Monday 20 November

Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH); Nederlandse Vereniging voor Tropische Geneeskunde en internationale Gezondheidszorg (NVTG); Kenniscentrum Global Health (KCGH); UMC Utrecht; City of Utrecht; World Health Organization (WHO)

Co-chairs: Lindy van Vliet; Sie-Meng Lee, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations - The Netherlands 

We are at a tipping point where we do not have any choice if, but only how, we will transition into a new phase within the Anthropocene - and whether this transition will be anchored into principles of sustainability, equity, and justice. How do we make difficult, uncomfortable yet inclusive and transformative decisions? Indeed, halfway into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our primary concern must be how we will jointly forge a world in which we leave no one behind and “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” (SDG Goal 3) and to overcome barriers of translating our aspirations to reality. 

It is with this in mind we look forward to welcoming ECTMIH 2023 and WHO European Healthy Cities Network Annual Meeting delegates to this joint opening session of the 13th Congress on Global Health (ECTMIH). After a word of welcome from the ECTMIH 2023 team, our three keynote speakers, Professor Heleen de Coninck, Dr Renzo Guinto and Dr Francesca Racioppi will introduce the concepts and science of planetary health, and discuss the significant societal transformations we need to ensure our human and planetary health.

A musical intermezzo will proceed to the final section of this opening session: a welcome to Utrecht from the Mayor of Utrecht Sharon Dijksma and CEO of UMC Utrecht Professor Margriet Schneider.

Formal Opening

Speakers: Dr Karel Gyselinck, Coordinator Health Unit Enabel, President FESTMIH, Expert Global Fund Technical Review Panel; Dr Hanneke Dekker, Chair NVTG; Professor Rick Grobbee, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology; Chairman of the Heart and Vascular Center UMC Utrecht, Chair ECTMIH 2023;  Dr Joyce Browne, Assistant Professor of Global Health at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, Vice Chair ECTMIH 2023

Setting the scene: linking science, practice and policy for transformative change

Speakers: Dr Renzo Guinto, Associate Professor of the Practice of Global Public Health and Inaugural Director St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine, Philippines; Professor Heleen de Coninck, Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation and Climate Change at Eindhoven University of Technology and Innovation Studies and Sustainability at the Department of Environmental Science at Radboud University Nijmegen; Francesca Racioppi, Head of the World Health Organization European Centre for Environment and Health

Musical intermezzo by: Merel Vercammen and Vincent Houdijk

Global health is health equity everywhere

Speakers: Hon. Sharon Dijksma, Mayor, City of Utrecht; Prof. Dr. Margriet Schneider, Chair of the Executive Board of UMC Utrecht