Panaji: The four-day ‘9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC)’ and Arogya Expo will begin in Goa capital Panaji on Thursday, with state Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurating the event.
‘Ayurveda for One Health’ is the theme of the event that will go on till December 11. More than 4,500 participants, including over 400 foreign delegates from 53 countries, will attend it, the organisers said on Wednesday.
Organised by the World Ayurveda Foundation, an initiative of Vijnana Bharati, with the support of the Union Ministry of AYUSH and the Government of Goa, it will strive to hammer out a roadmap leading to globalisation of Ayurveda and harness its potential as a reliable, scientific and prevention-oriented healthcare system, they said.
The conclave, being attended by the United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time, is packed with six plenary sessions and as many numbers of concurrent sessions in addition to 20 associate events, such as International Delegates Assembly, WHO event on Traditional Medicines, and Guru-Shishya Meet. In addition, there will be around 3,800 abstracts for oral, e-book and poster presentations, the organisers added.
According to them, the major topics to be deliberated include Expanding the Scope of Ayurveda – New Age Prospects; Innovations and Entrepreneurship; Ayurveda Education; Ayur Informatics; Innovation Ecosystem; Health and Environment; and Heal in India.
“Being held in the backdrop of daunting health challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a key topic of discussion is ‘Facing Pandemic with Ayurveda’,” an official release said.
There will be 150 keynote speakers from the world. An Ayurveda expo and cultural programmes, including a documentary film festival on Ayurveda, will also be part of the event.
Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik and Union Minister of State for AYUSH Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai will also speak at the inauguration event.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the valedictory session on December 11.
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