European Public Health News * EUPHA president's column * EUPHA office news * Message from the WHO Regional Director for Europe: Embarking on Developing the New European Health Policy--Health 2020 * European Commission, DG Health and Consumers * Public Health and Welfare - Welfare Development and Health, 10-12 November 2011, the Bella Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

This first European public health news of 2011 provides information on networking, capacity and knowledge building and the future of European public health. All contributors, EUPHA, WHO/EURO and DG Sanco, present new activities aimed at encouraging an ‘European public health movement’ where governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individual public health professionals work together to further public health in Europe. As Ghandi already said: ‘you must be the change you wish to see’. Wishing you all a good start to a collaborative year. # EUPHA president’s column {#article-title-2} 2011 will be an important year for Public Health and for EUPHA. For Public Health because although the human race has been always subjected to global forces throughout its existence, many of the global forces that are now shaping our destiny, such as climate change, the emergence of new infectious agents or the consequences of financial crisis, are different as they are to a considerable extent of our own making. The implication of this is that we have it in our power to do something about them. For EUPHA, if we are to respond to these threats, then we must develop effective global responses. The most important of these is knowledge. Knowledge allows us to understand the often complex pathways by which health or disease arises, looking beyond the immediate causes to underlying factors, such as the reasons why some people live in poverty or are exposed to conflict. It also enables us to understand what can be done to counteract these threats. I hope that EUPHA will play a crucial role in calling upon the governments of Europe to place a higher priority on the global threats to the future health of humanity, investing in the global public goods for health that will enable us to respond effectively to them. In particular, we should focus on the …