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The city of Udine won the Health Oscar for 2024, for the section reserved for large cities, thanks to the project ‘Let’s PLAY – Relationships through play’.
The awards ceremony Health Oscar 2024 and the awards given to the best projects in the field of health prevention and well-being closed the XXI National Meeting of the Healthy Cities-WHO Network of Bologna, which hosted the first convention under the Milanese leadership of the network. The award-winning project, “GIOCHIamo”, was created thanks to the collaboration between the Centro di Aiuto alla Vita and the Municipality of Udine, in particular the Department of Health and the WHO Healthy Cities Project, in the years 2022-2023, with the objective of promoting playful activity in the parent-child relationship through multidisciplinary and multicultural activities, to improve well-being, particularly in the first years of life, considered fundamental for healthy psychophysical growth and development. Specifically, the project consisted of an activity to accompany parenting through guided play and psychomotor skills in highly complex families, intended for children aged 0-6 years and their primary caregivers.
The event, which involved all Italian cities, was held from 23 to 24 May in the spaces of the Casa di Katia Bertasi neighbourhood, a symbolic space of Bolognese welfare. At the center of the first day, which ended with the general assembly of the Network’s members, six exciting speeches were held under the heading “Health is possible!” and three thematic tables in the form of workshops which addressed as many topics revolving around the concept of health and three different key words connected to it: inclusion, future and environment.
Today concluded with the Health Oscar award ceremony, during which the Councilor for Health and Social Equity of the Municipality of Udine collected the first prize.
For the first time, the evaluation commission saw national experts such as Daniela Bianco – THE EUROPEAN HOUSE – AMBROSETTI, Ilaria Luzi – National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CNaPPS) and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità alongside the members of the technical committee , Giuseppe Napoli – FEDERSANITÀ ANCI FVG – EXECUTIVE FEDERSANITÀ NAZIONALE, Riccardo Prandini – Department of Political and Social Sciences – University of Bologna, Valentina Possenti – National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CNaPPS) and Higher Institute of Healthcare, Chiara Spinato – Health and Social and Health Integration Office Welfare Department, Social Policies Health ANC.
During the meeting, a General Assembly of Members also took place which capitalized on the reflections collected in the “Bologna Declaration” which establishes the commitment of administrators and Municipalities to support the values and principles of the global movement of Healthy Cities, well-being physical, mental and social life of citizens and asks for greater attention from the Government and Regions in allocating adequate funds to implement actions to promote health and improve citizens’ lifestyles.
