Thematic Forum: How learning cities can contribute to health and well-being

Key question

How can cities harness the power of learning to improve the health and well-being of all citizens?

Objective

The objective of this forum is to discuss the contribution learning cities can make to citizens’ health and well-being, focusing on ways in which lifelong learning can empower citizens to adopt healthy lifestyles.

General description

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages is one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the post-2015 development agenda. Despite numerous advances in healthcare and medicine, poor health continues to hinder development throughout the world. Diseases such as malaria, waterborne diseases, non-communicable diseases, and HIV and AIDS as well as health conditions related to malnutrition, obesity, stress, and drug and alcohol abuse are just some of the issues currently undermining social and economic development.

As the number of city dwellers around the world has soared, cities have become particularly important sites for tackling health challenges and improving citizens’ well-being. Lifelong learning can make a major contribution to the creation of healthy urban environments, because it can enable citizens to adopt healthy behaviours. Citizens can learn how to take control of their health conditions, develop caring and supportive attitudes towards others, protect themselves from infectious health risks, and become more confident in their ability to make changes to their lifestyles.

Conference Programme (23 Sept)