Education Congress Health 2016 in Osnabrück

"Origin shapes and origin decides"

For several years, the Friedel and Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation has supported the already established and regularly held educational congresses in the Osnabrück region.

In October 20, 2016, the educational congress was held on the topic of health, this time at the Center for Environmental Communication of the German Federal Environmental Foundation. The latest edition is now to lead into a continuous thematic follow-up. Until the next education congress in 2018, working groups will deal with five thematic areas. This was one of the results of the event organized by the city and district of Osnabrück, the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and the University of Osnabrück, as well as the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation and the Georgsmarienhütte Steelworks Foundation.

The program of the education congress alternated between keynote speeches and workshops. It is precisely the content of the workshops, which focused for example on the importance of exercise, vocational training or media consumption and their impact on health, that will form the thematic basis for the working groups that have now been installed.

The topic of health also played a central role in the presentation by Birgit Babitsch (University of Osnabrück). Titled "Unequal Opportunities in Education, Inequality in Health." The scientist emphasized that education is one of the central social determinants of health: "Origin shapes and origin decides," Babitsch said. Therefore, she said, health education must be an integral part of school and organizational development.

Another presentation was given by Stephan Maykus (Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences). His topic was "Networks make education happen - looking at districts and communities as enabling spaces." Maykus explained how networks can be promoted and what advantages they offer. For example, he said, cooperation is a quality feature of good schools, daycare centers and district education.

More than 100 participants attended the Health Education Conference at the Center for Environmental Communication. They included daycare centers, schools, youth welfare institutions, educational institutions, the University of Osnabrück and foundations.

For more information on the Education Congress on Health, visit www.bildungskonress-os.de.