Major conference on public health under way in Ljubljana
Ljubljana, 29 November - The biggest annual gathering of public health specialists in Europe, the European Public Health Conference, is under way in Ljubljana. Over 1,600 participants from 61 countries are discussing the impact of digital technology on health, active ageing, and how migrations are affecting public health.
EuroHealthnet director Caroline Costongs highlighted the segment of digital technology as she told the press on Thursday that digital tools often accentuated the risks that youths face anyway.
She said the solution was not to limit access to the internet, it was to work with families and guardians to instruct them how to teach their children to use the internet responsibly.
Jutta Lindert, the chair of the European Public Health Association, spoke about the need to be mindful of mental health from childhood until old age.
The conference will also discuss how public health institutions deal with migrations, which had in the past been seen as a threat to public health but are no longer considered that.
Allan Krasnik of the European Public Health Association said, however, that public health authorities should pay special attention to the most vulnerable groups of migrants such as unaccompanied minors.
The conference started yesterday but was formally opened on Thursday by EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.