On 5 November 2024, the Healthy Lifestyles for Europe (HL4EU) project consortium hosted the Community Building Conference on Advancing Healthier Lifestyles Across Europe in Brussels, Belgium. The conference brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and project partners to promote cross-sector collaboration for healthier lifestyles across Europe, underscoring the project’s vision, mission, and objectives. The project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union
The event provided an opportunity to discuss the potential of physical activity in promoting healthy lifestyles and the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to shift from a curative to a preventive public health model. It also highlighted the successes and lessons learned of the European Commission’s Healthy Lifestyle 4 All (HL4A) campaign as well as the findings of the recent WHO report on physical inactivity among adults. The report underlines that 35% of adults will not meet the recommended levels of physical activity by 2030, if current trends continue while also providing key recommendations to support Member States’ efforts in this area.
The diverse agenda featured:
- Alina Chebes, Sr Policy Officer, EuropeActive;
- Luz Divina De La Cruz, Science Manager, European Initiative for Exercise in Medicine (EIEIM);
- Florencia Van Houdt, Head of Sport Unit, DG EAC, European Commission;
- Dr Juana Willumsen, Technical Officer, Physical Activity Unit, World Health Organisation;
- Michele Cecchini, Head of Public Health, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;
- Knut-Inge Klepp, Scientific Coordinator, JA-PreventNCDs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Topics included best practice examples from across Europe collected through desk research, insights from the HL4A campaign, WHO recommendations on physical inactivity levels in adults, the OECD’s work on cross-sectoral collaboration for disease prevention and health promotion, and strategies to reduce Europe’s cancer and NCD burden.
A highlight of the conference was a dedicated panel on cross-sectoral cooperation for healthy lifestyles, featuring:
- Dr Juana Willumsen (Technical Officer, Physical Activity Unit, World Health Organisation);
- Kitti Almer (Public Health Attaché, Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union);
- Stefano Pintus (Policy Officer, Sport Unit, DG EAC, European Commission);
- Dr Ashley Ridout (Consultant in Sport & Exercise Medicine, Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine, UK).
Each panellist shared their organisation’s approach to promoting healthy lifestyles and emphasised the critical importance of cross-sector collaboration. Dr Willumsen reminded attendees that “physical activity should become more and more important as we age,” while Dr Ridout emphasised that “physical activity must be embedded throughout our life,” given the current trend of physical inactivity and sedentarism.
A key takeaway from the discussions was the shared recognition of challenges related to data collection and policy fragmentation in health prevention. The panellists highlighted that cooperation among countries and sectors is essential to advance best practices and mobilise stakeholders. In addition, they raised awareness of the importance of urban planning in creating accessible spaces for community exercise and encouraging physical activity. The development of a stakeholder platform to identify and share good practices, along with the publication of a Call to Action, reflects the consortium’s commitment to gathering data and providing input for future policy development.
In his closing remarks, Kai Troll, CEO of EuropeActive, underscored that “Regardless of the sector we represent, we are all promoting physical activity. Each of us should remember to keep promoting and embracing a healthier lifestyle in our personal lives too.”
After these insightful discussions, participants had the opportunity to network and exchange further views on the importance of physical activity and health promotion.
Stay tuned for HL4EU future activities!