Health care in Alberta has faced numerous challenges in recent years and members of the University of Lethbridge’s Collaborative Health Research Institute of Southern Alberta (CHRISA) are organizing an unconference event designed to bring forth bold new ideas.

“Our goal is to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to explore new ideas and cultivate potential solutions in health care,” says Dr. Brenda Leung, CHRISA director and professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at ULethbridge. “Over the two days of the conference, our goal is to generate insights, share ideas and build new connections that can have a significant impact in our communities.”

An unconference is an event where attendees decide the agenda, discussion items and topics of sessions, which are also facilitated by attendees. The unconference provides an opportunity for teamwork development and building relationships to create transformational relations with shared goals amongst participants.

The CHRISA Unconference is geared toward health-care users, leaders, managers, researchers, practitioners, clinicians, policy makers, students and community members. People from diverse backgrounds, whether in economics, education, technology, environment, business or health-related areas, are encouraged to attend. Using a multi-disciplinary approach can help facilitate out-of-the-box thinking and ultimately lead to unique solutions.

“That spark of an idea for a solution could come from anywhere,” says Leung.

The Unconference is scheduled for Friday, May 5 and Monday, May 8 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Markin Hall Atrium at the University of Lethbridge.

This event is free thanks to donations from the City of Lethbridge and the University. Online registration is available at 2023 CHRISA Unconference. For further information, send an email to chrisa.info@uleth.ca.