The Asia
Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium 2013 was held in Japan (22nd-28th August 2013). There were a total of
14 participants from Taylor’s University SOP. Around 400 pharmaceutical
students from Asia Pacific Region gathered in Tokyo for this special
event. This symposium is really a great platform for pharmaceutical students
from different countries to interact, exchange opinions and information.
Day 0
Most of the
participants arrived at Japan on 22nd Aug. A welcome party was held
at night. There were performances from the organising committee. All of the
participants were divided into different groups from A-T. Many activities in
this APPS were carried out in groups so the ice breaking games in welcome party
helped to enhance relationships among group members.
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Traditional
Japanese performances from the committee
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Speech
given by Marika Yamada, Chairperson of APPS 2013 and Daisuke Kobayashi,
President of Asia Pharmaceutical Students’-Japan
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| Searching
for group members in silence in order to start the ice breaking section |
Day 1
Most of the
activities throughout the APPS were organised at Toho University, Japan. The
Opening Ceremony and Symposium I were held in the morning. There were 10
workshops in this day but every participant can only attend two workshops that
they chose before attending APPS.
Workshop 1:
Counterfeit Medicines, Cosmetics, Community Pharmacy, Pre Patient Counseling
Event, Poster Section I
Workshop 2:
Information & Technology Management, Pre Clinical Skills Event, Contact
Person Workshop, Student Exchange Workshop, Poster Section II
The event
for the first night is International Night. This night was held in Camelot Club
at Shibuya. Participants were encouraged to wear their traditional costumes. Participants
from each country provided one performance in order to showcase their
countries.
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Flag
Ceremony for all of the participating countries
Group photo after the opening ceremony
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Symposium
I: ‘The role and importance of self-medication in the 21st century’
presented by Mr. Akira Uehara, President and CEO of Taisho Pharmaceutical
Holdings
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| Pre PCE Workshop |
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| Counterfeit Medicines Workshop |
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| Group discussions during Cosmetics Workshop |
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Poster
Section (The poster shown is poster from Malaysia that got the first place.)
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Performance
from Indonesia
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| Performance from Korea |
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Performance
by Taylor’s SOP, Malaysia
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Performance
from Thailand
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| All of the Taylorians wore traditional costumes to attend International Night |
Day 2
Every
participants can attend two workshops same as the previous day.
Workshop 3:
Health Economics, Drug Poisoning, The role of pharmacist in diabetes
management, Patient Counseling Event(CSE), Invitation to Drug Discovery
Workshop 4:
Self-management & Pharmacy, Complementary Medicines, At-home Medical Care,
CSE, Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign
After the
workshops, there was a campaign that held to promote public awareness regarding
self-medication. We had a parade and shouted catchphrases towards public on the
road.
Slogans:
1.
‘Shirou
Kusuriwo!’ – ‘Improve your knowledge about medicine!’
2.
‘Mamorou
Kenkou!’ – ‘Stay in healthy.’
3.
‘Tayorou
Yakuzaisi!’ – ‘If you have some question about medicine, you ask pharmacists!’
After the parade, there was a photo contest
among groups. Different themes were assigned to different groups. Night for the
day is Japanese night. A traditional Japanese summer festival was held
specially for APPS 2013. Many Japanese food was prepared and there were
traditional Japanese performances too. Finalists of Miss Contest also performed
during Japanese night to gain supports from voters.
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| Diabetes Workshop |
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Invitation to Drug Discovery workshop
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Self-Medication
workshop
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During the
parade with the help of police
Taylorians' group photo after the parade
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Group photo
after the parade
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Winner for
photo contest: Group N
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| Games, Food & Drinks |
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| Performances |
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Taylorians
taking photo together with uncles at the roadside after the Japanese Night
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Day 3
We had our
last two workshops on day 3.
Workshop 5:
Allied Healthcare, Generic Medicines, Global Health I, OTC Medications,
Different role of green tea in Japanese healthcare (A)
Workshop 6:
Benefits of everyday food for optimal health, Role of traditional Chinese
medicine in Japan, Global Health II, Medication usage in disaster settings and
emergencies, Green tea (B)
After the
workshop, we had Symposium II that was divided into two parts. Symposium II-A
with the topic ‘Scientist as a pharmacist, Pharmacist as a scientist’ presented
by Professor Tohru Mizushima while Symposium II-B with the title ‘A world’s
first: research in neuropathic pain and neuralgia’ was presented by Mr. Makoto
Tsuda.
We had free
night on day 3 so every participant was free to explore different destinations
that they were interested in Tokyo.
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| Green Tea Workshop |
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| Optimal Food Workshop |
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| Thailand's presentation for APPS 2015 |
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| ‘Scientist as a pharmacist, Pharmacist as a scientist’ presented by Professor Tohru Mizushima |
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| ‘A world’s first: research in neuropathic pain and neuralgia’ presented by Mr. Makoto Tsuda |
Day 4
Day 4 is the day that let all of the participants take a deeper look into Japan and at the same time had fun together. We went for field trip and explored Japan together with group members. There were 3 destinations for field trip but each participants could only attend one.
Field Trip 1: FANCL Cosmetics Factory + Tokyo University of Science
Field Trip 2: Life Safety Learning Center
Field Trip 3: Kusuri Medicine Museum
Explore Japan:
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| Tokyo Station |
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| Tokyo Tower |
Auction Night + Miss Contest Final
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| All of the finalists for Miss Contest |
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| Finalist from Taylor's SOP, Teeq Lui Shi |
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Winner for Miss Contest, Yvonne Anggasta from Indonesia
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| Enjoying delicious food before Miss Contest and auction |
Day 5
Patient Counseling Event Final was held today. All of the finalists had to be on the stage one by one to be evaluated.
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| Lionel as patient and the first place of PCE as pharmacist |
Symposium III about 'Drugs for neglected diseases' was presented by Ms. Fumiko Hirabayashi, DNDi's Representative Japan.
After the symposium was the closing ceremony.
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| Prize giving ceremony |
The last event for APPS 2013 is the gala night. This is the key social event for APPS.
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| All of the 14 Taylorians duing gala night |
The gala night marked the end of APPS 2013.
Day 6
The last souvenirs that we received from APPS Japan: a badge and a pendrive with photos of APPS.
All of the participants gained a lot from this meaningful event. We got to knew and learned about many new information and knowledge through workshops, symposiums and discussions. It is also the beginning of great new friendships for participants from different countries.
P.S.: For those who are interested, please be prepared for the coming APPS.
