Steering group on forming, maintaining and developing associations of professionals in environment and health : report on a WHO meeting, London, United Kingdom 28-29 January 1999

Abstract

A steering group meeting was held in London, United Kingdom on 28629 January 1999, to discuss and explore the options available for developing material to support the formation, maintenance and development of associations of professionals in environment and health. The participants were drawn from the professional communities in Member States and the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The topics considered by the group included the style and format of materials that could be produced, the main themes and subthemes that would need to be addressed, the identification of potential authors, the development process of the materials and the need to develop strong pan-European professional cohesion. A number of key issues were discussed, including the importance of such associations for the development of democratic civil societies, the vital recognition of cultural differences within the Region and the need for strong marketing of the final products. Methods for developing the project were devised and a range of tasks were identified. These tasks include the development of a first draft text, the collection of examples from around the Region and elsewhere, and possibly, the preparation for another steering group meeting and a pan-European review meeting to coincide with the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in London in June 1999. Working from this base, further work on the materials can be carried out over the next 12 months