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Belfast Healthy Cities

Our vision is that Belfast is recognised globally
as a healthy, equitable and sustainable city

Healthy Cities 21st Century

News Stories

The fifth annual Belfast Healthy Cities awards were announced this week and Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister was on hand to pay tribute to the organisations which entered the competitive process. The awards were open to all sectors and entrants included public bodies, voluntary and community based organisations and private sector companies.

Entries were invited across four categories, Promoting Health Equity, Healthy Living, Healthy Places and Engaging for Change.

The award winners:

In mid December, Belfast Healthy Cities joined a delegation that swapped the ice and snow of Belfast for four days in the city of Curitiba in southern Brazil. The aim of the trip was to learn about the city’s ground breaking approach to planning and transport, and to find out about initiatives supporting older people.

Belfast Healthy Cities was among the guests who gathered at the newly opened Titanic Hotel Belfast this week to celebrate the efforts of over 150 of Belfast and Northern Ireland’s academic, medical and professional organisations to recognise their focused efforts in positively promoting the city as an inspiring place to meet, share ideas, and do business.

We were delighted that Belfast Healthy Cities was recognised for our work and we received a ‘Belfast Ambassador’ award on the night, to the surprise of Chief Executive Joan Devlin.

Belfast Healthy Cities represents the city of Belfast, within the World Health Organization (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network. Our programmes are challenging but inspirational, introducing new concepts to Belfast through membership of the network, many of our programmes have been mainstreamed by partner organizations.  Our programmes are recognised across WHO Europe as well as locally and are highlighted in global publications.   

On Sunday 29 October 2017 I ran the Dublin marathon, which this year had a record 20,000 participants meaning it now ranks as the 4th most popular marathon in Europe.  Although I was very wary of undertaking what is known locally as the 'friendly marathon' it certainly did not disappoint. The crowds lining the route were in their thousands and they were enthusiastic, encouraging the runners with their cheers, home-made water stops and every energy source from gummy bears to sliced oranges.

WHO European Healthy Cities Political Vision Group, Cork, September 2017.

Belfast Healthy Cities Chief Executive Joan Devlin is currently attending the 67th session of the Word Health Organisation Regional Committee for Europe, in Budapest. The 4 day event will examine opportunities and challenges for 21st-century public health in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the Health 2020 policy framework and also includes progress reports on the implementation of the European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012–2020, the European food and nutrition action plan 2015–2020, and the European mental health action plan. 

Belfast Healthy Cities, the World Health Organization initiative in Northern Ireland has today launched the ‘Healthy City’ 2017 awards. The awards, which are now in their fifth year, will recognise projects undertaken to improve the health and wellbeing of people across Belfast.

Last weekend the planning for the 2018 European Healthy Cities Conference which will take place in Belfast stepped up a gear when a delegation from Belfast Healthy Cities travelled to Copenhagen for a two day series of meetings with World Health Organization colleagues.

The one day conference is the largest gathering of the health professionals who make up the Health Literacy Group UK, and will take place in Riddel Hall, Queen's University, Belfast on Friday 16th February 2018.

The conference will be an opportunity to share current health literacy thinking, practice and research from across the UK and European, as well as networking with key experts in health literacy

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