- May 28, 2025
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Uncategorized
From May 21- 24, 2025, Healthy Lifestyles for Europe (HL4EU) partners gathered for an in-person meeting. The meeting was hosted by the partner EPIONI as part of the 3rd edition of the Arts and Mental Health Festival. The timing, right during European Mental Health Week, and the inspiring setting helped spark new ideas and fresh energy for our shared mission: promoting healthier lifestyles through cross-sector collaboration.
On the first day, partners reviewed what the project has achieved over the past 18 months. The major milestone has been the launch of the Cross-Sectoral Good Practice Platform. EIEIM presented a deep analysis of the good practices submitted through desk research over the last six months. After a thorough data-cleaning process, 78 out of over 100 submissions were included. This data revealed which sectors are most active in collaborating to promote healthy lifestyles and the kinds of innovations taking place across Europe. This analysis provided valuable insights and inspired partners to keep exploring other promising practices. EPIONI also shared an update on our ongoing Call for Good Practice Sharing. Inspiring submissions from organisations across Europe have been collected so far. These include projects focused on:
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Active cities and sustainable school transport
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Healthy youth development
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Urban planning that supports mobility and wellbeing
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Nutrition-focused research
IGOTCo led an engaging session on organising virtual focus groups. These sessions helped to better understand how cross-sector initiatives work in practice – what drives success and what challenges must be addressed. ENOS followed with a session on shaping policy recommendations and setting clear impact goals for the project.
On day two, EuropeActive presented the Healthy Lifestyles for Europe project at the Arts and Mental Health Festival. The audience included stakeholders from municipalities, health and arts sectors, universities, and medical associations, highlighting the decisive role of physical activity in mental health. Research shows that physical activity can boost mood, self-esteem, and brain function, while also reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, often more effectively than therapy or medication alone.
We published in March 2025 a second book on MASH with the medical and scientific editor John Libbey,