On Wednesday 19 May, we hosted expert speakers and local leaders from across every sector
to discuss how Derry City & Strabane can build a stronger, healthier future as we come back
from the Covid 19 pandemic.

We were extremely pleased with the quality of discussions, which will now inform the council
district’s application for WHO Healthy Cities designation. We were also very pleased with the
response to the event (96% of survey respondents described the event as very or extremely
useful) which is a testament to the fantastic speakers who made time to contribute to the
programme.

Watch our speakers' presentations...

Sir Tim Smit 

Co-founder of the Eden Project and Executive Vice Chair of Eden Project Ltd (pre-recorded)

Paul Cavanagh

Interim Director of Planning and Commissioning, Health and Social Care Board

Professor Louise Dubras 

Foundation Dean of the School of Medicine at Ulster University 

John Harkin 

Founder and CEO of Alchemy Technology Services 

Denise Cahill 

Healthy Cities Coordinator for Cork City 

Outstanding questions from the conference

We didn't get the chance to put all of your questions to our panellists on the day. We have followed up with our speakers and will add answers to those questions here as they are available. Please check back if your question has not been answered yet...

Q: Have the men's and women's forums influenced HR policy in Alchemy?

John Harkin: The answer is yes, various topics are bubbling to the surface through these discussion groups including changes to our policies, for example we are currently reviewing our maternity leave policy.

Q: What are the 3 key issues that we need to pursue to achieve the WHO healthy ambition for our city? 

Paul Cavanagh: Engagement with the local population in a meaningful way; drawing on the skills and knowledge of staff in the local health and social care system; and maintaining commitment to collaboration among organisations committed to health and wellbeing, particularly through Community Planning Partnership.