The challenge was not only to organize the next EuroNet MRPH Winter Meeting in Lisbon, but also to create the first Medical Residents of Public Health Conference in just 4 months and with a very low budget!
The EuroNet’s Portuguese team was very enthusiastic about this idea, as the country has experienced an increase in the number of MRPH in the last few years; Lisbon is also now a very popular city for tourism and Portugal had not hosted a EuroNet MRPH meeting since the end of 2014. Also, there was no better way to celebrate 5 years of Portuguese EuroNet MRPH membership – a network that is also having an excellent year so far!
The YPHE – Young Public Health in Europe (EuroNet MRPH Winter Meeting) took place in Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/Public Health National School, from the 30th November to the 2nd December. There were 71 participants, from 9 member countries, of which 33 were Portuguese, making it the biggest meeting in EuroNet MRPH history.
The well-prepared, rich and detailed Scientific program was great! The first session on 30th November – “From data to knowledge” – presented the importance of using data, especially in the emergency field. This was followed by two workshops: one about communication, with a fascinating journey through high-impact communication and some key points when storytelling; the other workshop was titled “inside the mind of an epidemiologist”. A session on training and professional development in Public Health raised a very interesting debate, where questions and interventions from participants were welcomed. Other stimulating workshops included: the using of social media in research; how to get what you want from meetings; and drug monitoring and effectiveness. The quality of the workshops caused the young MRPH some difficulty when choosing between sessions!
The 1st December was the highlight of the scientific programme: a session about how data will shape our cities from a PH perspective and then the last big challenge: “the elevator pitch”. Delegates were divided into small groups and tasked with looking for creative solutions for PH problems. It was an incredible adventure, every group prepared a 3 minute presentation. Some observations? Suffice to say, we loved developing HEALTH4ALL in this friendly, funny, amazing way. The afternoon provided the perfect opportunity to show so many of the 1st year MRPH the EuroNet style and its pillars: networking, internship and research.
However..…what would be a EuroNet meeting without the social events?
The social programme aimed to create strong bonds between EuroNet’s members and facilitate cultural exchanges and discoveries. And because we were in Portugal, the programme was as “quente” as the weather!
The first two social events occurred in the restaurants of Lisbon. During the first one, we listened to Fado, which is a popular kind of music with melancholy themes and strings instruments. The second night involved an European Public Health quiz! We split into mixed-country teams to try to answer the 30 questions and compete for the prize! (For the winning team: special thanks to Damir and the Croatian wine lovers.) Each event progressed to partying in the bars and clubs of the city.
For the third social event, the nightlife was traded for a cultural visit to the neighbourhood of Belém, accompanied by two guides. We walked through Belém, learning about all its history: from the big earthquake of 1755, to the story of boats leaving the harbours to discover the world, expanding the Portuguese empire; from the story of the royal family to the presidential palace of today. And of course the history of the “pastéis de Belém”, that we not only listened to but also tasted!
The consensus was that the 2017 Euronet meeting had been an enjoyable success. The choice of Lisbon allowed us to enjoy the sun and the Portuguese team did a fantastic job of organising an array of interesting speakers and workshops, information, lunches and other things. A lot of new faces joined the network in this meeting and we hope that more will continue to do so, to help the young European Public Health community flourish. Can’t wait to see 2018!
Mariana Carrapatoso, Viviana Santoro, Melchior de Giraud d’Agay, Matt Robinson
Public Health Medical Residents from Portugal, Italy, France and Ireland