EUREGHA plays a vital role in advancing local implementation of health policies while fostering a broader European understanding of the strengths and challenges of a regional approach to health and wellbeing. By bringing together regional and local health authorities across Europe, EUREGHA facilitates the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions tailored to diverse contexts.

The network enables regions to share insights into how healthcare can be optimized at the local level, highlighting the unique needs and resources of smaller communities while ensuring alignment with broader European health goals. At the same time, EUREGHA’s work helps identify the limitations of a regional approach, such as disparities in resources, political frameworks, and healthcare access, offering a clearer picture of what works and where improvements are needed.

By bridging the gap between local realities and European policy, EUREGHA strengthens collaboration between regions and EU institutions, driving more effective and inclusive health strategies. Ultimately, the network’s efforts are crucial for fostering a health ecosystem that is both regionally tailored and responsive to the challenges of an interconnected Europe.

NWA was happy to participate in their annual conference in Brussels December 5, 2024 to add perspectives to the role of trust and collaboration as a local and regional superpower for the wellbeing of Europeans. Lars Münter participated in a panel with two regional representatives Emma Spear, Deputy Director, Health, Social Care & Early Years Group Director General’s Office, Welsh Government – Thomas Van Langendonck, Vitalink Analyst, Team eHealth, Department of Care, Flanders – at European level also policy officer Simone Boselli, Labour market, Education, Health & Social services of DG Reform.

The quest for wellbeing is as old as humanity. Creating a structured approach requires a civilisation capable of longterm thinking and strategy about the many implications for education, urban design, innovation, institutions, community involvement, allocation of ressources and much more.

NWA has collaborated with Cambridge Medical Academy for several years in pursuing the potential in a knowledge sharing of global practices from traditional and contemporary Chinese medicine with Western medicine and research – and potentially integrating also traditional Mongolian, Indian, African, or indigenous American practices also. Being humble enough to recognise that we still need to explore practices, compounds, and interactions much more across borders. While modern science has advanced immensely during the 20th Century in particular, neither oceans, space, genomics, or microbiomes are fully explored.

To advance the understanding and benefit of global collaboration, NWA participated in the One Health One Road inagural conference in Danfeng south of the historical city of Xi’an – renowned for the discovery of the terracota army of soldiers and the birthplace of the first Chinese dynasty of emperors. The conference gathered 400 dedicated researchers, especially from the Chinese TCM community, but also a small number of European changemakers eager to learn more by integrating ideas and approaches. Lars Münter shared experiences from our work in the Nordic Health 2030 Movement and the Danish Life Science Cluster on the future and nature of health and wellbeing, and the role of trust and collaboration for transformation in communities, institutions, and societies towards a sustainable future.

The sustainable future does not happen by chance. So we are happy to be able to annonce a new strategic collaboration between the Nordic Wellbeing Academy and the European Health Futures Forum that holds significant potential for transforming healthcare in Europe by combining the collective expertise in wellbeing, innovation, and future-focused health solutions.

The European Health Futures Forum’s forward-thinking approach to health systems and fostering a comprehensive and sustainable vision for the future aligns well with the Nordic Wellbeing Academy’s emphasis on holistic health and preventive measures. With NWA supporting EHFF in a new development stage, the two organizations can drive cross-border innovation, using data-driven insights and best practices from both Nordic and broader European contexts. And by pooling resources, they can share knowledge on cutting-edge technologies, policies, and interventions that are shaping the next generation of health systems. Nina Sønderberg participated in the EHFF Annual meeting to represent NWA in the discussions about the future of EHFF, and to present the possibilities in a collaboration agreement.

The collaboration also opens up opportunities for research and education that can empower healthcare professionals, policymakers, and communities to tackle complex health challenges collectively. Ultimately, this partnership intends to act as a transformational catalyst for creating resilient and adaptable health systems that prioritize wellbeing, equity, and long-term sustainability across Europe.

Since 2019, the Data Saves Lives initiative by the European Patients Forum has been vital for the important discussion about the digital transformation of healthcare and social services in Europe – and the key role of patient voices in all those evolutions. By ensuring data is accurate, secure, and accessible, the initiative helps address public health challenges, particularly in low-resource settings. In this context, ongoing debate about AI is crucial, as it addresses concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the ethical implications of AI-driven decision-making in healthcare.

So in November 26-27, EPF marked the 5th Anniversary of the Data Saves Lives initiative to further emphasize the critical role of data in improving healthcare outcomes, advocating for the responsible use of personal health information to guide medical decisions and enhance patient care. The event gathered a great mix of patient advocates, data science experts, regulators, ngo representatives, policy makers and more.

NWA participated with having Lars Münter both being in a debate panel on Data Savvy Patients: Empowerment through AI Literacy in Healthcare with Anca Toma, CEO of EPF and Ildiko Vajda of the Dutch Patient Organisation, Eric Sutherland of the OECD and – Stefan Phillips, OneVision Healthcare. And by facilitating a workshop on the importance of education in enhancing trust (in data, health, collaboration etc).

27/12/2024, Brussels – Data Saves Lives 2024 – European Patients’ Forum EPF
© Elio Germani 2024

The challenge of antimicrobial resistance rises almost exponentially, threatening to destroy decades of progress in modern surgery or other invasive prodecures. The change gear, the Swedish multistakeholder initiative AntibiotikaSmart has been established as a national action platform, lead primarily by RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) in collaboration with the National Public Health Agency..

NWA was happy to be invited to join the initiative in a knowledge sharing of progress, challenges, and tools at an event in Stockholm November 19, 2024 – and great to see the ambition and energy of the gathered stakeholders there. Among products, the initiative has developed a learning platform and a certification system for both social care and educational institutions to bring them into the important work.

We look forward to further support this work in 2025, including by joining with members of the European Health Fututures Forum to also try to bring these Swedish tools further into a European action context.

Digitalisation and digital transformation has been at the core of the EHiN conference for a decade – a growing event for partners in and outside the Nordics to understand the evolution and challenges of both Nordic, European, and global e-health possibilities and realities.

NWA participated and facilitated a debate about linking welfare and the wellbeing economy with Bengt Andersson from the Nordic Wellfare Centre, Christian Boel from Aarhus Municipality (DK), and Helle Sörensen Östersund Municipality (SE) – a great dive in the paths towards implementation of next generation health policies and practices at local level.

Read more about speakers, programme, and presentations at the EHiN website here.

Photo courtesy of EHiN / Ard Jongsma, Still Words Photography.

The European University of Cyprus and the Cyprus Medical Association has developed a high-level and target forum for both knowledge sharing and informal dialogue about cutting edge health technology and clinical discoveries that can improve health.

NWA was invited to present our work in the Nordic Health 2030 Movement and also the latest development of a model for assessment of multipartner collaboration framework for the Danish Life Science Cluster. This took place as part of a dedicated session one personalised medicine, organised by the Cambridge Medical Academy.

Held in Nicosia, Cyprus, 7-9 November 2024, the 12th IMBMC international congress event also allowed NWA to see the vibrant atmosphere in the last divided city in Europe – and both the challenge and potential of joint collaboration for a prosperous future for all. The alternative – or the cost of inaction – is enourmous.

Elevate Health is a growing network of researchers from across non-institutional stakeholders dedicated to discussing both models for assessment of health and transformative pathways.

NWA participated in a creative workshop for validating a new analytic model – in a fascinating mix of people and minds. Read more about the group here.

It is always exciting to get to the first actual meeting in a new project. In the Forgotten Fish project this meant a visit to the Foggia province of Apulia, Italy.

Given the purpose of the project – to find new paths to enable gastronomical entrepreneurs to transform forgotten fish species into new culinary experiences and a contribution to a transformation towards sustainable food systems – this was a golden opportunity to also connect history with future.

In addition to a series of microtrainings, we got to experience the traditional (but challenged by climate change) fishing communities in Peschisi, artisinal wine making practices in San Severo, and bread making (from flour to fork) in Foggia it self.

Amazing landscape, people, tastes, and history. And a great meeting for our Greek, Italian, and Danish consortium. We look forward to meeting in Syros and Ærø – almost worlds apart, but connected by sea, cooking, and fish.

What do doctors need to know? Obviously a lot. And building the right curricula for doctors is one of the core functions of medical schools across the globe. Science, experience, technology, demographics, and climate too change over time. So must the curricula for doctors.

This is the background for the conference of AMSE2024 with theme of “Educating for patient-centred and community-engaged healthcare”.

Held by AMSE, The Association of Medical Schools in Europe and organized by the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in Thessaloniki , Greece, on 17-19 October 2024, NWA was present to contribute with a presentation on the urgency of medical schools to also include elements about wellbeing economy.

We also had the great opportunity to meet with the amazing team at PsyLab at the Institute for Applied Bioscience at CERTH – so many exciting possibilities in and from their multidisciplinary approach to digital development and the future of health technology.