WHO European Healthy Cities Network 2024 Annual Business Meeting Held

The World Health Organization European Healthy Cities Network 2024 Annual Business Meeting was held online on 6 November 2024. The meeting was hosted by the Secretariat of the European Healthy Cities Network, was attended by national network representatives and local government representatives. Healthy Cities National Network of Türkiye participated in the meeting as a national network with the representatives of our Phase 7 member municipalities. During the meeting, information was given about the activities carried out by European Regional Office. The secretariat introduced itself, presented the evaluation of the past year and informed the participants about the important items on the agenda. The main agenda of the meeting consisted of evaluating the achievements obtained during Phase 7, analyzing the challenges faced and identifying strategic steps for the preparation process of Phase VIII, which will start in 2026.

The secretariat of European Healthy Cities Network introduced key tools supporting the data-driven development of the network and gave information about the initiatives launched during Phase VII, city leadership reports and the contribution of the OpenWHO course. In addition, the emphasis of the network on the importance of age-friendly environments was revisited and the study of the Healthy Aging Task Force (HATF) was presented. Information was shared about the process of receiving and reporting feedback from national networks and cities in the new period. The introduction of the data center, launched to support the data-driven development of the network, was one of the most important announcements. It was stated that through this tool, data-driven approaches will be developed to achieve the network’s strategic goals and this center will be an important source of information for network members. The goal is to make good practice examples more visible among members and facilitate access to this information.

Another important topic of the meeting was the preparation process for Phase VIII. Participation conditions, priorities and strategic plans were detailed and steps to strengthen the cooperation of network members were determined. In addition, the results of the elections for the European Healthy Cities Network Advisory Board were announced. It was announced that Ahmet Toker from Izmir Metropolitan Municipality was elected as a member of the Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 period and Yakup Gözderesi (Youth Representative) for the 2023-2025 period.

It was announced that World Health Organization European Healthy Cities Network 2025 Annual Business Meeting will be held in Bursa, Türkiye. Secretary General of Healthy Cities National Network of Türkiye, Murat Ar made a thank you speech on behalf of Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey and Izmir Metropolitan Mayor and expressed that they will be happy to welcome all participants in this important event to be held in Bursa and Izmir on June 16-20, 2025. It was stated that the theme of the meeting will be “Resilient Healthy Cities: Sustainable Urban Future for All” and will also include various side events such as national network meetings, technical conferences and Place Standard Tool workshop.

The meeting concluded with a review of the successes and challenges of the past year, a discussion of new tools to support the development of the network and the formulation of strategic plans for 2025 and Phase VIII. There was also a presentation on how to evaluate Phase VII. Communication strategies and key steps for the future of the network were identified. The importance of members coming together and acting together was emphasized.

The value of strategic unity and solidarity in pursuit of common goals, the importance of knowledge and experience sharing between national networks and cities was underlined once again. Participants concluded the meeting by expressing their determination to increase synergy and deepen cooperation in future meetings.