The National Health Promotion Symposium 2024 was held from October 9-10, 2024 on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, Australia. The two-day event brought together health promotion practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and students to discuss key issues and advances in our profession. It was hosted by the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) and supported by the Australian Government and Healthway.
Overview
The theme for this year’s event was Shaping the Future of Health Promotion. Aligned with AHPA’s strategic directions, the theme emphasised the critical role of the health promotion sector in achieving a healthy, equitable Australia. Recognising the global and local imperative for bold health promotion action, which is needed now more than ever, the event focused on key pillars of equity, innovation, workforce, and collaboration.
The Symposium featured a diverse program of sessions over its two-day duration. The event included six plenary sessions, which comprised keynote presentations and panel discussions on broad, overarching topics in health promotion. These were complemented by 12 concurrent workshop sessions, offering more focused, interactive learning experiences on specific subjects. This format allowed attendees to engage with both high-level discussions in the plenary sessions and more specialised content in the workshops, catering to a wide range of interests and professional development needs within the health promotion field. Sessions were also mapped to the IUHPE Core Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion (see below). It provided opportunities for learning, networking, and advancing the field of health promotion in Australia.
A total of 146 attendees (110 in-person and 36 virtual) participated in the symposium with all Australian jurisdictions represented except the Northern Territory:
President Viewpoint
Melinda Edmunds, AHPA President, opened the event with a call to action, highlighting the work AHPA has done in advancing health promotion principles, advocating for a sustainable workforce, and calling for 5% of the health budget to be allocated to prevention. She reflected on health promotion as inherently political, emphasising the need for practitioners to understand policymaking and economic levers and foster partnerships to drive meaningful change. The Symposium location underscored both the challenges and the opportunities in reimagining Australia’s health systems.
Throughout the event, the discussions reflected a shared dedication to progress. Key sessions focused on systemic issues, from redistributing power and resources to addressing determinants of health. Melinda challenged attendees to step outside conventional approaches, sharing her hope to see health promotion embedded as a core component of national health systems. Despite AHPA's efforts, there was a noted absence of political engagement at the event, an observation that speaks volumes about the need for continued advocacy in the lead-up to the next federal election.
The closing reflections captured the insights gained over two days of deep conversations, where attendees heard from First Nations leaders on community-driven solutions and from global health experts who underscored the importance of environmental stewardship. The conversations continuously circled back to pressing issues, including health inequities, systemic gender disparities, and the pressing urgency of the climate crisis. Health promotion, as many speakers noted, is about pushing boundaries to create lasting change.
As the event concluded, Melinda shared words of hope, inspired by Gloria Steinem’s sentiment that "hope is a form of planning." This hope fuels the mission to embed health promotion across policies and ensure sustainable resources support the profession. The Symposium was a testament to the power of collective effort, a chance to reflect on progress, and a reaffirmation that AHPA will continue its work toward a healthier, fairer Australia.
Media
Evaluation
The feedback form was completed by 52 participants (36% of all attendees; virtual and in–person), with 48 having attended in person (92.3%) and four attending virtually (7.7%). This is an underrepresentation of virtual attendees compared to the actual event (20.3%).Satisfaction with the event was overwhelmingly positive, with 39 participants (75%) giving the highest satisfaction rating of 5, and 11 (21.2%) rating their satisfaction a 4. Only 2 participants (3.8%) rated the event a 2 or 3, indicating isolated cases of dissatisfaction. This suggests that, overall, the symposium met or exceeded the expectations of most participants, though there are minor areas for improvement to better accommodate the needs of these outliers. The AHPA Board is reviewing all feedback to guide future events.
Reflections from Symposium Bursary Recipients
The 2024 National Health Promotion Symposium provided a powerful platform for knowledge sharing, critical reflection, and inspiration, with health promotion professionals from across Australia converging in Canberra to tackle pressing issues in public health. Recipients of the Symposium bursaries have shared their experiences, highlighting impactful lessons and envisioning how these will shape their future contributions to the field. Here are some of their reflections, capturing the depth and diversity of insights gained from this year’s event.
Gabi Martinez
I am located within a clinical service in a local health district where prevention and health promotion are a tiny part of the service. It was inspiring to be in Canberra surrounded by other health promotion practitioners. I felt that I was part of a small but determined group making an impact. After listening to the speakers, discussions with conference participants, reading and reflecting on practice on my drive home the most valuable lesson I leant is: if we are to shape the future of health promotion, we need to be more forceful in our advocacy for system change. The time for politely pointing out problems is over. As Monbiot& Hutchins explain: “The problem was never that system change is too big an ask or takes too long. The problem is that incrementalism is too small an ask (Monbiot & Hutchinson 2024).
The urgent need for system change was made clear to me in the two workshops: Navigating Industry Engagement and Partnerships that Impact on the Commercial Determinants of Health and Cornerstone Indicators for a Heathy Society. I can see the power of the alcohol industry every day working in a drug and alcohol service. Despite the abundance of evidence around alcohol harm, evidence is not driving Australian policy decisions. Vested interests are. My colleagues and I spend a lot of time writing objections to new inappropriate liquor licences and reporting breaches of voluntary alcohol advertising, but our objections are often unsuccessful. Legislative reform, an advertising ban and a specialised public health legal centre is required to counter the power of industry.
The IUHPE competencies I will focus on over the few years are: Enable change and Advocate for Health. The main thing I will try to focus on my practice is challenging the dominant narrative around health. Terms like vulnerable populations, priority population etc, encourage us to view the poor as a problem and ignore the increasing concentration of wealth and power, and the global demise of democracy which pose a health hazard for all of us. This is particularly challenging when working in government positions with little power.
I am often asked to do educational sessions on health issues. These have limited impact and reinforce existing power structures. I will attempt to limit these and focus more on building community coalitions and writing submissions to parliamentary inquiries. The next few months are good opportunity with the NSW Drug Summit coming up.
I enjoyed listening to the speakers In Conversation: A Health Promotion Agencies Panel. Sandro Demaio rightly pointed out that we are jealous in NSW because we do not have an independent health promotion agency. This is something our NSW branch needs need to advocate for. I admire the work VicHealth is doing on the commercial determinants of health, and we can amplify this by establishing a similar agency in NSW. Otherwise, we will be forever stuck with addressing individual behaviour change and never addressing the strategies that the alcohol, fossil fuels, and fast-food industries use to undermine health.
After attending the Writing and Reviewing for Health Promotion Journal: A Practical Guide workshop, I feel more motivated to send a draft article on the work we did on liquor licences and schools, and I plan to have the draft sent by the end of the year. I am planning to prioritise for IUHPE registration in 2025.
I have spoken with colleagues in my office about the conference and will share this report once it is finalised. I will also report back at NSW/ACT Committee Branch Meeting this week and send report. I have also spoken about conference at the NSW Health Services Union Health Education Officers Industrial Committee which I chair.
With Healthy Cities Illawarra CEO Kelly Andrews. We work in partnership on Dharawal Country.
Mohana Baptista
Most Valuable Lesson Learnt
The most valuable lesson from the AHPA National Health Symposium was the importance of equity, data-driven decision-making, and robust evaluation in health promotion. The Victorian approach, focused on supporting diverse communities such as LGBTQIA+, culturally and linguistically diverse, and First Nations groups, reinforced the need for tailored health strategies. Nathan Rigney’s emphasis on Aboriginal leadership and cultural safety highlighted the importance of addressing systemic inequities.
Monica Kelly's presentation on mental health, which emphasised that “mental health is created outside of hospitals,” pointed to the need for community-driven, upstream approaches to wellbeing.
Additionally, the symposium highlighted the importance of data integration, as discussed by Jacob Madden, in linking non-communicable disease data with socioeconomic factors to better understand health inequities.
Another key takeaway was the role of long-term, sustainable funding in health promotion, with Sandro Demaio advocating for a “collective impact approach” and pushing for government policies that ensure preventive health efforts are not short-lived. The Preventive Health Bill 2024, which aims to ensure funding in perpetuity for health promotion, was a crucial example of how ongoing investment in prevention can be secured.
Lastly, the emphasis on evaluation, as articulated by Robyn Littlewood, was pivotal in ensuring the effectiveness and impact of health promotion programs.
Application of Learnings to Health Promotion Practice
The symposium reinforced the importance of addressing systemic inequities, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Nathan Rigney and Selina Walker’s emphasis on building trust and fostering authentic partnerships with Indigenous communities will shape how I approach and evaluate program development. Prioritising culturally safe and inclusive programs that integrate cultural determinants into health promotion initiatives will ensure these efforts meet community needs and support First Nations leadership.
Collaboration, particularly in data collection and analysis, was another key theme that resonated with me. The innovative approach of linking socioeconomic data with health outcomes, as discussed by Jacob Madden, presents an opportunity to enhance the evidence base for local health interventions. Strengthening the South East Public Health Unit’s data capabilities to better integrate socioeconomic factors with health data will enhance our ability to identify health inequities and support targeted interventions. This data-driven approach will also provide a solid foundation for advocacy, ensuring resource allocation is aligned with the social determinants of health.
Monica Kelly’s insights reinforce the need for upstream, community-based mental health promotion. I plan to integrate this perspective into our local initiatives by adopting a cross-cutting lens that considers the social determinants of mental health in every aspect of our work, and when collaborating with community organisations and local government.
A strong evaluation focus is critical for ensuring the effectiveness of our programs. Robyn Littlewood stressed the importance of embedding evaluation into health promotion efforts. By continuously monitoring outcomes, and with consideration for indicators that measure the wellbeing of our populations, we can demonstrate the impact of our work and advocate for long-term investment in preventive health, and this is what I intend to do.
Finally, Melinda Edmunds' call for ambitious health promotion initiatives will guide my efforts to advocate for policies and funding decisions that address health inequities and strengthen preventive strategies.
Dissemination of Learnings
As Lead Epidemiologist at the South East Public Health Unit, I will present these learnings internally to incorporate data-driven strategies, evaluation frameworks, and equity considerations into our health promotion and surveillance activities.
I will also share insights with colleagues across Victorian Local Public Health Units to ensure that data integration and culturally inclusive approaches are reflected in local initiatives.
In my role as a committee member for the VIC-TAS branch of the Australian Public Health Association, I will use this knowledge to shape professional development opportunities and contribute to broader discussions on equity and data-driven public health at sector-wide events.
Photo journey
From the start of Day 1 (me on the lawns), through plenaries, workshops and networking sessions, to the end of Day 2 (with my VIC-TAS committee members and with my husband), it was wonderful to meet and be inspired by peers and leaders in health promotion and public health. It is the work that we all do that will make Australia a fairer and equitable place where everyone can be healthy and happy.
Josephine Chau
My most valuable lesson
The most valuable and enlightening thing I learned at the symposium was what health promotion foundations are and how they work in different states. It was interesting to hear how state governments of Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia have legislated for and funded these independent health promotion agencies, VicHealth, Preventive Health SA and Healthway WA, respectively. It led me to wonder what the context is for my state, NSW, and whether there is a need in NSW for such a body. If so, what advocacy is needed?
Other learnings include:
- Strategic insights from the health foundation leaders on being ready for when investment in health promotion is available so that you know where to invest and in what, and their emphasis on the value of data and
- A reinforcement of taking a strengths base approach to promoting the health and wellbeing of First Nations communities. Instead of focusing on closing the gap, focus on the positive to thrive and flourish
- Remembering other metrics that show something “works”, such as a social return on investment or wellbeing
- The importance of building the capacity and reputation of the health promotion workforce in Australia and
How learnings from the event will be applied to health promotion practice and development of health promotion competencies
|
Relevant IUHPE competencies |
My application |
|
4.2 Use electronic and other media to receive and disseminate Health Promotion information |
|
|
5.2 Use leadership skills which facilitate empowerment and participation |
|
|
5.3 Network with and motivate stakeholders in leading change to improve health and reduce inequities |
|
|
5.6 Contribute to team and organisational learning to advance Health Promotion action |
|
How I will disseminate my learnings
- I have shared my learning with the NSW-ACT Branch committee during our regular meeting in October
- I plan to share key insights with NSW-ACT members in the branch newsletter
- I will post a reflection in social I have yet to do this while I reflect and ponder my learnings and possible next steps.
Kym Strachan
The National Health Promotion Symposium 2024 was a rich and vibrant learning environment. I was lucky enough to receive a bursary to attend and am grateful to the AHPA for the opportunity to network with my peers and to meet fellow Branch Presidents and Board members in person – connections and partnerships are key. When reflecting on the 2 days, I enjoyed hearing how the New Australian CDC was progressing, and it was great to listen to Jacob Madden’s overview on how the team has gotten to where they are today and where to next in the establishment of the Australia CDC. I was also pleased to see the ongoing commitment to include chronic diseases in the frame alongside communicable diseases.
The other session that I very much enjoyed was the Plenary “In Conversation – A Health Promotion Agencies Panel”. It was wonderful to hear the progress each state is making and has made towards a healthier Australia with prevention and health promotion a key focus. Each speaker provided a wonderful overview of the work they are doing in this space and the future direction of each organisation in the preventative health agenda. It was also lovely to see the collaboration between each of the CEOs at the state level and again highlighted the importance partnerships and working together.
I found the session on the commercial determinants of health very informative, and this is an area that I am keen to learn more about. The session was helpful in challenging our thinking and approach, especially in relation to industry engagement and partnerships. It was great to sit around a table with my peers and discuss the possible positive and negative effects that many commercial entities contribute to escalating avoidable ill health in our society. Whilst some of these are obvious, it was worth exploring the more subtle ones and the impact they have on individual health and the health system more broadly. The conflict between profit and health equity can be difficult to navigate, and this workshop helped us to explore this in our work.
I also found the final Plenary “Re-Imagining Leadership: Women in Public Health” with Caterina Giorgi very inspiring. Her references to the Barbie movie were fun, whilst highlighting some important points about taking control of the narrative and working together to highlight the ongoing gender disparity at the leadership level of public health. It was a great way to close out the 2 days and left me with a feeling of hope and optimism.
Attending the Symposium has provided me to a wonderful opportunity to build on my health promotion leadership skills and continue to build towards the health promotion competencies. As the president of the Qld Branch of the AHPA, I am keen to continue to work with the committee and members to support health promotion practitioners pursue registration with IUHPE National Accreditation. Meeting with fellow Branch Presidents also allowed me to build relationships and foster a collaborative approach to our work at a state level. I am looking forward to continuing to work with the National Board to review the AHPA Strategic Plan and look forward to incorporating the learnings from the conference into this process.
I look forward to continuing to reflect on the National Health Promotion Symposium 2024 and my learnings from the 2 days of fantastic speakers and thought-provoking presentations. I look forward to continuing to build the health promotion workforce and working with the AHPA Qld Branch Committee, the other state Branch Presidents and the National Board to progress the work of the organisation. Collaboration and partnerships are at the heart of what we do, and I am excited about a future where we can all work together to continue to build our profession and improve the health of all Australians.
Sophie Haywood
I was fortunate to receive a bursary to attend the APHA 2024 Symposium in Canberra. Being relatively new to the field of Health Promotion and recently elected as Co-President of the WA APHA Branch, I felt this was a good opportunity to get to know other people in the field. What I did not realise was that I would be surrounded by so many inspiring individuals. The symposium did not disappoint! We started with an inspiring Welcome to Ngunnawal Country by Selina Walker. Selina spoke about rather than our previous approach of trying to fit Indigenous Australians (the square peg) into our Western way of approaching health (round hole), we need to be looking for the hexagon. That way we can find a solution that suits everyone. This really resonated with me. Despite our best attempts to work with Indigenous Australians to promote help we always have the limitation our own epistemological position that we need to place aside and focus on the collaborative effort. We also need to recognise the burden that we place on Indigenous Australians but requiring them to participate and give so much of themselves. We need to ensure that we are giving back and their contributions are recognised and change is implemented as a result.
The rest of the symposium continued in the same vein. So many inspirational speakers talking about the work they are undertaking regarding the future of health promotion, smashing stereotypes, Aboriginal led health promotion, the global workforce, to name a few. I left the two-day event feeling so inspired that there are so many like-minded people out there doing the work and being the change. Often when we are in our own little corner, we can lose sight of the great things being achieved. The learning that I left the symposium with will be applied to the way I deliver health promotion units to future health promotion practitioners. To let them know that despite the many “wicked problems” we face, we can and do make a difference. Our efforts are important in changing systemic problems. I hope the follow-on effect of this is that not only will my core competencies continue to improve through learning through my peers in the field but I can assist future generations achieve these core competencies. Competencies such as (but not limited to)
- That change is possible and working collaboratively we can achieve this.
- The importance of advocating for health with the communities we are advocating for. It is important that we hold them central to all that we do and ensure that it is what they want and driven by them.
- The importance of communication and communicating in appropriate ways for the communities we are working alongside. As well as collaborating with other heath promotors to assess, plan, implement, evaluate, and disseminate our findings to the communities. This also relates ensuring that we give back what we take from communities. Support those communities and disseminate findings in a way that is appropriate for them.
It is also important that I walk the walk as well as just talking the talk. I intend to disseminate the learnings of the symposium to the AHPA WA Branch at our next branch meeting. I will also share this with the Curtin Health Promotion team at our next staff meeting. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, I will be embedding and discussing the experience and learnings with future health promotion students as part of the Curtin undergraduate health promotion course.
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank AHPA National Board for providing me the opportunity to attend the symposium. It has had a profound impact on me, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Talia Blythman
Most valuable lesson learnt from the event.
A big thank you to AHPA for the Bursary to attend the National Health Promotion Symposium. There were so many valuable lessons learnt.
Nathan Rigney and the excellent panel discussed ‘Our way works! Aboriginal-Led Health Promotion. They discussed the vital importance of strength-based approaches and Aboriginal voices. Also, the importance of cultural safety for Aboriginal people, and also for everyone more broadly. This session highlighted the important message that culture is health.
Monica Kelly’s inspiring keynote presentation ‘Shaping the future of health promotion: How can our actions have influence?’ highlighted the importance of developing leadership skills, and taking the opportunity to lead wherever you are in the system. Monica also highlighted that ‘how we do, is as important as what we do’, and how vital it is to stay grounded in communities. Further to this, the importance of understanding the art, and not just the science of policy making.
Caterina Giorgi provided a wonderful session on ‘Re-imagining Leadership: Women in Public Health’. I particularly liked the message that leadership can be many things, and that leaders can be themselves and follow their joy. I resonated with the comments on dealing with negativity, including not giving oxygen to negativity, and that sometimes you just have to step over the dead bodies!
How learnings from the event will be applied to health promotion practice and developing health promotion competencies
As a teaching academic at UniSA Online the learnings from the event will be firstly integrated into my courses. In Monica Kelly’s presentation, the work of Dr Monica Bensberg on taking action on systems was highlighted. I teach the health capstone course for Public Health students. In this course we cover systems thinking and taking a systematic approach. I am looking forward to incorporating Dr Bensberg’s work in to the course. Further to this, I was fortunate to chair the session ‘Harnessing the power of the arts for social change: A health promotion perspective’ by Dr Emma Heard and Pearly Black. This provided insights on how the arts can be harnessed to create impactful action across all areas of the Ottawa Charter. I plan to share some of these excellent examples in my Project Management for Health and Wellness course.
Further to this, learnings from the symposium will also be brought into research projects that I am working on. One project I am working on is with the Barossa Council and involves looking at potential options to measure wellbeing in the community. Dr Katherine Trebeck’s session on ‘Cornerstone indicators for a health society’ provided excellent food for thought for this topic through discussions about a wellbeing economy and easily understood measures of wellbeing. Some of my favourite indicator ideas from my group were ‘the number of children having a story read to them each night’, and ‘the number of people who have someone to ask to put their bins out if they are away from home.’
As a registered Health Promotion Practitioner this symposium has provided many opportunities to further develop health promotion competencies in all areas. One example was the session ‘Writing and reviewing for the Health Promotion Journal of Australia: A practical guide’ presented by Dr Louise Baldwin. This session was an excellent opportunity for building skills in Evaluation and Research. I have several projects happening where the information from this session will be very helpful. In addition, this session has me looking forward to getting more involved with the journal.
How you will disseminate your learnings
I will be disseminating learning from the Symposium through my courses to my undergraduate students. Further to this, I will share my learnings with my colleagues on the AHPA SA committee. This information will be utilised to assist with planning options for future professional development and advocacy opportunities. I will also share learnings with my fellow lecturers at UniSA Online to advise course updates across the health degrees, and partners I am working with on research projects to advise the direction we will take.
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity for this Bursary to attend the National Health Promotion Symposium. It has been a very inspiring and enjoyable learning and networking opportunity.
