COHEHRE Symposium 2025 Low-Down
By Kirsten Garré In NewThe symposium “Advocacy for Values in Health Care: Which challenges need to be faced to ensure core values and sustainability in the healthcare system, in this current era?” took place at SUPSI against the breathtaking Swiss landscape, delivering two days of extraordinary growth and discovery.
This symposium sparked incredible interaction between staff and students, creating connections that will run through the education of healthcare students and the teaching of healthcare professionals.
Three Keynotes
- The Soul of Healthcare: What Makes It All Worthwhile?
Denise Lombardi took the stage with a keynote that struck right at the heart: “What is the Worth of Health Care in Society?” She wove together individual stories and social realities through an anthropological lens, revealing how care pathways dance differently across populations. Her challenge hit home – equality isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s the battle we are still fighting. But here’s what left everyone buzzing: healthcare’s true worth lies in preserving dignity, reducing suffering, promoting justice, and affirming our shared humanity. Talk about a mic-drop moment that had everyone questioning what kind of care they really want to deliver!
- Follow the Money: Healthcare Economics That Actually Matter
Prof. Harald Plamper delivered a game-changing keynote on “The Economic Value of Healthcare Systems” that flipped traditional thinking on its head. Forget the usual metrics – he argued we should measure success by how many premature deaths we prevent. His exploration of the Bismarck model (think Germany and Switzerland with their public health insurance) versus the Westminster model (UK and Italy’s state-funded approach) revealed fascinating development pathways. The urgency in his voice was palpable when he called for healthcare transformation, because let’s face it – this is literally about life and death.
- Beyond Green: Sustainability as Educational Revolution
Professor Manuela Milani from Humanitas University in Milan brought the heat with “Beyond Green: Teaching Sustainability as a Multi-Dimensional Challenge in Healthcare Education.” She shattered the myth that sustainability is just another module to tack on. Instead, she painted a vision where sustainability becomes the transformative force that reshapes how we teach, organize knowledge, and support educators. Her reality check about digital solutions? Digital doesn’t magically equal sustainable, people! She left us with a provocative challenge: “Can we sustain our sustainability?” – a question that’s still echoing in corridors.
Eight Parallel Sessions
The energy multiplied as participants dove into eight thought-provoking parallel sessions:
- More and more. Between challenges to the sustainability of the health system and the medicalization of society
- Can moral integrity and knowledge of intersectionality coexist?
- The impact of caring on our society
- Inclusiveness in digital health technology
- Wellbeing of students in the new millennium
- Promoting sustainability in healthcare through the activity of professional networks
- Ineq(ual)ity and healthcare: the mixtape
- School-to-work transition: from theory to practice
Four World Cafés
The conversation continued to bubble and brew across four dynamic world cafés:
- How to develop educational strategies to foster sustainability mindsets in the students’ future health professionals
- Sustainable practices in healthcare. How health professionals can contribute to minimizing waste in patient care
- Gender diversity and inclusion: a key to sustainable development?
- Improving patient access and quality of care. Development of actionable recommendations
Two Workshops
Because we believe in going deep, two intensive workshops rounded out the experience:
- How to maintain the health of healthcare professionals in their working environment?
- How to create safe, healthy, and sustaining learning environments for healthcare professional students?
The Swiss Touch: Where ideas meet inspiration
This wasn’t just about cramming information into packed schedules. Between the intellectual intensity came those precious moments – delicious breaks that fueled both body and mind, networking opportunities that sparked unexpected collaborations, and evenings spent recharging by Lake Lugano with those stunning mountain views painting the perfect backdrop for reflection.
The result? A symposium that didn’t just inform – it transformed. Participants left not just with knowledge, but with renewed purpose, fresh perspectives, and the kind of energy that changes healthcare systems one conversation at a time.
Now that’s what we call a symposium worth talking about.
The Symposium took place in SUPSI, Switzerland on 15/05-16/05