2nd Global Webinar on Animal Welfare, a success for the World Veterinary Association

 

This week, JMICAWE Director, Prof Nat Waran, was invited to give the main presentation for the first session of the WVA global webinar, on the use of the MOOC for assisting education and training. With 11 eminent presenters and panel members from organisations including; the European commission, OIE, FVE, WAVMA, FAO,AVMA IVSA and various national governments as well as around 65 invited participants, this was a truly international affair.

The animal behaviour and welfare MOOC accessed by more than 34,000 people from 163 countries, was used as one example of creating accessible animal welfare education using new technology, and discussion centred around the way in which this sort of approach could be tailored for specific audiences, and how we can use this sort of platform for creating credible relevant learning material for people from diverse backgrounds. Other presenters provided some interesting insights into the online training resources developed for veterinary students and practitioners, and it was concluded that there is a wealth of material available and new technology can play an important role in helping with accessibility. But there was recognition that we now need to get together to prevent wasteful duplication of effort, ensure that there was some consistency in the message regarding welfare and assessment, and to avoid audience confusion.   

This was a really interesting event, and a recorded version of the afternoon’s talks and discussion can be accessed online through the FVE and WVA websites.

http://www.worldvet.org/events.php?item=81&view=item

 

 

Prof Nat Waran at the Webinar