Month: April 2026

Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, Lyon, 7–9 April 2026

Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, Lyon, 7–9 April 2026

From 7 to 9 April 2026, Lyon hosted the first Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres, with the theme ‘Collaborating for a Healthier Future’, alongside the One Health Summit 2026 and bringing together global experts from hundreds of institutions designated as WHO Collaborating Centres across more than 80 countries. This Forum aims to strengthen the scientific and technical contribution of these centres to the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14) and the “Health for All” agenda.

During a session dedicated to the role of Collaborating Centres, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, and Didier Jourdan, Head of the FR-135 Collaborating Centre and holder of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, spoke jointly. Hans Kluge set out the strategic framework for the European Region, emphasising the need for strong networks of Collaborating Centres to support countries in the context of multiple crises.

Didier Jourdan illustrated this framework based on the experience of WHO Collaborating Centres, highlighting three key developments for the network:

  • moving from scattered initiatives to genuine work programmes aligned with EPW2 and GPW 14;
  • strengthening links with the WHO Academy to roll out evidence-based training on a large scale; and
  • using health education and literacy as a structural response to the crisis of mistrust in science and institutions.

Together, they championed the idea of Collaborating Centres conceived not only as ‘centres of excellence’, but as interconnected ‘centres of capacity’, serving education systems, health professionals and communities.

Read the presentation of Professor Didier Jourdan

Posted by Didier in News
Global Community Health Annual Workshop 2026 – Register today

Global Community Health Annual Workshop 2026 – Register today

The sixth edition of the Global Community Health Annual Workshop will take place online on 9, 10 and 11 June 2026.

The health of Mother Earth is inextricably linked to human health and wellbeing. Climate change impacts vulnerable communities the most. It deepens inequalities and threatens both environmental and human health. These challenges also offer opportunities for collective action on the local level, innovation, and climate justice.

This year’s workshop, Connecting planetary health, climate justice, and community health: from knowledge to impact’, invites participants to explore the links between planetary health and community health and wellbeing. We will look into mobilizing communities,including the involvement of young people,as agents of change, ensuring that climate solutions are just, accessible, and impactful taking into account indigenous perspectives. By bridging knowledge with action, we aim to inspire collaborative strategies that address the root causes of environmental degradation while fostering healthier, more resilient communities.

Audience

The Global Community Health Annual Workshop provides a space where community health practitioners, activists, policy makers, and researchers can learn and improve their skills. In 2025 over 500 participants from all regions of the world participated.

Format of the workshop

The online workshop will take place on 3 consecutive days, 3½ contact hours per day. To accommodate participants from all different time zones, the workshop will be offered twice a day.

  • Block 1 will run from 10.00 – 13.30 Paris; 16.00 – 19.30 Beijing; 18.00 – 21.30 Melbourne.
  • Block 2 will run from 16.00 – 19.30 Paris; 7.00 – 10.30 Los Angeles; 11.00 – 14.30 Buenos Aires

The workshop uses an interactive format ensuring active participation through a series of online lectures, combined with community heath hubs.

Community health hubs

The community health hubs (working groups) are offered in different languages including English, French, Spanish and possibly other languages. During the community health hubs participants can share experiences, build their regional and global networks and work on their individual assignments.

Assignment

Participants can submit an individual assignment on their learnings of the workshop. Each assignment will be assessed and can be published on the Chair website, for future reference. After approval of the assignment participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Language

The online lectures are held in English, French or Spanish. For translation into 50+ languages, including English, French, Spanish, Persian, Arabic and Chinese, we use an AI based translation app.

Registration free of charge

The Community Health Workshop will take place online and is free of charge. Practitioners, students, activists, policy makers and researchers from different backgrounds from all over the world are welcome to join. Participants need to register using the online registration form. Registration will close on Thursday 4 June 2026, 16.00 CEST.

Organisers

Organisers are the UNESCO Chair Global Health & EducationUniversity of Clermont AuvergneUniversity of HuddersfieldEHESP School of Public HealthInternational Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE)Réseau Francophone International Pour la Promotion de la Sante (RÉFIPS)European Public Health Association (EUPHA) and Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht.

More information

For more information about the workshop, please visit the dedicated webpage.

Posted by Didier in News