FAQ
Conference Information & Frequently Asked Questions
What is Unite For Sight?
Unite For Sight is a 501(c)(3) non-profit global health delivery organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness. Unite For Sight supports eye clinics in India, Ghana, and Honduras by investing human and financial resources in their social ventures to eliminate patient barriers to eye care. To date, Unite For Sight has provided eye care to more than 2.9 million people worldwide, including more than 109,000 sight-restoring surgeries.
We scale our overall impact on global health delivery by developing and nurturing global health leaders. Global Impact Fellows learn how to apply Unite For Sight's strategies to their current and future global health work. Global Health University includes idea incubator workshops, Certificate Programs related to global health and social entrepreneurship, fellowship and internship opportunities in the U.S. and abroad, and more than sixty online courses in our Global Health E-Library. Our annual Global Health & Innovation Conference in April convenes 2,000 participants from all 50 states and more than 50 countries to exchange ideas and strategies across all disciplines of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.
Who attends the Global Health & Innovation Conference?
The conference annually convenes nearly 2,000 people from over 50 countries, and the participants are a diverse group committed to global health innovation and world-changing ideas.
College students, medical students, public health students, law students, business students, graduate students, nursing students, and other students
Public health professionals
Physicians
Nurses
Directors of nonprofits and foundations
Social entrepreneurs
Nonprofit professionals
Philanthropists
Policymakers
Educators
Anthropologists and other social scientists
Scientists
Engineers
Lawyers
Business professionals and CEOs
Venture capitalists
Bloggers
Activists
Others interested in global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship
How do I join the conference Facebook page?
Stay updated about all of Unite For Sight's news and announcements at http://www.facebook.com/uniteforsight.
What is the difference between social impact pitch sessions and the other conference sessions?
In addition to the results-oriented presentations by the featured speakers, more than 50 cutting-edge ideas in development are presented in innovative social enterprise pitch sessions. Unite For Sight reviews and accepts social enterprise pitches on a rolling application deadline. The most important criteria for selection include the evidence basis for the idea, the uniqueness of the idea, and the expected outcomes and metrics for measuring the impact of the idea. The social enterprise pitch sessions present intriguing ideas in the brainstorming or early implementation stage, and the topics range from sustainable transportation to new modes of diagnostics and mobile applications.
Each social impact pitch includes a 5-minute presentation, followed by 15 minutes of discussion and coaching by two expert speakers, as well as questions, answers, and feedback from the audience. This provides participants with an opportunity to present their idea, collaborate with others interested in their idea, and receive feedback and ideas from other conference participants. Each conference session includes 4 social enterprise pitches.
What is the difference between a workshop and the other conference sessions?
As you see on the 2019 conference schedule and 2018 conference schedule, there are a variety of workshops during the conference. Due to the interactive nature of workshops, they must be small and conference registrants will be invited to register for workshops in advance of the 2021 conference. Workshop registrations will be available for any participant to attend on a first-come, first-served basis. The 2021 interactive workshops will be conducted via Zoom.
What are the Student Leaders in Global Health sessions?
The conference includes Student Leaders in Global Health Sessions, in which students (undergraduate, professional, and graduate students) give 12-minute presentations about their results-oriented programs or research studies.
Who qualifies for the student registration rate?
The student rate is available to those who are enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited degree-granting program and scheduled to graduate no earlier than December 2020. Your university may be contacted to confirm full-time student status in an accredited degree-granting program.
We keep the conference registration rates as low as possible, and we are not able to extend the special student rate to those who are not full-time students in an accredited degree-granting program.
I do not have a checking account or a credit card. How can I register?
Please contact adavis@uniteforsight.org to receive details for a Western Union transfer to Unite For Sight.
How do I submit an abstract?
You may find complete details about abstract submission at http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/abstracts.
Where can I learn about previous Unite For Sight Conferences?
GHIC 2020 was Unite For Sight's 17th annual conference, and the schedule of this first-ever virtual event can be seen here.
The 2019 conference schedule can be seen here.
The 2018 conference schedule can be seen here.
The 2017 conference schedule can be seen here.
The 2016 conference schedule can be seen here.
Click on the hyperlinked session titles to read blogs, watch videos, and access resources about the conference sessions.
Is the registration fee refundable?
The conference registration fee is not refundable or transferable, as per the published policy on the conference registration page. Before submitting their registration, registrants are required to confirm their understanding that the registration is not refundable or transferable. Submission of the registration fee notifies Unite For Sight that the registrant plans to attend the conference, and we plan for the comprehensive details associated with their attendance. Via the transaction, Unite For Sight makes an agreement with the attendee to coordinate all of the complex logistics that provide them with the opportunity to attend a well-organized, quality conference. The preparation and provision of these materials and resources are available only to those who register to attend the conference.
It is also important to note that any conference that allows refunds builds in a significant extra administrative fee into every conference ticket. Those conferences also include an additional substantial administrative/processing fee for a refund. The Global Health & Innovation Conference keeps registration rates as low as possible, and the entire Global Health & Innovation Conference registration fee is lower than the refund/cancellation fees of most other conferences.
Who should I contact if I have other questions?
You may send an email to us at ufs@uniteforsight.org.