From June 16–19, 2025, a delegation of 12 students, faculty, and staff from UBC’s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses attended the International Health Promoting Campuses Conference (IHPCC) in Limerick, Ireland. The event brought together more than 400 global participants from over 40 countries, including representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO, and the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE).
Noorjean Hassam, Mandy MacRae, Matt Dolf, Melissa Feddersen, Natasha Malloff, Crystal Hutchinson, Kaitlyn Thorp-Levitt, Haley Strother, Casey Hamilton, and Caroline Wu at the University of Limerick, July 2025.
This year’s conference marked a significant milestone—ten years since the launch of the Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges. The Charter was developed in 2015 at the International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges, co-hosted by UBC and Simon Fraser University at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Since then, it has become a foundational framework for advancing health and wellbeing in higher education institutions around the world.
Themed “A Decade Since the Okanagan Charter: Where from, what next, where to?”, the 2025 conference offered space to reflect on progress made over the past decade and explore future directions for the health promoting campuses movement.
UBC contributed actively to these global conversations. Delegates delivered an opening welcome, a keynote, six presentations, and four posters. UBC staff also supported the planning and delivery of the event through roles on key committees. Another highlight of the conference was the launch of the book, Health Promoting Universities: Advancing Wellbeing through a Systems Approach, which features contributions from nine UBC authors.
Vicki Squires, Chad London, Crystal Hutchinson, and Natasha Malloff at the book launch for Health Promoting Universities: Advancing Wellbeing through a Systems Approach, July 2025.
As we look forward, insights from the Limerick conference will help inform UBC’s renewal of its Wellbeing Strategic Framework—supporting ongoing collaboration across faculties, departments, student groups, and campuses.
Later this year, the launch of the Limerick Framework for Action will provide a new global roadmap for advancing health and wellbeing in higher education. UBC remains committed to engaging with this next phase and continuing its role in building a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable campus community both locally and globally.