Dear {name},

The second in-person meeting of the Steering Committee will take place on 14 October. After a year of setting up, it is time to take stock and develop the Alliance's strategy. The Secretariat looks forward to seing everyone from the Steering Committee back in person with new and fresh ideas.

This October is a month of meeting and sharing knowledge. From 15-17 October, the World Health Summit (WHS) will take place in Berlin. The Alliance Secretariat will be attending the Summit to follow up on ongoing and emerging topics. Please let us know if you plan to attend as well. We would be happy to organise an Alliance meeting during these days.

One of our Alliance members is looking for expertise, knowledge, and research studies for their project on pet trade, internationally and nationally, in country-specific contexts and on the international scale. Do you know any studies on national regulations or action plans/strategies that aim to address or tackle pet trade, referring for example, to the demand and supply side?

Any type of information is very appreciated. Please send your input to alliance-health-wildlife@giz.de.

Thank you!

Prof. Dr. Felix Drexler will be our guest for our next Expert Talk on September 21st. Dr. Drexler will talk about risk assessment and pathogen identification along the wildlife trade chain. As the Charité is implementing one of the Alliance-funded projects in Guatemala on health monitoring of animals subject to illegal trade from a One health perspective, Dr. Drexler will share insights from this project as well as from his extensive experience as a virologist working on emerging viruses at the animal-human interface.

Our upcoming events will also give you the opportunity to request or share any thoughts and ideas you would like to present to our Alliance community. At the end of each event, we can give you 2 to 3 minutes to make a small pitch about whatever you want to talk about. We'd love to hear from you so we can put you on the pitch agenda for our next event.

On July 6 was 'World Zoonoses Day'. On this occasion, our member organisation Pro Wildlife hosted a webinar on the topic of zoonoses and bushmeat in Africa. In four African countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia and Liberia), the animal and species conservation organisation conducts educational work on the health risks of consuming 'bushmeat' in an innovative educational project together with local wildlife sanctuaries. Project partners from each country talked about their work and contribution on how to protect wildlife and reduce the risk for zoonoses. The Alliance was also well represented during the event.

It has changed slightly, but we wanted to let you know that there are some new features that will make it easier for you to interact with the community.

No. 1: The members' area can now be found in the header of the website under the heading 'Network'. The members' area is exclusively for registered members of the Alliance and provides an opportunity to engage with other members, post and share news, resources and conferences. You can also get involved in one of the working groups and help shape the work and future of the International Alliance.

No. 2: You can now display your profile even better by adding 'affiliated organisations' to it. You can find this feature under your dashboard -> About -> Edit. With this, the Secretariat wants to give you the chance to show your background even better, and to find the right contacts within the community.

The Alliance is all about giving your work more visibility and connect different stakeholders that can thrive from each other’s expertise. Here is how to get active:

1. News Centre

Showcase your content by submitting blog posts, research, and upcoming projects to the Secretariat. We encourage you to also submit your contributions in any other languages besides English.

2. Community Pitches

Share your projects, news, and events in Community Pitches! Following Alliance events, you will have the opportunity to present your pitches to the community and promote collaboration. Email us to submit your pitches (2-3 minutes max).

3. Formats

We currently have the formats “Expert Talk” and “Voices from the Ground”. Get in touch with us, if you wish to learn more about them or would like to organise an event with the Alliance.

4. Interactive Website Members Area

Discover the interactive members area on our website, where you can connect with others, request information, access event recordings, find relevant reads, and explore collaboration opportunities. Our Onboarding Video will help you to get started! Of course, you can also download our Media Kit and spread the word.

5. Project Map

Fill out the project profile and we will put you on the Project Map! Find the form here.