June 30, EU-PROMENS and NWA conducted the final evaluation workshop for the Danish activities covering a total of 3 Core Trainings and 4 Advanced Training sessions with more than 140 participants in total.

The full recording can be found as a Microsoft Sharepoint Event recording here – or find an executive summary below.

When Her Excellency the Honourable Carolyn Bennett looks at a problem, she does not see a solitary symptom, an isolated voter, or a single border. She sees a root system.

Currently serving as the Canadian Ambassador to Denmark, Bennett’s career is a masterclass in breaking down silos. Before entering diplomacy, she spent over two decades as a family physician, delivered thousands of babies, and served as a Member of Parliament for 26 years—including tenures as Canada’s first Minister of State for Public Health and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. Whether navigating the chaotic aftermath of the 2003 SARS outbreak, indigenous rights or managing modern international relations, Bennett’s philosophy has remained remarkably consistent: real solutions are found bottom-up, built by the people who live and work in the trenches.

The Flower Shop Philosophy: A Lesson in Intersectionality

Long before the concept of intersectionality became a buzzword in academic circles, Bennett was learning its core mechanics in her family’s flower shop.

“I grew up in a flower shop,” she recalls, explaining how the business relied on a tightly coordinated ecosystem of diverse talents. The designers who styled the arrangements were not always the best at dealing with customers, while the delivery drivers held localized, practical knowledge that couldn’t be taught from behind a desk. “A designer would occasionally go out to the delivery room and try and tell somebody in what order to deliver the parcels,” Bennett says, “and you go, ‘No, they actually know where there’ll be traffic. It’s better to go this way than that way'”.

This upbringing taught her a foundational rule that she carried straight into medicine, politics, and diplomacy: “Know what you know, know what you don’t know, and know who and when to go for help“. As a family doctor, she actively rejected the “super-specialization” that ignored the bigger picture. Instead, she championed the role of the generalist—the person who respects all players and understands how different sectors interact, whether it is medical disciplines collaborating or looking at how nature, housing, and poverty dictate human wellness.

Respect and Trust are the pillars of successful collaboration

To build a truly interdisciplinary system, Bennett argues that you must strip away institutional arrogance and replace it with two core ingredients: respect and trust.

In medicine, this meant moving away from rigid “scopes of practice” that barred capable professionals from contributing, shifting instead toward “core competencies” and mutual trust. Bennett highlights this through the concept of “delegated acts” within her own past medical practice, relying on a deeply experienced registered nursing assistant.

“It is about the ability to observe her a number of times until she feels confident… ‘See one, do one, teach one,'” Bennett notes. This model required absolute trust and accountability: “Knowing that in a delegated act, if she makes a mistake, it’s my mistake… This was a mutual decision, and it’s still my responsibility”. For Bennett, true collaboration requires creating a safe space where professionals—and patients—are treated as true partners, stripping away self-interest to form a cohesive team.

Telemedicine and the Burning Platform of COVID-19

Too often, bureaucratic inertia blocks progress until a crisis forces a paradigm shift. Bennett calls this a “burning platform”. For the healthcare sector, that platform was the COVID-19 pandemic.

For over fifteen years, advocates had pushed for virtual care options, particularly for young people or individuals who frequently missed appointments due to logistical barriers. Yet, administrative and financial systems resisted. When COVID-19 arrived, the impossible suddenly became a daily reality. E-prescribing and virtual appointments flourished because they had to.

This sudden evolution cracked open new pathways for equity, proving that a flexible approach works. When it comes to adopting team-based care or new technological integrations, Bennett’s advice to hesitant establishments is simple and pragmatic: “Try it, you’ll like it”.

Bridging Distances: From Canada to Greenland and Denmark

Now, as Canada’s Ambassador to Denmark, Bennett sees how these lessons bridge the massive geographic and cultural distances separating the North American Arctic and Scandinavia.

Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (through its deep relationships with Greenland and the Faroe Islands) share the immense challenge of providing equitable care across vast, isolated expanses. Telemedicine and e-health have transitioned from modern conveniences to absolute lifelines for northern, remote indigenous communities.

Furthermore, Bennett emphasizes that Western frameworks are profoundly incomplete without Indigenous knowledge. Whether collaborating through the Arctic Council or conducting research in Cambridge Bay, true progress requires integrating local expertise. Just as Canadian healthcare is striving to embrace First Nations’ holistic “medicine wheel”—addressing the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual quadrants of wellness—modern diplomacy must acknowledge that communities understand their own environments best.

Trusting the Experts of Lived Experience

Ultimately, Carolyn Bennett’s journey from a family doctor clinic to an embassy is united by a singular, democratic truth: the people affected by a system are the ones who know it best.

In medicine, the patient is the ultimate expert on their own body and life, while the doctor is merely an expert on the available tools and tests. The exact same logic applies to a healthy democracy. Citizens are the experts on what is working and failing in their neighborhoods; the politician’s job is simply to understand the levers of the system well enough to implement the changes those citizens actually need.

By flattening hierarchies and treating both patients and citizens as essential partners, Ambassador Bennett continues to prove that whether you are delivering a baby, drafting public health legislation, or reinforcing Arctic alliances, you must always look the people in the eye, listen to their stories, and trust their expertise.

As part of our work in the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, the Nordic Wellbeing Academy and its European partners are happy to release recording of the third webinar in our series from March 4 on leadership.

The webinar features the key experts Julia Persson – Scita Health and Nordic Charter for Women’s Health 2040 , Roit Feldenkreis – Conductor Director of Leadership Excellence Program Lotem, and Lars Münter – Nordic Wellbeing Academy.

Press Release – Copenhagen, January 12, 2026
As part of the EU Social Innovation+ Initiative project ISRICM, the Nordic Wellbeing Academy and its European partners are happy to announce the new and fascinating webinar taking place February 24, 14.00 CET on social inclusion.

The webinar features the key experts Carina Dantas – SHINE 2 Europe and SHAFE Foundation, Eva Turk – UAS St. Pölten, and Lars Münter – Nordic Wellbeing Academy. As an integral part of the ISRICM project, the webinar will enable participants to learn more about key principles, tools, and indicators that help social inclusion become a valuable mechanism for the future of European workplaces.

“The value of diversity is the secret recipe for future workplaces and competitiveness” says Lars Münter and adds “Being able to better wield these principles in practice in HR organisations and in recruitment is a vital tool to unlock innovation, wellbeing, and resilience across the European labour market.”

The webinar is free of charge and registration can be done via the link below. Contact Lars Münter for further information.

As part of Lars Münters work in the WHO Europe Strategic Partners Initiative for Data and Digital Health, he was invited by The Society of Occupational Medicine October 9th to present at a webinar.

Hosted by Professor Niel Greenberg, Chair of The SOM, Lars there presented the process and thinking behind the tool for prevention of burnout that was previously also presented and discussed in an earlier stage at the WHO Symposium for the Future Health Workforce in April 2025.

With an extra six months of development, it was a pleasure to share these insights again and to discuss with a very dedicated group of researchers and stakeholders for good working environments.

See the full presentation above – or read a summary of the presentation below

Going from Aalborg and the EU Presidency to Tallinn and the WHO – Future Health Workforce is key to the discussion. NWA participated with Nina Sønderberg and Lars Münter, where Lars Münter was invited to the session to address different policy-level aspects crucial for building sustainable health workforces in a digital age.

This included:

• Enablers of high quality, safe and inclusive digital health environments
• Service design that enables integrated care delivery across heterogenous care environment
• Roles and responsibilities in a future health workforce and pathways to achieving them
• Applying ethics and accountability in AI-driven healthcare environments
• Effective regulatory frameworks

Presenting alongside Kjersti GAUDEN, Department of Specialist Health Care Services, Ministry of Health Norway, Heidi Egede NOASEN, Greenlandic Health Service Greenland, and Deborah Cohen, Chief Operating Officer, Health Workforce Canada, Lars Münter presented on skills, burnout, AI, and trust – as four pillars for collaborative strategies.

Such a pleasure to revisit Tallinn for NWA – and to advance the discussion on these core topics.

In collaboration with the One Health One Road Alliance, Cambridge Medical Academy, European University Cyprus, European Health Futures Forum, and IE Open, the Nordic Wellbeing Academy is organising the Danish-Cypriot EU Policy Sessions – a series of health policy side sessions at the IMBMC 2025 in Nicosia, Cyprus – November 6-8.

The sessions will gather speakers and participants from a global network to discuss and develop new ideas. Meet:

• Adam Skali – Board Member, Institute for Human Centered Health Innovation, ES
• Anna Kudiyarova – Director of the Psychoanalytic Institute for Central Asia, KZ
• Belinda Lin – Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park China
• Bogi Eliasen – Executive Director, Movement Health Foundation, DK
• Carina Dantas – IHI ReADI, SHAFE Foundation, and SHINE 2Europe, PL
• Cris Scotter – Special Advisor, WHO Europe, UK
• Diana Arsovic – CEO, Danish Life Science Cluster, DK
• Dr Eva Turk – IHI IMPROVE, HTAi, and University of Applied Science St. Pölten, A
• Dr Ioannis Patrikios – Vice-dean European University Cyprus Medical School CY
• Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel – Director of the National Centre for Integrative Oncology, UK
• Dr Sotiris Themistokleous – Director of Strategic Development Center for Social Innovation CY
• Emma Rawson-Te Patu – President of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, NZ
• Jun (Helena) Li – CEO One Road One Health Medicine, China
• Lars Münter – International Director, Nordic Wellbeing Academy, DK
• MEP Michalis Hadjipantelas, CY
• Nina Sønderberg – National Director, Nordic Wellbeing Academy, DK
• Professor Karsten Kristiansen – Copenhagen University, DK
• Takis Kotis – CEO, Cambridge Medical Academy, GR
• Terry Pirovolakis – CEO, Elpida Technology, CA
• And about 50 other scientists, researchers, professor, experts, and changemakers in the bio-medical conference main tracks

Read more and register (free)

Collaborative creativity at its finest in Aalborg September 18th. NWA collaborated with EHFF to build a co-creative workshop with Natasha Azzopardi Muscat – Director of the Division of Country Health Polices and Systems WHO Europe, Charlotte Marchandise – Executive Director EUPHA, and Stella Goeschl – Young Action Group JA PreventNCD as the superpanelist powering the audience.

In 60 minutes, the audience got to find future strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that should be taken into account for a future strategy, and then our panelist used these to suggest four action items that they hoped the participants – and the Danish EU Presidency – would take up tomorrow to build a new pathway for change. These were voted on by the audience to create a shortlist of five action items for change.

Common Themes Across Speakers

• Burnout & well-being: urgent and systemic.
• Technology: potential but overhyped; must serve both patients and staff.
• Data: better workforce data is essential.
• Inclusion: young people, patients, and vulnerable groups must be part of decision-making.
• Public health: prevention and community-level work relieve pressure on hospitals.

Top 5 Action Points for EU Presidency Action

• Build KPIs for workforce well-being – measure and hold leaders accountable.
• Ensure technology validation – evaluate AI/innovation like medicines (safety, impact, cost-effectiveness).
• Stand up for people with science – evidence-based policies, not quick fixes.
• Inclusion of young people – systematically in panels, education, and policy.
• Stand up for communities – ensure public health and local engagement.

WHO Europe will discuss this further at conferences and events in 2025 and on. The themes will be a strong element of debate at European Public Health Conference 2025 in Helsinki (November), and JA PreventNCD will continue it’s work to tackle determinants, including at a conference in Denmark October 2025.

As part of the One Health One Road Alliance, NWA and EHFF will bring the issue into the Danish-Cypriot Policy Debates in Nicosia November 6-8 as the opportunity of bringing this issue from one EU Presidency to the next is vital. We hope to see many from Aalborg in Nicosia too.

Working in partnerships is one of the most rewarding, most needed, and most difficult endavours humans can do. Building a good relational strategy is a first step, but figuring out if the strategy works can be tricky. Or it used to be! Two new report created by the NWA and a consortium of experts for the Danish Life Science Cluster gives partnership builders, managers, and transformation agents a new tools to navigate this difficult task.

The two reports follows a first report issued earlier this year about the impact of the Danish Lighthouse Life Science. The “Foundation of the Danish Lighthouse Life Science” report describes the architecture behind this collaborative PPP with 400+ members. And in “A New KPI Model for Collaboration and Change“, we introduce a change model with KPIs that can help guide new partnerships along the tricky art of building, expanding, and running a multistakeholder platform towards a common goal.

The key point above all;
You can design collaborative platforms to also generate trust – and here’s a manual.

In a time where trust in institutions and future is eroding, this mechanism of using trust literacy to build new collaborative platforms with strong relational strategies is needed more than ever. We look forward to promote, test, and expand the model much more in coming months and years.

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.