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Representatives of 35 institutions from 10 Asia-Pacific regions including Mainland China, Singapore, Korea, Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Ghana, Pakistan, Taiwan and Macau, together with the representatives of all eight UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong, summoned at the 1st Asia-Pacific Conference on Healthy Universities held from 8 to 10 March at the School of Public Health of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The Conference is organized by the School of Public Health, in collaboration with Advisory Committee on Health Promotion and Protection, University Health Service, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Sports Medicine and Health Promotion of CUHK.

With the support of World Health Organization (WHO), the Conference establishes an ongoing collaborative network among universities in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Asia-Pacific Network of Healthy Universities, which puts health high on the policy and learning agenda of member institutions, and promotes and facilitates a healthy lifestyle through:
– Leadership and commitment;
– Innovation and partnership-building;
– Knowledge exchange and sharing of experiences; and
– Capacity-building and active engagement.

Dr. Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific; Dr. Linda Milan, Director, Building Healthy Communities and Populations, WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific; Dr. York Chow, SBS, JP, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food; Dr. P.Y. Lam, JP, Director of Health; and Mr. Anthony Ting-yuk Wu, JP, Chairman, Hospital Authority; Professor Jack C.Y. Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK; Professor T.F. Fok, Dean, Faculty of Medicine of CUHK and Professor Sian Griffiths, Director of the School of Public Health of CUHK officiated at the Closing Ceremony of the 1st Asia-Pacific Conference on Healthy Universities today. The highlight of the Closing Ceremony is the signing of a joint declaration. By this declaration, member institutions of the Asia-Pacific Network of Healthy Universities call on relevant parties to advocate for and invest in the health and well-being of university students and staff, as well as in their communities and environments.

CUHK is committed to promoting the health of all staff and students by playing a key role in shaping people’s attitudes towards health. The University Health Service of CUHK has developed the Campus Health Ambassadors programme since September 2003 to foster a culture of health awareness and practice among student groups. The main objective of the programme is to develop a positive attitude in health among participants and to influence their peer groups, and more importantly, to establish a leadership role in the campus and then in the community. Since 2004, the Campus Health Ambassadors have started activities outside the campus. They joined as mentors to high school students and participated in the Organ Donation Programme of the Hospital Authority, and other voluntary works. They also attended international healthy universities conferences in Macau and Malaysia in 2004 and 2005 respectively and visited Shantou University in January 2007.