By Dolores Palmer, Department of Health and Board Member at Belfast Healthy Cities

I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors for Belfast Healthy Cities and was very pleased to attend the WHO Healthy Cities Network (HCN) Annual Business Meeting, hosted this year in the vibrant city of Bursa, Türkiye.

The theme of the meeting, “Resilient Healthy Cities: Creating Sustainable Urban Futures for All,” really set the tone for two inspiring days of discussion, learning and connection. Delegates explored abstracts from across the six sub-themes of the Healthy Cities movement: Prosperity, Planet, Participation, People, Place and Peace.

One of the highlights for me was seeing Belfast showcased on an international stage. As a member of the Greening the City Advisory Group, I felt a particular sense of pride standing alongside our poster and sharing the story of our work with colleagues from across Europe and beyond. Those conversations continued during the oral abstract presentation, sparking ideas and forging connections that I hope will continue to grow.

The meeting also provided valuable time with fellow Belfast Healthy Cities colleagues and Board members. Stepping out of our usual day-to-day roles allowed for fresh conversations and strengthened relationships, which I believe will enrich our collaboration back home too.

From a policy perspective, I found the session on the Place Standard Tool – “How Good is Our Place?”, presented by John Howie at NHS Health Scotland, especially thought-provoking. Place-based approaches are central to my role in the Department of Health, where I lead on Making Life Better, Northern Ireland’s overarching strategic framework for public health. The session offered practical insights into how place can be used as a lens for addressing health inequalities and improving health literacy – areas I am particularly passionate about.

Overall, the conference reinforced the value of the Healthy Cities movement: creating environments that enable healthier lives and reducing health inequalities through collaboration, innovation and shared learning.

I am very grateful to Belfast Healthy Cities for giving me this unique opportunity to be part of the team that represented Belfast on such a significant stage.