Professor Michael Baker and Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman (right) at the recent Population Health Congress.
Organisers of a recent Population Health Congress 'walked the talk' – supplying nutritious food and drink, encouraging physical activity and mindfulness, and building sustainability into the event.
The congress, held at Auckland's Aotea Centre in October was the largest largest public health conference ever held in New Zealand, with 700 attendees.
Congress initiator and main organiser Professor Michael Baker, of Otago's Wellington campus has been reflecting on the innovations that people particularly liked.
At the top of the list was the organisers' commitment to 'walking the talk', he says. “As organisers we felt that if we were gathering to talk about improving public health and sustainability, it was important that people were able to apply those principles.”
"As organisers we felt that if we were gathering to talk about improving public health and sustainability, it was important that people were able to apply those principles."
All food was vegetarian for health and sustainability reasons. Attention was paid to promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour. One simple way of achieving that was to make every ovation a standing ovation, which the speakers and audience all loved, he says. There were also organised walks to local parks and the Auckland Art Gallery.
For stress reduction and relaxation, the Mental Health Foundation ran mindfulness training every morning.
“It's a unique experience to sit in a room with hundreds of people in silence. The first day people were shuffling around and didn't seem that comfortable, but the next two days there was utter silence and the effect was remarkable,” Professor Baker says.
To demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, the organisers undertook carboNZero certification for the event. In support of that, all delegates were encouraged to offset their carbon emissions from travel and there were no handouts or conference bags other than a small programme book.
Professor Baker reflects that the organisers' overarching approach was to run an event that supported the educational needs of attendees while being consistent with core beliefs and best practice, all of which were articulated in the 'Congress Kaupapa' displayed in the handbook and website.
The Congress theme was 'connecting communities, policy and science'. To support this, the organisers placed a high priority on giving people the opportunity to socialise, Professor Baker says.
They also used short formats of five-minute presentations plus two minutes for questions for many of the oral paper sessions to give more people a chance to hear others speak and make new work connections as a result.
About the Population Health Congress
The Population Health Congress was a partnership between the Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM), the Public Health Association of New Zealand (PHANZ), and the Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand (HPF). Almost 50 people were actively involved in organising the event. Full details along with abstracts and presentations are freely available on the Congress website.