Building health together: Wellness Foundation at the 23rd National Meeting of the WHO Italian Healthy Cities Network
6 maggio 2026
On May 5–6, 2026, the 23rd National Meeting of the Italian Healthy Cities Network – WHO took place at Palazzo del Campidoglio in Rome. The event also marked the Network’s 25th anniversary. Founded in 2001, the Network has become a national reference point for promoting urban health through the active role of municipalities.
Over the course of two days, participants engaged in discussions on the future of cities as places of wellbeing, prevention, and social inclusion, bringing together institutions, the scientific community, businesses, foundations, and third-sector organizations.
In this context, Wellness Foundation contributed to the conversation on partnerships that generate health, sharing projects and experiences that for more than twenty years have promoted physical activity and healthy lifestyles as strategic drivers of social development.
At the core of the Foundation’s contribution was a systemic vision of wellbeing: supporting people in staying healthy, encouraging informed choices, and creating urban environments that make active and sustainable lifestyles easier and more accessible.
Initiatives such as Wellness Valley and Milano Wellness City highlighted the value of collaboration between public and private stakeholders in building health-oriented local ecosystems. This approach has translated into concrete initiatives designed for different segments of the population:
- AMIS, promoting active ageing and tackling loneliness;
- Exercise4Health, aimed at the medical community to promote physical exercise as a tool for prevention and care;
- Move More, focused on workplace wellbeing;
- Wellness4Education, developed for schools.
The Meeting represented an important opportunity to strengthen dialogue among local communities, share best practices, and foster new collaborations capable of generating health in a sustainable and widespread way.
At a time when cities are increasingly called upon to address complex social, environmental, and demographic challenges, building strong partnerships continues to be essential to improving quality of life and promoting lasting cultural change.
