Advancing Coffee Hours for Global and National Engagement

Coffee Hours remain a central pillar of WLEH’s national advocacy and community engagement efforts in 2026, providing a platform to convene diverse stakeholders and strengthen connections across the eye health sector.

This stream of work is being led by Clare Szalay Timbo in close support by Claudia Jose from Seva Foundation, and the wider WLEH communications team. Efforts are aimed at refining the implementation of Coffee Hours across both global and country levels.

Building on strong momentum and increasing demand, the team is adopting a more strategic and selective approach this year, carefully aligning sessions with key global convenings, priority audiences, and country-level opportunities. This includes leveraging partnerships and existing platforms to maximize reach.

Planned engagements for 2026 include a combination of global and regional sessions, such as those linked Global Ophthalmology Summit, the African Ophthalmology Congress (AOC), and other key fora. With the recent live streamed virtual Coffee Hour hosted by the Flying Eye Hospital during their program in Arequipa, Peru we had a record 227 virtual attendees from 34 countries represented and this was our formal first event hosted in Spanish.  

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, this group is working to coordinate several country-level Coffee Hours in contexts such as Zambia, Uganda (COECSA), and countries where opportunities are emerging.

The team is working closely with Orbis gender champions and country programs to integrate Coffee Hours into national advocacy and gender strategies, ensuring these engagements are locally relevant, sustainable, and aligned with broader program priorities.

Through this intentional approach, Coffee Hours continue to serve as a key mechanism for fostering peer exchange and advancing gender-transformative dialogue across both global and national platforms.

Learn more about Coffee Hours here.

Read more about Orbis Zambia’s Coffee Hour recent events.