Events

Employees can be the best-trained, most highly skilled and motivated, best-equipped workers in the world, but if they are not healthy, they will not be fully productive and their employer will suffer competitively. Although employers have failed to see health as a critical component of their human capital in the past, a growing number of companies in Europe are developing health and productivity management programs.

The third World Ageing & Generations Congress - organized by the World Demographic Association - will take place from 6th to 8th September 2007 at the University of St. Gallen.

By 2025 about one-third of Europe's population will be aged 60 years and over. There will be a particularly rapid increase in the number of people aged 80 years and older. The countries of Europe must develop strategies to meet this challenge. Promoting good health and active social participation among older citizens will be crucial to these strategies.

This conference aims at bringing together European stakeholders engaged in promotion of an extended working life for the ageing workforce. It is also an activity linked to The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and is sponsored by the European Social Fund.

The organisers of this event are the Initiative Health and Work (IGA), which is sponsored by the BKK Federal Association of Company Health Insurance Funds, the German Federation of Institutions for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention (HVBG) and the AOK Federal Association of Local Health Insurance Funds.

Health promotion has evolved in response to the need to take action on the broad determinants of health. In 1986, the Ottawa Charter established the fundamental guiding principles and values of health promotion and described five strategic action areas to address these determinants.

The quality of the indoor environment (IEQ) plays an increasingly significant role in well-being at workplaces. To make improvements to IEQ, one has to know not only how to identify and manage indoor environment problems, but also how to maintain good indoor air quality, and design and build healthy buildings for the future. Although much research has been carried out on IEQ during recent years, too many questions remain unresolved. The improvement of IEQ requires multi-professional experts, proper tools, acceptable methods and best practices for preventing, examining and managing the problems.

By staging the conference, the Federal Government of Germany wanted to emphasise the importance of corporate cultures that encourage innovation for Europe as a business location and to foster joint European efforts to further develop employee-oriented corporate cultures.

NIVA - Nordic Institute for Advanced Training in Occupational Health- will arrange a course in workplace health promotion in the Spring 2007 (18 - 20 April 2007 - in Köja Fjell Hotelin) in Åre, Sweden. This third course on Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) is carrying on the theme of the two previous NIVA courses in 2000 and 2003. Healthy workplace is a goal shared by many countries and international organisations including The European Union and The International Labour Organization.