Forum 2014 was held in Toronto, ON and was extremely successful. During the Scientific Poster opening reception, Forum attendees had the honour of listening to an inspirational speech from CBC’s Rex Murphy, host of Cross Country Check Up. Rex spoke about the importance of serving those who serve us through evidence-informed practices, policies and programs.
Forum 2014 hosted many remarkable and memorable keynote speakers such as General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, who discussed how removing stigma around mental health is critical to developing resilience. Other Forum keynotes included, in chronological order of presentation, Françoise Mathieu, Director of Compassion Fatigue Solutions Inc.; Dr. Mark Zamorski, Forum 2013 Banting Award Winner; Dr. Terence M. Keane, from the National Center for PTSD; and The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, OC, OOnt Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Each year at Forum, attendees have the privilege of finding out the winners of two very prestigious scholarships offered through CIMVHR. This year, Wounded Warriors Canada announced that Celina Shirazipour, from Queen’s University, was the winner of the Wounded Warriors Doctoral Scholarship in Military and Veteran Health Research, while The Royal Canadian Legion announced former Reservist Brigitte Phinney, Carleton University, as the winner of the Royal Canadian Legion Masters Scholarship in Veteran Health Research. Good luck to both recipients, we look forward to seeing your research at future Forums.
The Forum 2014 delegation had the opportunity to see over 50 poster presentations and listen to over 115 podium presentations that touched on six distinctive themes relating to mental health and rehabilitation; physical health and rehabilitation; social health and wellbeing; occupational health; novel health technologies; and, transitioning from military to civilian life.
