WHAT IS NEW ON OUR WEBSITE: Offers to member cities

We have launched a new beta version of the Healthy Cities website consisting of several sections, one of which is called WHAT WE OFFER – and here we offer a selection of current services and activities which cities, towns and regions can engage in such as advice and targeted help aimed at ensuring quality of public amdministration, training and courses, support for public engagement, youth and school fora, emotional maps, indicators, evaluation reports and much more. Are you interested in cooperation and inspiration from other cities and towns from the Czech Republic and beyond?

A Spring School was held in Dacice to share experiences (not only) between Healthy Cities

A traditional meeting of representatives of cities, towns and regions and partner organizations from all over the Czech Republic, the Healthy Cities Spring School took place in Dacice on the first spring day, the 21st March 2018, bringing together more than 130 participants. The key topics of the introductory seminar included funds information, quality of local authorities, sustainable development, culture, clean mobility, social housing, youth internet safety, care for the youngest children, GDPR etc.

The official welcome and the presentation of Dacice Healthy City, its history and current activities were given by its Mayor Karel Macku. It was followed by an inspirational presentation on the use of media with the aim of promoting a Healthy City.

At national level, the representatives of various ministries explored topics such as the latest calls of the EU Operational Programme Employment aimed at territorial self-governing units, the Covenant of Mayors, quality of public administration support and the Regional Development Strategy of the Czech Republic 2021+.

After the presentation of recent events and the wide portfolio of Healthy Cities services, the session focused on the topic of culture. Two innovative methodologies for culture planning were presented. The first methodology looks at the evaluation of cultural organizations of a city. The outcome is a user-friendly tool aimed at developing cultural organizations of cities effectively, defining their goals and evaluating the results of their work. The second methodology deals with how culture is reflected on the “map”, or, more precisely, in the territorial planning documentation. Jihlava and Litomerice Healthy Cities were awarded the Good Practice Stamp Prize for pilot-testing of these methodologies.

The following days of the Spring School were devoted to three parallel intensive training sessions on the following topics: communication with the public, dealing with difficult negotiations, the Fundamentals and the system of Healthy City and LA21 programmes - all training sessions involved hands-on skills training, including a set of methodological recommendations and practical examples. The final day was devoted to practical training in using the Healthy Cities information system called Dataplan, and to the use of social networks in Healthy Cities.

The photos and more information about the event are available on www.nszm.cz/js2018.

City Districts from all over the Czech Republic shared their practices and good practice examples

The meeting of (not only) Healthy City Districts took place on Tuesday, 6th March 2018, at the premises of the Prague City Hall. The purpose of this event was to share best practices on sustainable development and to discuss the implementation of Healthy Cities and LA21 activities and the possibilities of partnerships.

Deputy Mayor Petra Kolinska welcomed the participants and reported on the latest developments regarding the allocation of the Prague City Hall subsidy scheme intended for city districts in the area of health promotion and LA21. The session was concluded by the presentations of Prague city districts covering the topics of public involvement in the planned revitalization, health across generations or participatory budgeting.

The representatives of Brno, Ostrava, Prague 12 and Prague 20 dealt with topics related to raising the effectiveness of staff training, planning of public spaces alterations with the involvement of citizens, partnerships with local entrepreneurs through the “Lend a hand” project, or systemic works as part of the Healthy Municipal District. The representatives of Prague 15 underlined the contribution of Healthy Cities especially for new but also existing members, and appreciated the assistance and support of the network, sharing of know-how, experiences and inspiration from colleagues, politicians and Healthy Cities coordinators in implementing the Healthy City programme or the LA21 method.

Healthy Cities are joining Earth Day 2018 festivities

Earth Day 2018 celebrations are coming, joining Healthy Cities. Earth Day, the largest international environmental campaign, falls annually on April 22. For the first time Earth Day was celebrated in the 1970s in the United States of America. A campaign is currently being carried out in 193 countries, with more than 22,000 partner organizations, more than one billion people from around the world are involved in the activities. In the Czech Republic, Earth Day celebrations have been held for almost 30 years.

Healthy cities, municipalities and regions will also be able to join in to bring together awareness and nature conservation events, as well as eco markets, spring cleaning, or fun eco-events for children. Healthy cities and communities are preparing a rich program for the general public. At events, buyers can buy fictitious products, as well as typical regional products. Many professional partners are involved in activities related to the Earth Day celebrations.

Programs of Earth Day celebrations in Healthy Cities, Municipalities and Regions can be found at www.zdravamesta.cz/dze.

Learn more about the international context of the campaign: www.earthday.org