“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating”[1]
In about three weeks, it is that time of the year again when more than 500 people travel to the Gastein Valley. Not for holiday, but to discuss what concerns us all – health.
From 4th to 6th October 2017, the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) opens its doors for the 20th time, and has a programme full of old and new faces to offer. We invite you to join debates surrounding access to medicines, vaccine hesitancy, inclusive health systems and many more. All of that will be seen in the light of one major question: How can we ensure that Health in All Policies is more than a missed opportunity, but a political reality, a “hard fact” embedded in processes, structures and institutions – Health in all Politics.
Among the already confirmed speakers for the conference are Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, Minister of Health and Women’s Affairs and Andrea Ammon, Director General, European Centre for Disease Control.
Vytenis Andriukaitis, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, Andrea Ammon (left to right) © EHFG
Since 20 years of discussions, built alliances, shared experiences, mistakes and successes in European health policy are a reason to celebrate, this conference puts forward some special treats. What exactly? We do not want to spill all the beans yet, but a lot has moved during the past summer months, here is a quick update round:
Clemens Martin Auer from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and Women’s Affairs is the newly elected president of the EHFG. He follows Helmut Brand after his five successful years of EHFG presidency.
In June, we cooperated with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and Women’s Affairs and the Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions in an EHFG 2016 outcomes event, tackling the topic of access to medicines specifically in the Austrian context. Not only the room temperature was heated, but also the debates – an outcomes report will be launched shortly on our webpage.
The European Health Award (EHA) jury is working on finalising the shortlist for this years’ award candidates – we are excited to see the lucky winners of the 2017 award.
Also going on in the background is the hard work on our EHFG health futures project. Results will be ready on time for the conference in October, but some information on process and people involved will be made available earlier online. We would love to hear your thoughts on our glimpses at the future, and hope to be celebrating 20 years of the Gastein Forum this autumn with you.
[1] John H Schaar
Published in GI-Mail 08/2017 (English edition). Sign up for GI-Mail here. 
Tip: More up to date educational events can be found online in the Education Database »medicine & health«.
