A reflection on travel as a form of education
In this guest blog, Andiswa Kona from CAMO-Net South Africa, reflects on her recent trip as part of our travel grant scheme.
For Early Career Researchers, travel is an essential form of education. I was very appreciative to receive a CAMO-Net Capacity Strengthening Travel Grant. The travel grant enabled me to attend the 10th Regional Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Conference hosted by ReAct Africa and South Centre. The conference took place between the 11th-12th June 2025 in Lusaka, Zambia.I attended the sessions on the intersection of public policy, climate change and AMR. These sessions were pertinent to the policy work that we are doing as part of the CAMO-Net South Africa project. It was apparent that the role of researchers is essential in the policy-making process, and that there is a need for strategic research communication that reaches policymakers to ensure that research creates an impact.
Conferences are events that bring people from different cultures into one space, and that engaging with this diversity is not always easy, particularly if English is not everyone’s first language. This requires a level of understanding and grace towards others, because if one cannot speak English, it means that one must know another language. Speaking and understanding other languages, apart from English, should be acknowledged, and celebrated. Headphones were available for non-English speakers with live translation in their language of preference. For example, for people who come from French speaking countries.
Conferences are also spaces for reflection. Specifically, attendance at this conference allowed stakeholders in the AMR space to acknowledge the strides that they have made in talking about the global challenge of AMR. It was inspiring to engage with young researchers and community activists from Africa who are using creative and participatory methods to talk about AMR. In particular, there were sessions on how drawings, paintings and short story books are being used to talk about AMR in the African context. This highlighted the need to continue the conversation on youth and community engagement on different online platforms, so that information and knowledge can reach different populations.
During the conference, I had the privilege of attending the Youth and Community meeting with AMR leaders from across Africa. This meeting was facilitated by the ReAct Africa Youth Task Force. The goal of the meeting was to strengthen community and youth collaboration in AMR and cross-sectorial action for health. There were youth researchers, healthcare workers and community activists from Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda and other African countries were attended this meeting, and the conference the conference. It was an honour learn from young people active in community engagement on AMR. This helped me to reflect on how, in 2026, I hope to continue talking about youth community engagement in relation to AMR in South Africa. This travel grant helped me to reflect and learn whilst respecting how other Africans narrate their stories. It also motivated me to continue telling the South African story of AMR through youth community engagement.
