11-th of June 2019

The annual ASPHER (Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region) conference took place in Erice, Italy, at the end of May 2019. The Institute of Public Health (IPH) of the Medical College of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow has been ASPER’s member for many years. The conference provided an opportunity to review the most important public health problems in Europe and discuss plans for further international cooperation. One of the most important events was also the launch of the European edition of the This Is Public Health (TIPH) campaign, which aims to build public health awareness. The TIPH campaign was initiated in the USA by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), an American “sister” organization of ASPHER. Its representatives were also present at the conference in Italy. It is worth to mention that IPH has joined the TIPH campaign more than one month before the official launch of its European edition, in mid-April 2019.

During the recently ended two-year term of office, the President of ASPHER was Professor Katarzyna Czabanowska from Maastricht University in the Netherlands, professionally associated also with IPH. The President of ASPHER is currently Professor John Middleton of The Faculty of Public Health in the United Kingdom. During more than 50 years of ASPHER’s history, the position of the President of this organization was held by yet another Polish citizen, in years 2008-2009. It was the academician also associated with IPH, Dr Stojgniew Jacek Sitko, currently a member of the ASPHER’s Honours Committee.

More information about ASPHER, ASPPH and the This Is Public Health campaign can be found on the following websites:

https://www.aspher.org/

https://www.aspph.org/

https://thisispublichealth.org/

Prepared by: Tomasz Bochenek