Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said she was keen to explore the healthy city initiative. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said she was keen to explore the healthy city initiative. Photo / Supplied
Rotorua could become a "healthy city" by creating and improving physical and social environments thanks to the health conference held last week.
At the closing of the 23rd International Union of Health Promotion and Education conference, mayor Steve Chadwick agreed to explore further the idea of Rotorua becoming a healthy city after she was handed the Shanghai Consensus on Healthy Cities.
Rotorua had already signed the United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme, a worldwide initiative aimed at creating sustainable societies which, Chadwick said, incorporated health and wellbeing-related goals like those in the Healthy Cities initiative.
"We signed up to the UN Global Compact programme because it fitted perfectly with the goals and aspirations council and the community set as part of the 2030 vision around sustainability, wellbeing and community resilience.
"We will see if there is anything Healthy Cities has that we've missed."
Healthy Cities is a World Health Organisation programme that aims to place health high on the agendas of decision-makers and to promote comprehensive local strategies for health protection and sustainable development.
Chadwick said programmes like UN Global Compact and Healthy Cities helped places like Rotorua achieve its long-term goals and aspirations by "keeping us focused on what's important for our communities and our people, now and into the future".
Steve Chadwick being handed the Shanghai Consensus on Healthy Cities by Dr Faten ben Abdelaziz. Photo / Supplied
At the closing she thanked the conference for the Rotorua Waiora: Promoting planetary health and sustainable development and Indigenous legacy documents and said she was looking forward to reading them.
A call for action to secure planetary health and sustainable development now and for the sake of future generations was also made through the legacy statements by more than 1200 health delegates from around the world.
The Rotorua legacy statement said: "[Planetary health] puts the wellbeing of people and the planet at the heart of decision-making, recognising that the economy, as a social construct, must be a supportive tool fit for this purpose in the 21st century."
This year was the first time an indigenous statement was released which urged wider global communities to make space for indigenous korero to help planetary health and sustainable development.
It stated: "The silencing of indigenous voices and the subjugation of indigenous bodies of knowledge has been detrimental to all, most evident in our global environmental crisis.
"Planetary health is understood as the health and wellbeing of Mother Earth and of humanity as an inextricable part of natural ecosystems."
Destination Rotorua business events manager Craig Murray said the event was a great opportunity to showcase Rotorua's ability to host large conferences and provide a high-quality experience.
"An event of this scale involves many of our hospitality and visitor industry operators, as delegates will have opportunities to explore Rotorua and enjoy some of the restaurants and attractions on offer."
