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.

NWA contributed with great team of experts led by EuroHealthNet to build a new guidance with policy pathways for five key domains for health:

1. Nurturing planet earth and its ecosystems
2. Promoting social protection and welfare systems based on equity, inclusion and solidarity
3. Promoting equitable universal health coverage
4. Equitable economies that serve human development
5. Promoting equitable digital systems

Quote from Preface by WHO Secretary-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

“We need to reform siloed systems and institutions, foster innovation, and ensure that knowledge and resources are shared equitably. This requires individuals and communities to think in truly integrated and creative ways, embracing local wisdom and lived experiences as essential tools for change. Ignoring this imperative is not an option.

To achieve this, we must prioritize a transformative vision: the creation of “well-being societies” – environments where people can reach their full potential, live healthy and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature, and actively contribute to their communities. These societies must be built on key principles:

• Recognizing that well-being goes beyond the absence of disease, and encompasses physical, mental and social well-being.
• Understanding that well-being depends on a complex interplay of social, economic and environmental conditions.
• Embracing a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to decision-making that looks beyond narrow economic metrics.”

Quite an intro to a document with policy advice for

The Icelandic government has been a strong supporter of the principles of wellbeing economy for years. Their track record of public health innovation and holistic thinking is second to none. One of the key events and initiatives for this process has been the hosting of the annual Wellbeing Economy Forum in Reykjavik.

NWA participated in a lively and dedicated community of change makers working to implement wellbeing economy at national, regional, or local level – or for imbedding the mindset in research, investment programs, or other frameworks for societal progress.

NWA participated in the launch event for the new report for the wellbeing economy in Brussels March 4, 2025. In an event  organised by the Green European Foundation and the Institute for European Environmental Policy, the wider community of policy stakeholders presented recent data, analysis, and projections about environmental policies linked to wellbeing.

The event especially launched a political brief as a result of a one-year-long exchange within a knowledge community of more than 60 experts that maps the main challenges and provide recommendations to inspire European institutions in the delivery of their ambition to work towards the well-being of their people.

The report can be found  here – and is a way for the knowledge community project for a wellbeing economy in the EU aims to address this challenge by developing ideas and political proposals to put the EU’s ambition to “work towards an integrated framework for wellbeing” into practice.

The Invest4Health project focuses on transforming public health financing for people’s better health and well-being. Its mission is to enhance health promotion and disease prevention by incentivising investments and asset maximisation in these critical areas.

NWA co-founder Lars Münter is a member of the Citizens and Patients Advisory Group (CPAG) and was invited to participate in the Invest4Health project meeting in Brussels February 11-12, 2025 to give feedback on the project development and long term impact.

Read more about the project here.

EU Health Coalition is a multi-stakeholder initiative with some 50+ member organisations looking at mapping the future of healthcare in Europe. The EU Health Coalition Summit looks across organisation types, disease areas, professions, and works to promote the issue of health in all European policies. Read more.

NWA co-founder Lars Münter has been active in the coalition since 2016, so getting a direct dialogue with fellow change makers and policy passionates was a great combination to the NWA Trust Workshop the day before – in addition to the importance of a discussion about future health in Europe in light of global reshaping of health policies and research.

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.