European Commission Launches Health Information Project

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 03 Feb 2006 - 19:00 PDT

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Today in Brussels European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou launched the "European Health Information Platform" or "Health in Europe" project. This health information system is co-financed with €1.4 million from the EU Public Health Programme, and managed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It is a multimedia initiative which aims to create a network of public broadcasters and other media across Europe, and foster the exchange of reports, including television documentaries, radio broadcasts and press and internet articles on health issues.

"There is a need for better and more widespread information about health issues in Europe", said Commission Kyprianou. "This partnership of TV and radio networks across Europe through the European Broadcasting Union will help keep citizens, and in particular patients and health professionals, informed on public health issues with a European dimension."

What is "Health in Europe"?

Health in Europe is based on an ongoing exchange of reports on health and medicine produced by TV broadcasters for their theme magazines. Reports are offered free of rights to participating organizations. The bank of items is renewed continuously.

Health in Europe is also:

-- a series of 8x52' TV documentaries, produced by a consortium of public service broadcasters around Europe.

-- a series of 18x20' radio documentaries

-- a series of animations for publication on websites of participating organizations -- a network of professionals working on health magazines.

A true multimedia initiative

All information will be available on the project website, where participants in the project will also exchange information. Television still being the medium of choice to reach the largest possible audiences, the project will be based around the production and distribution of television reports with contributions from across Europe on health issues facing Europe's citizens. The broadcasting of these reports in the various European languages will be promoted and complemented through EBU members' own radio, web and print media, but also through the media at large. European broadcasters and associated media will be encouraged to create their own health magazines; to include health themes in existing consumer, youth and - for instance - breakfast magazines; to report on breaking health stories in their current affairs and news programmes, and to do so across "old" and "new" media

Project participants

The project already involves the main public service broadcasters in ten European Countries: ARD (Germany), CT (Czech Republic), France2 (France), RTBF (Belgium), YLE (Finland), TVP (Poland), ERT (Greece), RAI (Italy), ORF (Austria), Radio Prague (Czech Republic), Radio Netherlands, Radio France International. All the other members of the European Broadcasting Union are invited to join.

TVE (Spain), RTE (Ireland), RTP (Portugal), DR (Denmark), SVT (Sweden), LRT (Lithuania), RTM (Morocco), TV Channel "Russia", AVRO (Netherlands), MTV (Hungary), RTVSLO (Slovenia), HRT (Croatia) and a number of public service radios have already expressed a strong interest.

Details of the project are available on the Commission public health website

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