SORMAS Annual Conference 2023
The journey towards sustainability in open-source digital pandemic preparedness
18.-19. October 2023 | betahaus Berlin
SORMAS Annual Conference 2023
The journey towards sustainability in open-source digital pandemic preparedness
18.-19. October 2023 | betahaus Berlin
Summary
As the COVID-19 pandemic has officially come to an end, many learnings have been gathered in the area of digital Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR). The experience has demonstrated the value of open-source digital tools for PPR, but it has also raised questions including its interoperability and sustainability.
The number of countries using SORMAS has increased exponentially in the past years with even more countries requesting support with the deployment of the system. To address these needs, the SORMAS Foundation was established in 2022 with the main goals of ensuring the quality standards and sustainability of SORMAS as a Global Good, as well as supporting countries with its implementation.
With the objectives of 1) providing updates on the current status of the SORMAS Foundation and SORMAS developments; 2) strengthening the SORMAS community and fostering exchange between members; and 3) collectively discussing the SORMAS development roadmap, the first Annual SORMAS Conference will take place in Berlin, Germany, (Betahaus Berlin, Rudi-Dutschke-Straße 23) on the 18th and 19th of October 2023.
The conference will include keynote speakers and panellists from the areas of PPR and open source, country SORMAS presentations and unconference sessions for the participants to discuss topics that are relevant to them and the SORMAS community.
The preliminary agenda for the conference can be found below.
Preliminary Agenda
Time
Day 1 – 18th October – Wednesday
13:00 – 14:00
Welcome & participant and team introduction
Presentation: SORMAS Foundation current status
Speaker: SORMAS Foundation Team
14:00 – 14:45
Keynote: Relevance of open-source tools in Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR)
Speaker: Chikwe Ihekweazu (WHO Hub for Epidemic Intelligence, Berlin)
14:45 – 15:30
Panel discussion- Open-source tools for Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR)– should Global Goods be the focus?
Guiding points:
• Which role do open-source tools play in epidemic/pandemic preparedness?
• Experiences from the COVID pandemic and learnings for the next epi-demic/pandemic
• Relevance of Global Goods in epidemic/pandemic preparedness? – why Global Goods? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
• Stakeholders’ role in fostering Global Goods
Panellists:
- Samuel Mbuthia – OSPO at WHO Hub for Epidemic Intelligence
- Natalie Mayet – Deputy Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa
- Anne Vergison – Ministry of Health of Luxemburg
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
15:30 – 15:45
Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00
Unconference Session
Topic: What would you like to see in SORMAS 2.0?
An interactive Miro board will be prepared in advance and shared with the conference participants so that they can provide the ideas that they would like to discuss during the unconference. During the unconference, the topics will be gathered and voted. The two most voted topics will be selected, and the group will be divided into two groups for discussion. At the end of the session, both groups will present their findings to all participants.
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
Time
Day 2 – 19th October – Thursday
09:00 – 09:30
Welcome & Recap from Day 1
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
09:30 – 10:15
Keynote: Role of the community in the sustainability of open-source projects
Speaker: Paul Biondich – Founder OpenMRS and OpenHIE
10:15 – 11:00
Panel discussion –Sustainability of open-source projects – what is the best model?
Guiding points:
• Potential business models for open-source projects (SaaS, public funding, etc.)
• Role of the community for the sustainability of open-source projects
• Moving from short to long funding? Project funding versus core funding)
• Relevance of a multi-stakeholder approach
Panellists:
- Ulrich Ahle – CEO FIWARE Foundation
- BMZ Representative
- Paul Biondich – Founder OpenMRS and OpenHIE
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
11:00 – 11:30
Presentations: SORMAS experiences in countries
Country presentation 1
Q&A
11:30 – 12:30
Lunch Break
Meals will be served.
Vegetarian and vegan options available.
12:30 – 13:00
Country presentation 2
Q&A
13:00-13:30
Country presentation 3
Q&A
13:30 – 14:00
Coffee Break
14:00-14:30
Dynamic Activity
14:30 – 17:00
Unconference Session
Topic: What are your ideas for the sustainability of SORMAS in countries?
An interactive Miro board will be prepared in advance and shared with the conference participants so that they can provide the ideas that they would like to discuss during the unconference. During the unconference, the topics will be gathered and voted. The two most voted topics will be selected, and the group will be divided into two groups for discussion. At the end of the session, both groups will present their findings to all participants.
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
SORMAS Annual Conference 2023
Date
Wednesday, 18.10.2023 13:00 / 1PM
- Thursday, 19.10.2023 17:00 / 5PM
Location
betahaus | Berlin Kreuzberg - Coworking & Event Spaces
Rudi-Dutschke-Straße 23, Berlin, DE
The location has limited accessibility. If you need assistance, please let us know. We will do our very best to make it possible for you to participate.
Are you part of a non-profit organisation yourself? Contact us to receive generous discounts on the participation fee. We support each other!
Tickets can only be bought online at eventfrog.de
We do not sell tickets on any other platform.
Please inform us if you notice any fraudulent offers.
FAQs
Unfortunately we are currently not able to cover travel and accomodation costs.
Please fill out the form on the right. You will then receive an official invitation letter for your visa by e-mail.
This event is exclusively presence-based. We would like to offer our participants an excellent networking opportunity and promote the exchange among each other.
Yes. Thank you, please feel free to contact us in the form on the right.
Are you a non-profit organization? Reach out for a discount in the form on the right. We support each other!
The location has limited accessibility. If you need assistance, please let us know in the form on the right. We will do our very best to make it possible for you to participate.
No, please come as you feel comfortable.
Tickets can only be bought online at eventfrog.de. You will be redirected to it on our website. We do not sell tickets on any other platform. Please inform us if you notice any fraudulent offers.
We have introduced this limitation because only a limited number of tickets is available. Therefore, we had to limit the maximum number of participants per organization to three. Please contact us via the form on the right if this is a problem for you. We will surely find a solution.
We are a non-profit organization. Therefore, we have to cover our costs and finance this event through ticket sales.
Contact us
FAQs
Unfortunately we are currently not able to cover travel and accomodation costs.
Please fill out the form on the right. You will then receive an official invitation letter for your visa by e-mail.
This event is exclusively presence-based. We would like to offer our participants an excellent networking opportunity and promote the exchange among each other.
Yes. Thank you, please feel free to contact us in the form on the right.
Are you a non-profit organization? Reach out for a discount in the form on the right. We support each other!
The location has limited accessibility. If you need assistance, please let us know in the form on the right. We will do our very best to make it possible for you to participate.
No, please come as you feel comfortable.
Tickets can only be bought online at eventfrog.de. You will be redirected to it on our website. We do not sell tickets on any other platform. Please inform us if you notice any fraudulent offers.
We have introduced this limitation because only a limited number of tickets is available. Therefore, we had to limit the maximum number of participants per organization to three. Please contact us via the form on the right if this is a problem for you. We will surely find a solution.
We are a non-profit organization. Therefore, we have to cover our costs and finance this event through ticket sales.
Contact us
Time
Day 1 - 18th October - Wednesday
13:00 – 14:00
Welcome & participant and team introduction
Icebreaker activity
Presentation: SORMAS Foundation current status
Speaker: SORMAS Foundation Team (Jan & Pilar)
14:00 – 14:45
Keynote: Relevance of open-source tools in Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR)
Speaker: Representative from WHO Hub for Epidemic Intelligence, Berlin
14:45 – 15:30
Panel discussion- Open-source tools for Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR)– should Global Goods be the focus?
Guiding points:
• Which role do open-source tools play in epidemic/pandemic prepared-ness?
• Experiences from the COVID pandemic and learnings for the next epi-demic/pandemic
• Relevance of Global Goods in epidemic/pandemic preparedness? – why Global Goods? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
• Stakeholders’ role in fostering Global Goods
Panellists:
• Representative from African and European institutions (specific infor-mation to be released soon)
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
15:30 – 15:45
Coffee Break
15:45 – 17:00
Unconference Session
Topic: What would you like to see in SORMAS 2.0?
An interactive Miro board will be prepared in advance and shared with the conference participants so that they can provide the ideas that they would like to discuss during the unconference. During the unconference, the topics will be gathered and voted. The two most voted topics will be selected, and the group will be divided into two groups for discussion. At the end of the session, both groups will present their findings to all participants.
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
Time
Day 1 - 18th October - Wednesday
09:00 – 09:30
Welcome & Recap from Day 1
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
09:30 – 10:15
Keynote: Role of the community in the sustainability of open-source projects
Speaker: Representative from OpenMRS and OpenHIE – confirmed
10:15 – 11:00
Panel discussion –Sustainability of open-source projects – what is the best model?
Guiding points:
• Potential business models for open-source projects (SaaS, public funding, etc.)
• Role of the community for the sustainability of open-source projects
• Moving from short to long funding? Project funding versus core funding)
• Relevance of a multi-stakeholder approach
Panellists:
• Representatives from funding organisations and open source organisations
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
11:00 – 11:30
Presentations: SORMAS experiences in countries
Country presentation 3
Q&A
11:30 – 12:30
Lunch Break
Meals will be served.
Vegetarian and vegan options available.
12:30 – 13:00
Country presentation 2
Q&A
13:00-13:30
Country presentation 3
Q&A
13:30 – 14:00
Coffee Break
14:00-14:30
Dynamic Activity
14:30 – 17:00
Unconference Session
Topic: What are your ideas for the sustainability of SORMAS in countries?
An interactive Miro board will be prepared in advance and shared with the conference participants so that they can provide the ideas that they would like to discuss during the unconference. During the unconference, the topics will be gathered and voted. The two most voted topics will be selected, and the group will be divided into two groups for discussion. At the end of the session, both groups will present their findings to all participants.
Moderator: SORMAS Foundation Team
