25th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter: request for memories

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, adopted in 1986, changed the perception of public health issues. As a result of the thinking behind the Charter, health is now understood to be a responsibility extending beyond the health sector, and has been mainstreamed into policy development in a wide range of sectors.

A great number of projects and movements – including the health-in-all-policies approach, the environment and health process, and Health 2020 – have their roots in the Ottawa Charter.

The sixty-first session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 12–15 September 2011, will provide an opportunity to celebrate the public health changes that the Charter helped to accomplish. WHO/Europe has established a discussion forum for the sharing of materials and memories, and welcomes your contributions.