European Public Health Association

Abstract

EUPHA's sister association in the multidisciplinary field of public health, the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. ASPHER has served the European public health community during a period of dramatic and demanding change—unprecedented expansion, increasing complexity and growing unity as well as diversity. ASPHER has contributed to the development of a European public health. As this year's president of EUPHA I am honoured to thank and congratulate our ASPHER colleagues and friends very warmly. The two Associations share responsibility for capacity building in European public health and for providing the European public health community and the general public with a clear vision and perspective of the public's health. Both ASPHER and EUPHA share responsibility for developing two of the most basic resources for public health capacities in the 21th century. ASPHER's raison d'etre and mission is to advice and assist academic institutions to offer high-quality education and training programmes for public health professionals working in policy development, practice and research. EUPHA's remit, on the other hand, is to guide and support the development of an adequate knowledge base serving the needs both of policy and practice through multidisciplinary research. Both associations will serve the European public health best if their share a common value and knowledge base grounded in sound research and scientific discourse. During the last years public health leaders, scientists and practitioners have entered a debate on the values and principles guiding policy making, scientific research and organisational practice.1 It centres on value-related themes such as health and health improvement, equity and social justice, social cohesion and solidarity, responsiveness to health and disease-related needs, acceptability and efficiency of health services, governance and financial sustainability. We have learned that the values and principles underlying these themes tend to be …