Sónia Dias, Dean of the National School of Public Health of NOVA University of Lisbon (NOVA NSPH), participated as a speaker at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) 2025, the most important European meeting dedicated to health policy, held from 30 September to 3 October in Bad Hofgastein, Austria, under the theme “Rethinking Solidarity in Health: Healing Europe’s Fractured Social Contract”.
Sónia Dias took part in the high-level session “Social, Green, and Arts Prescriptions for Health – Harnessing the power of community interventions for well-being”, organised by the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) in collaboration with EuroHealthNet.
Prompted by the question “What if your next prescription wasn’t a pill, but a painting class, a community garden, or a walking group?”, the session brought together policymakers, academics, and international experts to discuss the potential of social, green, and arts prescriptions, approaches that promote well-being through art, nature, and community life.
These forms of intervention, increasingly valued across Europe, strengthen social bonds, reduce isolation, improve mental health, and ease the pressure on health systems, while also fostering sustainability and inclusion.
Among the speakers, alongside Sónia Dias (NOVA NSPH), were Neringa Grigutytė (Ministry of Health of Lithuania), Richard Filz (musician and trainer), Stine Keiding (Cultural Region Funen, Denmark), and Ülla-Karin Nurm, Director of the NDPHS. The session was moderated by Alison Maassen from EuroHealthNet.
In her address, Sónia Dias highlighted the role of social prescribing as a transformative tool in public health policy, emphasising that health should be built with people and for people, through collaboration between academia, policymakers, the social sector, and the community.
We need health systems that are closer, more human, and more connected to local communities. Social prescribing is one of the most promising ways to integrate physical, mental, and social well-being within a single model of care,” she stated.
This vision aligns with the ongoing work of NOVA NSPH on social prescribing in Portugal, notably through professional training, applied research, and collaboration with municipalities and local partners to promote more sustainable, people-centred health models.
The participation of NOVA NSPH in this forum reinforces the School’s presence in major international debates on the future of public health and highlights its active role in implementing innovative, integrated, and evidence-based solutions.
