HEALTH ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (HEPA) EUROPE NETWORK UPDATES_ NOVEMBER 2025
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Welcome from HEPA Europe and the WHO Regional Office for Europe
The Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) Europe Network, in collaboration with the Division of Prevention and Health Promotion (PHP) of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, is committed to promoting HEPA across the WHO European Region.
Welcome to the 16th edition of the HEPA Europe Newsletter. Our goal is to disseminate the latest HEPA-related updates, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, share best practices, advocate for evidence-based policies, and amplify the visibility and significance of activities aligned with HEPA promotion and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We welcome contributions from our valued members, and we also aim to reach out to the broader community interested in advancing health and well-being through the promotion of physical activity.
Further details on how to share your contribution for each issue can be found at the end of the newsletter. For more information about the Network visit the HEPA Europe website.
Celebrating 20 Years of HEPA Europe and Successful 2025 Conference in Kaunas
Greetings from the Chair of HEPA Europe
The HEPA Europe 2025 Conference in Kaunas was a great success and a wonderful reunion for the HEPA Europe family. The HEPA Steering Committee was delighted to see many HEPA members, Member States representatives and colleagues come together to exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn from one another.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of HEPA Europe, a milestone celebrated with emotion and gratitude. Warm thanks to Finn Berggren and Sonja Kahlmeier for leading this memorable moment.
We are grateful to this years host, the Lithuanian Sports university, for delivering an excellent and dynamic programme that reflected the important blend of research, policy, and practice which is integral to HEPA Europe’s vision and mission.
The Steering Committee has also evolved. Our gratitude goes to Anna Chalkley for her valuable contribution over the past two years as chair of the network. Congratulations to Jan Seghers, newly elected Chair-elect, and to Ana Barbosa, Iiris Kolunsarka, Sebastià Mas Alòs, Petru Sandu, Nuttanun (Jung) Siriaporn, and Réka Veress for joining the Steering Committee.
A heartfelt thank you to Wanda Wendel-Vos and Marie Murphy, who are stepping down after 10 and 12 years of dedicated collaboration, both having served as Chairs of HEPA Europe.
The HEPA Steering Committee will continue to work actively to support and facilitate the activities of the HEPA Europe Working Groups to advance our collective goals and encourage all scientists, policy-makers and practitioners to join and contribute to these groups.
The HEPA Europe network continues to thrive thanks to the commitment of our members and the strong collaboration with WHO/Europe. We sincerely thank WHO/Europe for its continuous support and partnership.
We look forward to meeting the HEPA Europe family again in Ljubljana in 2026!
Warm regards,
Alexis Lion, chair of HEPA Europe
Slovenia – the next host of the HEPA Europe Conference
During the closing ceremony of the 16th conference of HEPA Europe, held in Kaunas, Lithuania, from 17 to 19 September 2025, it was officially announced that Slovenia will host the next HEPA Europe Conference.
The conference will take place from 8 to 10 September 2026 in Ljubljana under the theme “Green Pathways to Health: Integrating Green Spaces and 24-Hour Movement Behaviours for Combating NCDs.” It will explore how integrating green spaces and daily movement patterns can enhance public health, highlighting innovative and holistic approaches to promoting well-being, reducing sedentary behaviour, and fostering sustainable, active, and healthy communities.
HEPA Europe Climate and Sustainability Action Pledge
The HEPA Europe Climate and Sustainability Action Pledge commits the network to embedding sustainability across all its activities. It pledges to cut carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, host greener conferences with low-carbon travel, plant-based catering, and zero waste practices, and to promote research at the intersection of physical activity, climate, and planetary health. HEPA Europe will also advocate for stronger investment in this field, regularly review progress, and support members in adopting sustainable practices, leading by example in creating healthier people and a healthier planet.
Launching the pledge at this year’s conference, Anna Chalkley said, “We are proud to launch HEPA Europe’s Climate and Sustainability Action Pledge. By cutting our emissions, hosting greener events, and championing research on the links between physical activity, climate, and planetary health, we aim to lead by example. This is about building a healthier future, both for people and for the planet, and we invite our partners to join us in turning ambition into action.”
Delegates were invited to take action by signing up to the pledge and adding their voice to a growing movement committed to cutting emissions, hosting greener events, and driving research that connects physical activity with a healthier planet.
News from HEPA Europe Members
MTU PhD Student Wins Universal Design Grand Challenge Award for Physical Activity Mental Health Project ‘Active Ease’
Munster Technological University (MTU) proudly celebrates Shannon Aisling Forde, a PhD student supervised by Dr Tara Coppinger and Dr Susan Rea, in collaboration with Mairead Carolan, Senior Clinical Psychologist with the Health Service Executive (Ireland’s national public health service), for winning the Digital-ICT Category at the 2025 Universal Design Grand Challenge (UDGC) Awards at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. Shannon’s award-winning project, Active Ease, is a co-designed digital platform that helps individuals with severe mental illness engage in physical activity independently. Accessible across multiple devices, it features visual guides, videos, voiceovers, and printable resources, promoting inclusive design and innovation in Irish higher education.
Université Côte d’Azur Designated as New WHO Collaborating Centre
The WHO Regional Office for Europe has designated the Ulysseus Innovation Hub on Ageing and Well-being, hosted by Université Côte d’Azur in France, as a new WHO collaborating centre. This designation is a recognition of their great work.
This new Centre will promote systems thinking and innovation to significantly reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The Centre's core mission is to strengthen the use of systems thinking in public health policy, practice, and training. Systems thinking looks at how complex factors such as health, social, economic, and environmental interact to design more sustainable solutions for ageing and well-being. By focusing on capacity building, applied research, and technical collaboration, the Hub will connect innovation and research to find new ways to support healthy ageing and significantly reduce the burden of NCDs, aligning with the goals of the second WHO European Programme of Work (2026–2030).
Invites from HEPA Europe Network
Call for Hosts for the 2027 HEPA Europe Conference
Expressions of interest are now open for HEPA Europe member institutions interested in hosting the HEPA Europe 2027 Conference. We particularly welcome interest from Eastern European countries and those where a HEPA Europe Conference has not previously been held.
For details on eligibility requirements and the application process, please consult the Expression of Interest document here.
The deadline for written expressions of interest is Friday, 6 February 2026. Submissions and queries should be directed to hepaeurope@who.int.
Applications Open! WHO/Europe Summer School on Systems Thinking for NCDs and Healthy Ageing
Applications are now open for the 2026 summer school: “Systems thinking and innovation for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and a healthy ageing population in the WHO European Region.” It explores the theory and use of systems thinking and systems-based approaches to tackle the complex challenges of NCDs and their risk factors across the WHO European Region.
The summer school aims to build your capacity to apply systems-based methods for problem-solving, innovation, and translating research into practical strategies. You can expect a combination of interactive learning, hands-on exercises, and project-based work, allowing you to apply systems thinking to your own professional projects. It is designed for PhD students and early- to mid-career professionals, including researchers, postgraduate students, health practitioners, and policy-makers.
Don't miss this opportunity! Apply here.
Applications must be submitted no later than 21 November 2025.
Invitation to Register: Systems Thinking Workshops on NCD Prevention
The WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Complex Systems and Network Science for NCD Prevention and Control invites you to register for the upcoming workshops on applying systems thinking methods to Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control. These workshops offer a great opportunity to build practical skills in systems thinking approaches. The focus will be on the methodology of Agent-based Modelling.
- Introduction to Agent-based Modelling: Wednesday 5 November 2025, 10:30–12:30 (GMT)
- Continuation of Agent-based Modelling: Wednesday 12 November 2025, 10:30–12:30 (GMT)
For any questions, please contact the Collaborating Centre at whocc@qub.ac.uk.
Updates from the HEPA Europe Network
Report Now Online: 20th HEPA Europe Annual Meeting & Conference
The 20th Annual Meeting of HEPA Europe and the 15th HEPA Europe Conference took place in Dublin, Ireland, hosted by the University of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The conference successfully brought together scientists, policy-makers, and professionals from across WHO/Europe to advance HEPA implementation, focusing on the theme “Optimising health-enhancing physical activity: the importance of inclusion.”
For more details on the outcomes and discussions, access the report here.
Collaboration with HEPA Working Group Leads to New Sports Club Management Guide!
The implementation guide, "Be an inclusive, empowering and supportive sports clubs manager: health promoting sports club management implementation guide," was launched during the HEPA Europe Conference in Kaunas, Lithuania.
This guide is the result of a successful collaboration between the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Sports Clubs working group of HEPA Europe, under the leadership of the PROSCeSS research group, the French Ministry for Sport, Youth and Community, Santé publique France, Université Côte d’Azur, and Université de Lorraine. This guide addresses the critical need for equipping the dedicated volunteers and leaders of grassroots sports clubs with the tools to promote health in the sport sector. Recognizing that these clubs are key to fostering physical, mental, and social well-being, the resource supports managers in integrating health promotion into core activities. It includes theoretical background, case studies, an observational tool, and implementation strategies, highlighting how managers can become key contributors to healthier communities. We encourage all HEPA members to share and explore this new guide, please access here.
New Report: Promoting Physical Activity at Schools Through a Whole-of-School Approach
Promoting physical activity through schools offers substantial health, well-being, and academic benefits. However, effective, scalable programme implementation remains challenging due to the complexities of the broader health and education system. The new report "Whole-of-school approach to the promotion of physical activity using research, policy and practice to understand system’s needs and structures"addresses that critical gap by presenting findings from a Europe-wide research project that sought to understand the national systems and conditions required to support effective, whole-of-school programmes. The report provides seven key recommendations that all countries should take action to create and sustain effective whole-of-school physical activity programmes.
The report is the result of a collaboration between the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Children and Adolescents HEPA working group, under the leadership of the Wolfson Centre for Applied Research Healthy Childhood Group (University of Bradford). We encourage HEPA members to use and share this new report!
Access and download the report here.
New HEPA STC Members
Sebastià Mas Alòs
Sebastià Mas Alòs joins the HEPA Steering Committee as Associate Professor of HEPA and Exercise Prescription at INEFC, University of Lleida. He specializes in translating research into effective clinical practice and public policy, with expertise from initiatives such as EUPAP, the Catalan Exercise Prescription Guidelines, and OncoAthletes. A long-standing HEPA Europe Network contributor since 2011, Sebastià has supported WHO documents on HEPA promotion and serves as an expert evaluator for the European Commission. He is open to networking and collaboration on initiatives that aim to put scientific knowledge directly into practice. When not focused on HEPA, he enjoys challenging himself with long-distance orienteering races.
Iiris Kolunsarka
Iiris Kolunsarka joins the HEPA Steering Committee from the University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, where her research focuses on physical capacity, active lifestyles, and well-being among youth. She plays a central role in developing and coordinating Finland’s Move! system—a national school-based initiative that monitors physical capacity and promotes active living. Collaborating across research, practice, and policy, Iiris received the HEPA Europe Early Career Award in 2023 and participated in the WHO/HEPA Europe Early Career Professionals’ Development Programme in 2024. She is eager to connect and collaborate within the HEPA community.
Nuttanun Siriaporn (Jung)
Nuttanun Siriaporn (Jung) joins the HEPA Steering Committee after completing her PhD at Université Côte d’Azur, where she applied systems thinking to promote active transportation for health, climate, and environmental co-benefits. Her interdisciplinary research explores how communities can transition toward more active and sustainable mobility. Originally from Bangkok, Thailand, and educated in the US, UK, and France, she brings a rich cross-cultural perspective to public health. A 2023 alumna of the WHO/HEPA Europe Early Career Development Programme, Jung is dedicated to advancing systems-based approaches in HEPA and supporting early-career researchers. She enjoys Muay Thai, hiking, and matcha in her spare time.
Petru Sandu
Petru Sandu joins the HEPA Steering Committee from the National Institute of Public Health in Romania, where he applies his background as an MD, PhD, MS, and BPhEd to advancing physical activity promotion. His work spans community initiatives for children and students, dance programs for older adults, and research on evidence-informed PA policy, local government actions, and participatory PE approaches. A HEPA Europe Network member since 2016 and co-leader of the Policy Approaches to Physical Activity Working Group since 2018, Petru aims to strengthen the network’s efforts while further supporting PA promotion in Romania.
Updates from WHO Europe
22nd Meeting of the European Union Physical Activity Focal Points Network & HEPA Europe 2025 Marketplace – Kaunas, Lithuania
The 22nd Meeting of the European Union Physical Activity Focal Points Network was held on 16 September 2025 in Kaunas, Lithuania, as part of the 16th HEPA Europe Conference. Representatives from all 27 EU Member States participated, gaining insights into the latest research, policy developments, and best practices to support national strategies for promoting health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA).
The meeting focused on challenges and opportunities promoting HEPA, including reviewing the results of the EU survey on new HEPA indicators, strengthening policy monitoring and evaluation, and planning the rollout of Behavioural Insights-based communication campaigns. Participants also exchanged lessons learned from various settings and actively collaborated with researchers to inform the update of the HEPA Monitoring Framework.
On 17 September, the HEPA Europe 2025 Marketplace offered a unique platform for EU Focal Points and researchers to connect. The Marketplace facilitated dynamic exchanges on surveillance, policy coordination, implementation barriers, and evaluation. This direct interaction furthered knowledge exchange and supported the crucial cross-country collaboration needed to advance HEPA promotion throughout WHO Europe.
HEPA Europe Early Career Research Section
The HEPA Europe Early Career Section (ECS) was officially launched in November 2020 with the first-ever HEPA Europe webinar. The ECS was established to encourage the active engagement of early-career professionals (researchers, practitioners, and policymakers) within the wider HEPA Europe community. The aim is to promote and support their professional development through participation in events, which advance their knowledge and skills and expand their network and opportunities for collaboration. If you are interested in learning more about the ECS or would like to get involved in this initiative please contact Anna Chalkley.
2025 HEPA Early Career Award
HEPA Europe recognizes the importance of supporting researchers at an early stage of their careers in developing their professional identity. The Early Career Research Award, held in association with this year’s conference, celebrates the contributions of emerging researchers to the field at the start of their scientific journey. This year, HEPA Europe received 70 applications for the award, from which members of the HEPA Steering Committee shortlisted eight nominees. The finalists were evaluated on their presentations during the conference.
The 2025 award was presented to Tiina Savikangas, postdoctoral researcher at the Gerontology Research Center and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, for her presentation “Physical activity trajectories and their predictors in older adults participating in a 12-month multicomponent intervention,” and Shania Boom, PhD student in the Faculty of Health Studies at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, for her PhD study “The Co-development of Guiding Principles to Support Physical Activity Among the Least Active Children.”
Congratulations to the winners and to all shortlisted nominees for their excellent work and inspiring contributions to the advancement of HEPA research.
Daniel Cooper
Final-year PhD student
Daniel's a final-year PhD student at Brunel University of London. He was awarded the Dean's PhD Studentship to join the Centre for Physical Activity in Health and Disease in January 2023, after previous roles in the NHS. Daniel completed a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Chichester in 2019, followed by a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Loughborough University in 2020.
His doctoral research focuses on sedentary behaviour and cardiovascular disease in individuals with a spinal cord injury, with the aim to develop and evaluate an intervention to reduce and break up sedentary behaviour in individuals with paraplegia. This research may lead to improvements in healthcare and public health policy for this population group.
After completing his PhD later this year, Daniel intends to pursue a post-doctoral position to undertake further vital research into improving the health and wellbeing of under-served clinical populations.
Tiina Savikangas
Postdoctoral researcher
Tiina is a postdoctoral researcher at the Gerontology Research Center and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She also collaborates with the ODL Sports Clinic and the Population Health Unit at the University of Oulu, Finland. She received her PhD in Health Sciences (majoring in gerontology and public health) from the University of Jyväskylä in 2022. Since then, she has worked in multidisciplinary research groups and led her own research project focusing on physical activity across the adult lifespan.
Her research explores the role of both everyday physical activity and multicomponent exercise programs in supporting health and functional ability in the aging population. She is particularly interested in longitudinal trajectories of physical activity, and the individual and environmental factors that influence them. Through this work, she aims to contribute to the development of effective strategies that promote active and healthy aging.
Shania Boom
PhD student
Shania is a PhD Student in the Faculty of Health Studies at the University of Bradford (UK), funded through White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership. Shania’s research experience includes a Research Assistant role at the University of Leeds, where she investigated the impact of increasing physical activity during curriculum time, using Physically Active Learning and Movement breaks, on children’s academic achievement and attentional control.
Her current research focus during her PhD is addressing the current health and well-being issues that influence healthy living for children within Bradford’s local community, by co-developing guiding principles to support the least active children. Shania’s continued research commitment is to drive research as a force for change in developing a healthy childhood.
Dr Aisling McGrath
Lecturer
Aisling is a lecturer and early career researcher at South East Technological University (SETU), Ireland, specialising in physical activity and health promotion. An IUHPE-accredited Health Promotion Practitioner, she focuses on designing and evaluating innovative, community-based programmes to improve health outcomes among vulnerable and socially disadvantaged populations.
She completed her PhD in 2022, leading the co-design and evaluation of Sheds for Life, a pioneering men’s health initiative recognised as a gender-specific model for promoting physical activity and wellbeing. Dr McGrath is currently principal investigator/co-supervisor on several projects evaluating programmes such as ExWell (a physical activity programme for people with chronic conditions), the League of Ireland’s More than a Club, and the scale-up of the Football Cooperative intervention for men. She is also lead researcher on Ireland’s first National Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for pregnant and postpartum women, and co-author of the guidelines for people with chronic conditions.
Josefine Björkqvist
PhD candidate
Josefine’s background is in clinical exercise physiology, and she completed my master’s at University of Aberdeen. Josefine investigated the long-term effects of physical activity for people living with cancer and worked together with the local National Health Service and community partners to implement a physical activity referral pathway. The project was underpinned by co-production and won the national Macmillan Integration Excellence Award. The experience sparked my interest in promoting health behaviour change to prevent chronic disease.
Josefine is currently completing a PhD and working as a researcher at Folkhälsan Research Center in Finland. Her current research investigates factors that affect child and adolescent health and well-being, with a focus on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and screen use. The overarching goal of her research is to promote physical activity throughout the life course.
In her spare time she enjoys science communication, running, cycling, photography and spending time outdoors with her family.
Hanadi Alsulami
Final-year PhD Student
Hanadi is a lecturer at the University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where she has been teaching since 2014, and a final-year PhD candidate in Sport and Exercise Science at Swansea University, United Kingdom. Hanadi’s doctoral research examines the barriers and facilitators to physical activity among children and adolescents in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on how physical activity and fitness are associated with quality of life. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and continues to develop expertise in youth health and physical activity.
Her main research interests are public health, youth physical activity, and community-based interventions. Hanadi aims to collaborate with international organisations to address the physical activity crisis in Arab and Islamic countries, particularly among young girls, and to contribute to the establishment of a women’s sport and exercise science department at the University of Tabuk, which has not yet been established. Her long-term goal is to translate research into policies and programmes that promote healthier and more active lifestyles among young people in Saudi Arabia.
Contributing to the HEPA Europe newsletter
We invite you to share relevant updates for future editions of this newsletter. If your institution is interested, please provide a brief description (max 100 words) with an accompanying link (if available) and a relevant photo.
Please send your submissions to: hepaeurope@who.int
Overall, we welcome:
- Projects or activities resulting from working groups
- New publications
- Funding calls
- Research opportunities
- Upcoming conferences and events
- Information about your institution (e.g., when your institution became a member of the network and a short description of main tasks in relation to HEPA and how outputs are being used to inform policy and practice in the field)
- Other relevant updates
HEPA Europe (European network for the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity)
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