About us / our vision
“Health promoting universities and colleges shape the health and sustainability of our current and future societies, strengthen communities, and contribute to the well-being of people, places, and the planet.” (Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges (2015))
The Network of Health Promoting Universities Austria is a non-profit oriented association of Austrian universities and universities of applied sciences. The starting points for the Network of Health Promoting Universities Austria are the Ottawa Charter (1986) [1] of the WHO and the Okanagan Charter (2015)[2]. The network members are committed to the vision of developing the university setting into a health-promoting living, learning and working environment for employees and students.
In keeping with the Okanagan Charter, the network pursues two calls to action:
- To embed health in all aspects of the university culture, in all administrative, operational, and academic mandates, at the behavioral and relational levels
- To take action on health promotion and collaboration at the local and global levels.
In the evolving knowledge society, higher education institutions have a unique opportunity and responsibility to generate, share, and implement knowledge and research findings. From this special position, they have a mandate to lead by example in the sustainable improvement of society’s overall health.
[1] Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) (1986): Ottawa-Charta zur Gesundheitsförderung. Internationale Konferenz zur Gesundheitsförderung, Ottawa, Ontario, Kanada, 17.-21.11.1986.
[2] Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges (2015).