Health Promotion

19
Mar
2026
24 – 26 September 2026 : STRONGER TOGETHER – For Better Health among Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

24 – 26 September 2026 : STRONGER TOGETHER – For Better Health among Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

The Joint International Paediatric, School and Adolescent Medicine and Health Congress “STRONGER TOGETHER – For Better Health among Children, Adolescents and Young Adults” will be held from 24 – 26 September 2026 in Portorož, Slovenia. This event will bring together experts from across Europe who are dedicated to supporting young people in their transition from childhood to adulthood.

This congress is being organized collaboratively by four leading associations in the fields of pediatric, school, and adolescent health:

  • ZZP (Slovenian Paediatric Association of the Slovenian Medical Association)
  • EUSUHM (European Union for School and University Health and Medicine)
  • IAAH (International Association for Adolescent Health)
  • SSSAM (Slovenian Association for School, Student and Adolescent Medicine of the Slovenian Medical Association)

Scientific program

The scientific program will address current issues in physical and mental health, prevention, health promotion, and the social determinants affecting youth development.

The congress will also provide an excellent opportunity for networking, sharing experiences, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals from diverse backgrounds.

Topics related to pediatrics, school, adolescent and student medicine and health

  • Preventive Medicine:
    screening programs, health education, public health campaigns, preventive health examinations, health promotion, vaccination, risk factors, environmental impacts on health
  • Sports Medicine:
    healthy athletic development, health risks for athletes, injury prevention, monitoring of physical performance, sports nutrition, rest and recovery
  • Chronic Diseases:
    challenges and support programs in the management of chronic patients, transition of care, modern approaches and therapies, monitoring of chronic patients
  • Sexual Health:
    education for healthy sexuality, contraception, sexual identity, sexually transmitted diseases
  • Emergency Medicine:
    2025 resuscitation guidelines
  • Mental Health:
    mental health care, recognition of mental health problems, support services, sources of help
  • Open Topics:
    development of school, student, and adolescent health care, health system policies, health-related behaviors in adolescents, other relevant topics

Abstract submission and more information

Abstract submission is open until 31 March 2026.

For more information visit the conference website.

Posted by Didier in News
12
Mar
2026
La Trobe University and UNESCO Chair GHE join forces to reduce health and social inequities

La Trobe University and UNESCO Chair GHE join forces to reduce health and social inequities

La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, has become the newest member of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education community following the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Clermont Auvergne Foundation, host institution of the UNESCO Chair. The agreement was signed on 22 January 2026 at La Trobe’s Bundoora campus by Professor Coral Warr, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, and witnessed by Professor Didier Jourdan, chair holder of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education.

Through this partnership, La Trobe joins a global network of universities, institutions and practitioners committed to promoting health, equity and quality education for children and young people in their everyday environments. La Trobe’s contribution will be led by Distinguished Professor Richard Osborne and the Global Health and Equity Development Hub, internationally recognised for its pioneering work in health literacy, including the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process and tools to identify and respond to diverse health literacy needs.

The new collaboration will focus on co-producing knowledge, building capacities of education and health professionals, and sharing evidence-informed practices that reduce health and social inequities, particularly in rural and Indigenous communities. Planned activities include joint workshops, case studies, and the co-design of locally relevant interventions and policies at the intersection of health literacy, education and equity.

By joining the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, La Trobe University strengthens the Chair’s multidisciplinary and international community and reinforces its ambition to support institutions and professionals in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to health, education and the reduction of inequalities.

Posted by Didier in News
04
Nov
2025
Special issue: Child and Adolescent Health in Europe and Central Asia

Special issue: Child and Adolescent Health in Europe and Central Asia

A special scientific issue by Public Health in Practice, available on ScienceDirect, brings together key articles that support the new Child and Adolescent Health (CAH) strategy in the WHO European Region by providing analysis, evidence and concrete recommendations for its implementation. The recently adopted strategy ‘A healthy start for a healthy life: a strategy for child and adolescent health and well-being in the WHO European Region 2026–2030’ is the result of extensive consultation with governments, experts, civil society and young people themselves. 

The UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education actively contributed to providing the evidence base for the CAH strategy through the article ‘School is more than a place to learn: An intersectoral assessment of adolescent well-being prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the WHO European Region[1]’, which sheds light on the challenges of adolescent well-being, the impact of the pandemic and the importance of an intersectoral approach to schooling.

Other articles included in the special issue are:

[1] M. Limburg, M. Cronin, M. Black, J.C. Inchley, D. Jourdan, C. Jung-Sievers, P. McHale, E. Rehfuess, M.-C. Tsai, N.J. Gray. School is more than a place to learn: An intersectoral assessment of adolescent well-being prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the WHO European Region. Public Health in Practice, Volume 10, 2025, 100654. ISSN 2666-5352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2025.100654

Posted by Didier in News
15
Sep
2025
Webinar 28 October 2025 – Health promotion in the education sector

Webinar 28 October 2025 – Health promotion in the education sector

Time: 8.00 – 9.30 Mexico, 9.00 – 10.30 Colombia, 10.00 – 11.30 Puerto Rico, 11.00 – 12.30 Brazil, 15.00 – 16.30 France

Language: The webinar will be held in Spanish and Portuguese. Translation will be available in 50+ languages, including English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. We will use a translation app based on AI.

Registration: Register here. Registration is free. The link to the webinar will be sent to you after registration.

Información en español, Informações em português

Speakers

Moderator

Prof. Dr. Fernando Peñaranda Correa. He is a doctor, holds a master’s degree in public health, a master’s degree in education and social development, and a doctorate in social sciences, childhood and youth. He is a full professor and senior researcher in the Health and Society Research Group at the National School of Public Health at the University of Antioquia. He is the coordinator of the health education emphasis in the Master’s in Public Health programme. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the Faculty and other universities in the country on the following topics: epistemology, qualitative research, ethics and social justice, public health, health promotion, and health education. He has written numerous articles, book chapters, and books in the areas of health education, qualitative research, ethics, public health, and social justice.

Bibiana E. Castro Franco. Psychologist, specialising in social psychology, Master’s degree in Public Health and Doctorate in Human Sciences. Lecturer at the University of Cauca. Department of Education and Pedagogy. Researcher with the Popular and Community Education Group. Member of the Colombian Network for Health Education. CLACSO Working Group on International Health and Health Sovereignty.

Kátia Souto, National Coordinator of the School Health Programme, Ministry of Health, Brazil

Goof Buijs. Manager of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education. After finishing his Master study in Human Nutrition his first job was teaching health science at the Amsterdam teacher trainer institute. Next he moved into the field of health promotion, as health promotion officer in Amsterdam. At the Netherlands Institute for Health Promotion NIGZ he specialized in school health promotion, first on the Dutch level to introduce the national health promoting school programme and leading several European projects. In 2007 he became the manager of the Schools for Health (SHE) network until 2017. In 2018, with prof Didier Jourdan, he set up the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, also the WHO Collaborating Centre. His specialisation is bringing health and education sectors together. He is an experienced networker, expert in co-creation, trainer, and organizer of local and global events. He supports cooperation among people, focusing on everyone’s talents and uniqueness. He is an environmental activist for most of his life.

Summary

During this webinar the speakers will analyse experiences with health promotion in the education sector in various countries to identify achievements, challenges and opportunities. Each speaker will share their respective experiences, identifying the progress, strengths, difficulties and challenges involved in coordinating the education and health sectors to promote health promotion and health education in schools. This will be followed by time for attendees to ask questions and make comments on the presentations given by the speakers.

Latin American Network for the Revitalisation of Health Education

This webinar is a part of the “Latin American Network for the Revitalisation of Health Education”. This initiative is being promoted with the participation of the UNESCO Chair on Global Health and Education, the Inter-American Consortium of Universities and Training Centers for Health Education and Health Promotion (CIUEPS), the Brazilian Network of Popular Health Education, the Colombian Network of Health Education and the Regional Office for Latin America of the International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE/ORLA), with the following objectives:

  • Promote health education at national and international levels, as a fundamental dimension of the health disciplines, the educational sciences and the social and human sciences.
  • To recuperate the Latin American production and position it in the regional level, which implies promoting its critical and decolonial approaches. A health education that advocates for social transformation towards a more just and equitable society that guarantees well-being and a life with dignity.
  • Promote the articulation of the education and health sectors to strengthen the actions of each of these sectors to promote health education, by recognizing education and health as two inalienable, synergistic and interdependent human rights.
  • Strengthen the theoretical, political and ethical foundations of health education as a requirement for a responsible, productive and ethical pedagogical practice.
  • To generate a setting for the articulation of academia and civil society that allows Latin American integration in order to share experiences, knowledge and aspirations framed in a collective purpose.
  • To promote national and international integration with respect to health education as a means for mutual learning and solidarity, and to facilitate cooperative actions in the development of academic-scientific events, research and training processes.

The webinars, open to all interested stakeholders, are a component of the program. They are experiential sessions, lasting 60-90 minutes, with guest speakers who present their reflections on two or three problematic questions to encourage audience participation. Five webinars have been scheduled for this first stage of the program, with an interval of 2 months between each one.

Watch the recordings of previous webinars:

Posted by Didier in News
15
Sep
2025
News from IUHPE

News from IUHPE

The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) recently published their Flash-Info. The IUPHE is a worldwide, independent and professional association of individuals and organisations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the people through education, community action and the development of healthy public policy. Their newsletter is relevant for all working in the field of health promotion and education. While the newsletter is typically a member benefit, it is shared here with IUHPE’s permission because it includes an important call to action for the health promotion community at large. The information is available in English, French and Spanish.

In the Flash-Info August 2025 you can read amongst others about the need for health promotion in our current world, read an account of the 26th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion, access the Global Health Promotion (GHP) call for papers on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and find a call to action to secure the position of health promotion within the World Health Organization (WHO).

Access the IUHPE Flash-Info August 2025

Posted by Didier in News
22
May
2025
5th edition Global Community Health Annual Workshop – Confirmed speakers

5th edition Global Community Health Annual Workshop – Confirmed speakers

On 10, 11 and 12 June 2025 the 5th edition of the Global Community Health Annual Workshop will take place as an online event. This year’s workshop theme is ‘Building healthy, fair and climate-smart communities: addressing commercial determinants of health’.

During the workshop the focus will be on the impact of the commercial determinants of health on community health and how public health actions can respond to them. Different initiatives with a special focus on participatory methods will be explored looking at conflict of interests and possible co-benefits of private sector action for better health on the community level. This will also be the capacity building focus for the participants.

The Global Community Health Annual Workshop provides a space where community health and health promotion practitioners and policy makers can improve their skills and where researchers can gain in capacities to conduct community-based participatory research.

Speakers

We are honoured to have excellent contributors from all over the world. A preview of the contributors:

  • Prof. Ilona Kickbusch PhD– Director and chair of the Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Prof. Jason Corburn – University of California, Berkeley, Center for Global Healthy Cities, USA
  • Raúl Mercer – MD MSc, Coordinator of the Program of Social Sciences and Health, FLACSO, Argentina
  • Mariela Alderete – MD, Researcher, Program of Social Sciences and Health, FLACSO, Argentina
  • Nancy Neamtan – Former CEO of the Chantier de l’économie sociale, Canada
  • Prof. Alafia Samuels – Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica
  • Khanitta Saeiew – National Health Commission Office (NHCO), Thailand 
  • Tanguy Bognon – Volunteer, Responsible of Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning at HIA, Health Access Initiative (HAI), Benin
  • Giulia Gasparri – Consultant

Format of the workshop

The global workshop will run during 3 days, 3,5 contact hours per day. To accommodate participants from all different time zones around the world, 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

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

Community health hubs

These community health hubs (smaller working groups) acknowledge our diversity and cultural dimensions and are offered in different languages including English, French, Spanish and other languages depending on the availability of facilitators. During the community health hubs participants have the opportunity to share experiences, build their regional and global networks and work on their individual assignments.

We encourage participants to gather locally and organise their own local community health hubs. They can follow the central lectures online together and then continue their discussions live in the local community health hubs.

Assignment

Participants will be asked to submit an individual assignment, which can be a reflexion on their main learnings of the CHW or a description of a community health initiative they are involved in or know of. Each assignment will be assessed and 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 the English and French language. This year we will provide translation into 50+ languages, including English, French, Spanish, Persian, Arabic and Chinese. We will use a translation app based on AI during the plenary sessions.

Registration

This interactive workshop will take place online and is free of charge. Practitioners, students, policy makers and researcher from different backgrounds from all over the world are welcome to join. You can register by completing the online registration form. Registration will close on Tuesday 3 June 2025, 16.00 CEST.

Organisers

Organisers are the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, EHESP School of Public Health, International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), Réseau Francophone International Pour la Promotion de la Sante (RÉFIPS), European Public Health Association (EUPHA), University of Clermont Auvergne and Huddersfield University.

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

Posted by Didier in News
19
May
2025
Why Schools Should Prioritise Health: Expert Voices from the Schools4Health Initiative

Why Schools Should Prioritise Health: Expert Voices from the Schools4Health Initiative

What makes the Health Promoting School (HPS) approach so essential today? Why should both policymakers and schools invest in it—and how does it help promote core European values like participation, equity, and inclusion? As part of the Schools4Health initiative, partners sat down with leading experts in education and public health to explore these questions and more, delving into what it takes to successfully implement the HPS approach and how projects like Schools4Health can support broader efforts led by organisations such as the WHO.

These are some of the questions the Schools4Health initiative is exploring as part of its mission to embed the Health Promoting School (HPS) approach into education systems across Europe. As part of this effort, partners recently invited two leading experts in education and public health to share their views on why now is the time to integrate health into the very fabric of school life.

From mental wellbeing and physical activity to healthy nutrition, health affects every aspect of a young person’s ability to learn and thrive. And yet, despite mounting evidence, many school systems continue to treat health as an add-on rather than a core condition for learning and development.

In a series of exclusive interviews recorded at the Schools4Health consortium meeting, advisory board members Professor Peter Paulus (Leuphana University Lüneburg) and Trinette Lee (WHO) reflect on the urgent need to rethink how we structure education and how a shift to the HPS model can lead to better outcomes not just for students and teachers, but for society.

The interviews kick off a new video series exploring the role of health in education through the eyes of those shaping policy and practice at the highest level.

Curious about their insights? Watch the first video on our LinkedIn page and follow Schools4Health on LinkedIn to explore the series to learn how schools can become healthier, more inclusive places to grow and learn.

For more insights on the HPS approach, discover the new Schools4Health policy brief, Why Invest in Health Promoting Schools, which outlines why it is a crucial and cost-effective strategy to create healthier learning environments.

Learn more at www.schools4health.eu

Posted by Didier in News
04
Mar
2025
Save the date! Global Community Health Annual Workshop 10-12 June 2025

Save the date! Global Community Health Annual Workshop 10-12 June 2025

On 10, 11 and 12 June 2025 the 5th edition of the Global Community Health Annual Workshop will take place. This year’s workshop theme is ‘Building healthy, fair and climate-smart communities: addressing commercial determinants of health’.

During the workshop the focus will be on the impact of the commercial determinants of health on community health and how public health actions can respond to them. Different initiatives with a special focus on participatory methods will be explored looking at conflict of interests and possible co-benefits of private sector action for better health on the community level. This will also be the capacity building focus for the participants.

The Global Community Health Annual Workshop provides a space where community health and health promotion practitioners and policy makers can improve their skills and where researchers can gain in capacities to conduct community-based participatory research.

Organisers are the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education, EHESP School of Public Health, International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), Réseau Francophone International Pour la Promotion de la Sante (RÉFIPS), European Public Health Association (EUPHA), University of Clermont Auvergne and Huddersfield University.

Registration will start soon!

Posted by Didier in News
17
Dec
2024
UNESCO Chair at the 17th EPH Conference

UNESCO Chair at the 17th EPH Conference

The UNESCO Chair team took part in the 17th European Public Health Conference which was held 12-15 November 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. There is clearly a more prominent place for health promotion and reducing health inequalities in public health.

Tackling health inequalities in times of crisis – the educational perspective

During the EPH Conference one of the plenary sessions was on “Tackling health inequalities in times of crisis”, organised by EuroHealthNet. According to key-note speaker Fran Baum: ‘we are living in a world facing a poly-crisis that is threatening health equity. We face a multitude of challenges which significantly impact individuals’ health and well-being and create the conditions for persisting health inequalities’.

Tackling health inequalities in times of crisis requires action across societal sectors and levels. As a panelist Didier Jourdan, chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Global Health & Education, gave a reflection from the educational perspective. He shared 4 ideas:

1) Education has a close-response relationship with all-cause morbidity;
2) Education systems are key actors in public health, not mere instruments;
3) A school that promotes health is first of all a good, inclusive and equitable school;
4) To fight inequalities we need to harness the power of formal, non-formal and informal education.

Recordings of all plenary sessions are available on EPH Conference’s YouTube channel.

Pre-conference on the effectiveness of complex health promotion interventions

On 12 November one of the pre-conferences was on “Establishing the effectiveness of complex health promotion interventions: Shining light on alternatives”. It was organised by the EUPHA Health Promotion section, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair on Global Health & Education.

During the pre-conference, the challenges facing health promotion practitioners and researchers in establishing the effectiveness of their programmes and policies was discussed. Also alternatives to the traditional epistemological and methodological perspectives were explored.  The statement of the pre-conference will be available early 2025. The presentations can be downloaded from the dedicated webpage.

Portuguese launch event of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education

The Portuguese launch event of the UNESCO Chair on Global Health & Education took place on 12 November 2024 during the 17th European Public Health Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. It was organised in collaboration with the Research Centre on Child Studies (CIEC), Institute of Education, University of Minho.

During the meeting the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education was introduced and the collaborative research with University of Minho, Portugal, São Paulo State University, Brazil and Rovuma University, Mozambique on the safe re-opening of schools during COVID-19 was highlighted. The presentations can be downloaded from the dedicated webpage.

Partnership agreement UNESCO Chair and EUPHA

During the launch event the new partnership agreement between the UNESCO Chair and EUPHA was signed.

Posted by Didier in News
03
Dec
2024
25th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – submit your abstract

25th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion – submit your abstract

Share your research, innovations, and insights at 25th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion “Settings for Plenetary Health & Well-Being”. Be part of the global conversation on health promotion by submitting your abstract today. Showcase your work to an international audience and contribute to shaping the future of health and well-being. 

The 25th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion will take place from 13 -16 May 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is set to bring together global leaders, experts, and advocates in health promotion and education to shape health promotion initiatives and strategies. From tackling local and regional health issues to sharing insights on global frameworks.

Submit your abstract before 10 December 2024!

Early bird registration closed on 15th February 2025.

More information about the 25th IUHPE conference.

Posted by Didier in News