The European Health Parliament (EHP) is about connecting students from the College with young health professionals working in Brussels, in order to reshape the European health system. It is a partnership between an academic body, the College of Europe, and professional partners : EU 40, a network of young MEPs; Johnson & Johnson, a medical devices and pharmaceutical company; the European Patient Forum, a non-governmental organisation; Mavence, an international recruitment firm; Young European Leadership (YEL), an international non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering young leaders; Porter Novelli, a public relations company and Euronews, a multilingual news television channel.
The project was initiated in 2014 and gathers, each year, around 60 young professionals and students who want to help shape the outlook of future European healthcare. The 60 participants form a European Health Parliament (EHP) and formulate innovative ideas for making Europe a healthier place and reshaping the European healthcare system. The ideas are then shared with policy makers and the healthcare community across the EU Member States.
Participants are enthusiastic young thinkers with an ambition to provide disruptive, actionable solutions for health. Applicants need to be below 35 years old and to hold at least a Bachelor degree. Prior experience or background in healthcare is not required. The participants come from very diverse backgrounds (political studies, biomedical science, pharmacy, medicine, economics, international relations, public health, communications, etc.) and have various occupations (healthcare industries, European institutions, patient organizations, civil society, etc.). Each year, between 5 and 10 seats are reserved for the College of Europe's students. The students are divided into 5 Committees which work on 5 topics in order to issue policy recommendations.
During the project lifespan, three plenary sessions are organized to pull in expert feedback from the EU policymaking circle. The objective is to meet with key stakeholders and share ideas with EU officials, Members of the European Parliament, NGOs, media and interested public in order to deliver policy-oriented recommendations. Once the papers are finalized and presented at the last plenary session, they are shared with policymakers and the healthcare community across the EU27. The ultimate goal is that the proposals can be implemented by the European Commission or any other national government as a possible legislative proposal.
You can find more information about the EHP on their website and on social networks (#WERUN4HEALTH; https://twitter.com/healthparl).
For any further questions or requests, please contact Andréa DELESTRADE and Oriane GILLOZ.
