Plenary 3: The city as a catalyst for changes

Moderators

Natasha Azzopardi Muscat – Director, Division of Country Health Policies and Systems, WHO Regional Office for Europe

EUPHAnxt

Keynote speaker

Manuel Franco – Basque Climate Change Research Centre

Kira Fortune – Senior Technical Advisor, Healthy Ageing and Healthy Settings, WHO European Region

Speakers/Panellists

Ilona Kickbusch – Founder, Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

Kevin Fenton – Regional Director, Public Health, London, DHSC OHID & NHS

Background

Over 70% of Europe’s population now lives in cities, making urban environments the defining context for public health in the 21st century. Cities are where the social, environmental, and economic determinants of health converge most visibly and where innovative responses to crises emerge first. Both globally and regionally, cities are implementing measures for climate adaptation and mitigation through the expansion of green and blue spaces, emissions reduction through smart planning, promotion of community safety and social cohesion through inclusive design, and investment in renewable energy and sustainable mobility. Local and regional governments are collectively forging solutions, driving innovation, and crafting policies that support sustainable and equitable urbanization for people and the planet. Consequently, cities and local leaders play a key role in climate resilience strategies, with communities serving as central sites for realizing these objectives.

Why this matters?

The year 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, a landmark in global public health that reframed health as a resource for everyday life rather than an end in itself. Its call to create supportive environments, strengthen community action, and build healthy public policy remains profoundly relevant today. The Ottawa Charter inspired the Healthy Cities movement, which, for nearly four decades, has demonstrated how local leadership and intersectoral action can translate these principles into tangible change.

Established in 1988, the WHO European Healthy Cities Network unites 102 members composed of 80 independent cities and 22 national networks. Through these members, the network reaches 1,936 cities across the WHO European Region, including the Spanish National Healthy Cities Network (Red Española de Ciudades Saludables), of which Bilbao is an active member. This movement has shown that when cities integrate health in all policies, strengthen participation, and align planning with principles of equity and climate resilience, they can transform the conditions in which people live, work, and thrive.

Aligned with the conference theme, Urban and Global Synergies Shaping the Future of Public Health: Climate Resilience, Equity, and Innovation, this plenary will explore how cities can serve as catalysts for transformative action, linking global health frameworks with local innovation and community-driven change.

Purpose

This high-level plenary will examine how cities are advancing a new vision of health and well-being that is preventive, equitable, climate-responsive, and people-centred. Marking the 40th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter, the session will explore how its principles continue to inform urban governance and policy innovation in an era defined by climate disruption, social transformation, and growing demands for resilience.

Through two keynote addresses and a strategic high-level dialogue among internationally recognized leaders in health promotion, urban planning, public health, and environmental justice, the session will highlight the unique role of cities in translating global commitments into local action and shaping healthier futures for current and future generations.