MWIA Triennial Congress
Dr. Kate McCann represented Ireland at the Medical Women International Association Triennial Congress in Cairo, Egypt October 2025.
"From Knowledge to Wisdom" reads the inscription.
Before I leave Egypt shortly, I took a trip to the new Library of Alexandria. If you aren't a nerd like me, here's the very short history. When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in the 300s BC, he left behind some Greeks in charge. They set up to build a library with the ambition to house all the knowledge of the world in all its written works. It was famous throughout the ancient world for around 200 years --until Julius Caesar accidently burned it down during a battle in the city. (Oops.) So, the city of Alexandria - following interruptions of centuries of repeated colonisations and invasions - rebuilt it a few years ago, and it was worth the 2000 year wait. It is truly beautiful.
I walked to the top floor to overlook the entire library, and as I walked back down I saw a female student reading anatomy. I paused because I recognised that medical book very well myself. The book was in English, being read by a native Arabic speaker. The old library that once housed all the knowledge - including papyrus scrolls of Hippocrates' "Corpus" - has new life but honours its past beautifully: diversity of languages , thoughts, and people.
The new library challenge us to take it further though: from Knowledge to Wisdom. Knowledge is stored in dusty shelves and digital archives. Wisdom is when we learn it, understand it, use it -- and allow access to all to learn. And in too many parts of the world, girls and women still have restricted access to literacy and health education. And that girl today will soon be a physician herself, uniquely placed as a female doctor to advocate for women's health. Wisdom - unlike books - can't be so easily destroyed.
And for the week I was here in Egypt talking about women physicians and women's access to health information, this was the brilliant last chapter I didn't know I needed on this trip.
