On 29–30 April, the WHO Regional Office for Europe hosted Rebooting health promotion: Marking 40 years of the Ottawa Charter in the WHO European Region, a two-day virtual dialogue on the future of health promotion.
The event brought together participants from across the WHO European Region and beyond to reflect on how health promotion can respond to today’s public health challenges, including rising health threats, climate change, inequalities, digital transformation and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
WHO/Europe is an associate partner in JA PreventNCD, and the event provided an important opportunity to connect the Joint Action’s work with wider regional efforts to strengthen prevention, health promotion and action across sectors.
Health promotion for today’s challenges
Forty years after the Ottawa Charter, health promotion remains a central part of public health. However, the context has changed significantly. Health systems are under pressure, societies are facing complex environmental and social challenges, and non-communicable diseases continue to place a major burden on people, communities and economies.
Across high-level panels, discussions and interactive breakout sessions, participants explored how health promotion can be renewed for this changing context. The programme addressed a wide range of issues closely connected to JA PreventNCD’s work, including Health in All Policies, the economy of wellbeing, commercial determinants of health, data and monitoring, policy action, equity, trust, misinformation, healthy environments and prevention across the life course.
A clear message ran through the event: health promotion must continue to evolve, while staying focused on the conditions that enable people and communities to live healthier lives.
JA PreventNCD contributions
JA PreventNCD was proud to take part in this important dialogue, contributing expertise to help strengthen and advance health promotion efforts across the region.
- Hanna Tolonen, from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, represented JA PreventNCD and JACARDI in a session on data and monitoring. Her contribution focused on strengthening prevention through better health data and coordinated screening.
- Arnfinn Helleve, from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, contributed to the discussion on monitoring policies for health promotion and prevention.
- Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir, from the Directorate of Health in Iceland, contributed to the session “The economy of well-being” and to the high-level panel on the second day of the event.
Together, these contributions reflected key priorities for JA PreventNCD, including stronger prevention, better data and monitoring, Health in All Policies, and action on the wider determinants of health.
Connecting health promotion, prevention and wellbeing
The event also strongly connected with wider conversations taking place across JA PreventNCD, including the importance of investing in prevention, supporting healthier environments, and placing health and wellbeing more firmly at the centre of policymaking.
This is especially relevant as Europe continues to face a growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Addressing this challenge requires action beyond the health sector, including policies that support healthier choices, reduce inequalities and create environments where wellbeing can be sustained over time.
The WHO/Europe dialogue offered a timely reminder that health promotion is not only a long-standing public health principle. It is also a forward-looking agenda for healthier, fairer and more resilient societies.
Looking ahead
As WHO/Europe noted following the event, the conversation does not end here. The discussions highlighted both the urgency of today’s challenges and the strength of collective solutions.
For JA PreventNCD, the event reinforced the importance of continued collaboration with WHO/Europe and other partners to strengthen prevention, improve data and monitoring, promote Health in All Policies, and support action across sectors.
Forty years after the Ottawa Charter, the task is not only to reflect on its legacy, but to apply its principles to today’s realities. Health promotion remains essential, and advancing it will require sustained collaboration across countries, sectors and communities.