July 2004 Health Promotion conference at NUI Galway

The Department of Health Promotion, NUI Galway is holding its eighth annual Conference on the 8th and 9th July 2004. This year, the conference will focus on 'European Perspectives on Promoting Health and Well-being".

Health Promotion is a social model of health and well-being and is based on the principles of equity, participation, empowerment and social justice (WHO, Ottawa Charter, 1986). "The focus of this multidisciplinary area of study and practice is on enhancing the strengths and competencies of individuals and communities, thereby enabling people to increase control over and improve their health," says Margaret Barry, of NUI Galway's Department of Health Promotion. "Central to this endeavour is the role of citizen participation and empowerment in the larger socio-political context," she says.

Conference presentations will discuss topics including the growing power and influence of the European Union (EU) institutions in health promotion, public health and higher education, especially following recent enlargement. The experience of the European Training Consortium in Public Health and Health Promotion and European Masters in Health Promotion Training initiatives will also be addressed.

The conference programme will also include workshops and a symposium on Professional Competencies in Health Promotion from a European perspective.

Health Promotion experts from the UK, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Ireland will address the conference, which builds on the European Summer School on 'Strategies for Health in Europe' (28 June to 8th July), currently being hosted by the Department of Health Promotion. This postgraduate-level Summer School is jointly organised by the European Training Consortium in Public Health and Health Promotion (ETC-PHHP) and the European Masters Programme in Health Promotion (EUMAHP) consortium.

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