounders’ incentives – including VIP packages and a special children’s soccer clinic – to the evening’s top 10 highest donors.
Thank You Sponsors!
Thank you to all of the event sponsors and table hosts who made sure that every dollar raised during the event goes straight to Seattle BioMed’s Breakthrough Fund to fund innovative infectious disease research.
Previous Passport Celebration Speakers
2009: Paul Farmer, founder of Partners In Health
2008: Melinda Gates, co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2007: Julie Gerberding, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2006: Jeffrey Sachs, American economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University
2005: Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer of bestselling global health books