Bridging the Gap

(Written from a newcomer’s perspective: Shóna Patterson MVB MRCVS, member of MedPlants4Vet’s WG 6)

As a Veterinary Medicine practitioner with a background in herbal medicine I attended the Working Group 6 meeting at the beginning of October. As a complete novice to both Cost Action groups and MP4V, I was very impressed at the great efforts that are being made to connect the links of the chain in bringing herbal veterinary medicinal products (HVMP) back in to a regulated market that will ensure availability of both reliable products and information to help with not only the health of animals but One Health in the near future.

17 participants from a wide range of countries including but not limited to Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, Romania, and Türkiye were in attendance with expertise in veterinary, animal husbandry, agronomy, biology, genetics and more most being from a research area but not all. Lending to a beneficial diversity in perspectives.

Our meeting began with a summary of what has been achieved over the last two years of MP4V particularly within WG6. The function of WG6 is to disseminate and communicate the data collected and collated from WG1 to 5 consisting of information about the historical research and use of herbal products in animal health – in essence a science communication role. How we can get the message out in the most effective way possible. Some of the work has involved increasing the online database and the addition of filters to make accessing herbal information easier, a regular newsletter, and the training event last February in Warsaw.

After this informative talk we then spent time getting to know each other. This not only served to make the meeting more enjoyable and productive but also highlighted the strengths and offerings available within the group and how we are all willing to contribute in a positive active way in order to achieve the goals of MP4V.

Lunch consisted of a highly nutritious and delicious lunch from the FiBL certified Organic canteen. A Lupin dish was one of the highlights for me and I was informed the Lupins were likely from the Lupin project that is ongoing on campus. Produce from the farming projects onsite are utilised as much as possible by the highly creative chefs.

The afternoon started with an overview of the planned training course in Portugal this December. The course objectives include raising awareness of use of Medicinal Plants in Vet Med. A look at the history of both MP in Vet Med and the law in Europe around the same. It aims to be a practical session and hopes to explore and include stakeholders from all areas. All of which will cover WG6 deliverables.

We then concentrated on science communication in a group workshop situation. The main question that was up for discussion was ‘How to communicate complex scientific concepts in simple terms’. 
We discussed the need to reach different audiences, gain visibility, the importance of shareable material and what resources and channels of communication are necessary to target different stakeholder groups. 

The nugget in this was how vital it is to know our target audiences and how this effects the language we use. Identifying different personas and slotting into these to make communication more effective. It was fun and interesting to work with people from different cultural backgrounds and areas of expertise as we all recognised and acknowledged our own perspectives and the highly variable way our stakeholder groups view the world. This drives home the challenges in dissemination and communication and the need for collaboration at and within every step of the process.
On day two some of the representatives of the other working groups attended with the objective of cohering the links between each group to give a better understanding of some of the challenges and shortfalls in the current WG system I surmise this resulted in solutions to push the initiative forward in a positive productive way. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the second day as I had to fly back to the Emerald Isle (Ireland) on Friday morning.

I really enjoyed the meeting and felt very much embraced and welcomed into the fold of MP4V. It highlighted for me, yet again; the importance of in person projects – this, by far still is and always will be the best way to communicate on a human level. 

I left Switzerland with even more enthusiasm for promoting the use of medicinal plants Veterinary Medicine and ready to embrace any opportunity to participate in achieving the goals and objectives of the Momentarium of understanding of MP4V.