Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) hosted its first Open Meeting that was a full virtual experience on the 30^th of March 2021. The event had more than one hundred participants that connected globally from the fields of genomic epidemiology and public health. Five talks and one panel discussion were on the line-up  with speakers from Canada, South Africa, Argentina, United States of America, United Kingdom, Zambia and Ethiopia. These talks and panel discussion showcased real examples and responses towards pertinent global health topics that included coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), anti-microbial resistance (AMR), training and workforce development in bioinformatics; and  ethics and data sharing in health.