WATCH 10 years of Health-Promoting Campuses celebrated at University of Limerick global conference

10 years of International Health Promoting Campuses Conference (IHPCC) celebrated at University of Limerick global conference. Photo: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

University of Limerick hosts International Health Promoting Campuses Conference (IHPCC), celebrating 10 years of the Okanagan Charter, promoting healthy campus life

Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick saw hundreds of international delegates arrive on campus for the International Health Promoting Campuses Conference (IHPCC) global conference from June 16 – 19, celebrating 10 years of the Okanagan Charter.

The celebration not only reflected on ten years of the Okanagan Charter, but gave the group the opportunity to reflect on 20 years since the foundation of the Edmonton Charter under the theme “A decade since the Okanagan Charter… Where from, what next, where to?”

Launched in 2015 in British Columbia, the Okanagan Charter is the global framework used for integrating health into all facets of campus life by urging higher-education institutions to foster a culture of health in their operations and to promote health locally and globally.

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Dr Catherine Norton, Conference General Chair, told I Love Limerick, “ The conference is essentially about embedding health and wellbeing into every aspect of life on the campus. It’s about giving people the opportunity to develop skills and competencies that are about wellness, mental health, physical health, health literacy, nutrition, literacy, and making sure that we graduate students who are not just qualified in a discipline, but qualified better as ambassadors for health custodians of the planet so that they can go on and be good leaders in the spaces that they’re in, and embed health and wellbeing to all those aspects of their lives.”

UL co-hosted the conference in association with Atlantic Technological University and the event partners included the Higher Education Authority, Healthy Campuses, Healthy Ireland, Failte Ireland and Meet in Ireland.  More than 400 delegates discussed mental and physical health, nutrition, health literacy, and other topics. Dr Norton said, “The success and the history of the movement was that in 2015 in Okanagan, in British Columbia and Canada. The foundational piece of the Okanagan charter was launched, and this had two calls to action, to embed and to lead with health and wellbeing and higher education.

“That’s been in existence now for a decade. And we thought the University of Limerick gave us the opportunity to renew, to refresh, to take another look. In a participatory manner, we engaged with delegates from all around the world, as many as 400 have come to the University of Limerick this week.”

The conference gave participants the opportunity to share ideas and experience the innovation of their colleagues from all over the world. Kelly Gorman, a delegate from the University at Albany, NY said, “It’s been just an incredible experience to get to learn from colleagues from all around the globe. Folks are not just doing really impressive work, but they’re thinking about things and concepts in really innovative ways. You feel the transformation happening in higher education.

“It’s not just in one country, but it’s truly around the globe. To experience that – and do that in Ireland and get to experience Limerick – it’s been a real gift.”

The conference was also the perfect opportunity for University of Limerick to put its amenities on display as a conference destination, with the campus leaving a lasting impression on many participants, with Kelly saying, “The campus is beautiful. Your green space is sensational. The people are just wonderful and helpful and welcoming, and we’ve had so much fun.”

Deb Tudge, Academic Conference Manager at UL Events, said, “The University of Limerick is the perfect place to host this conference. We’ve got hundreds of breakout rooms, exhibition and catering spaces, and we’re on 130 hectares of the most magnificent Parkland campus running through and all on the River Shannon, so it is just absolutely outstanding in terms of the benefits you get holding an event here.”

“We’re a green flag campus,” added Deb, noting, “ It’s just amazing for us to have that sustainability kind of ethos running through it. And we’re also very much about DEI and inclusion, so it’s been absolutely amazing to have this event here.”

The Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau played an instrumental role in bringing the event to the region. Through their ambassador programme, the Bureau supported UL in hosting the conference. Danielle Devaney, Business Development Executive of Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau said, “We provide all of our services completely free of any charges or commissions. We work very closely with the team here at the University of Limerick. We provide a range of practical and financial support to help ambassadors like Dr Norton to bring the conference to the region and to Limerick and to the university.”

Danielle explained the impact of the conference at UL on Limerick is both economic and promotional, saying, “ Each international delegate is worth €1,883 to the local economy, which is a fantastic boost. But it’s more than that as well. It’s getting a chance to show off the fantastic facilities that are here in the university, and it’s also the impact and legacy that is left behind after a conference like this comes to the region.”

Looking to the future, Dr Norton said, “ The most important part for the international community was to build a framework that would allow people to move from a vision to an action-oriented framework. And the Limerick framework for action allows us to do that, and we now have a huge body of work to continue within the decade. Looking ahead to the next celebration in 2035, we’ll be looking at what we have achieved with this Limerick framework. Have we managed to do what we set out to do, to move from rhetoric to action? And I’m very hopeful and very confident that we will.”

Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick