How exactly do health communities help human beings to thrive? What is about them that is so essential to the way we function as individuals? What can we do, in the midst of escalating poverty and disconnection, to strengthen our communities?
These are the questions ACE-Aware Scotland will be exploring in our 2024 event. There could be no one better to help us in addressing these questions than this year’s invited speakers: Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Andy Burnham.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot has gained a global reputation for thinking about the causes and corrections to health inequalities. He and his colleagues at the Institute of Health Equity have led two major reviews, in 2010 and in 2020, of the state of British cities and communities. There are 40+ communities in England and Wales that have declared themselves to be acting on ‘Marmot principles’ as they tackle their local challenges. ACE-Aware Scotland is keen for more members of the Scottish public to know of Professor Marmot’s work. We want to ensure that we have had the very best opportunities to think about how his wisdom and expertise and courage can inform the steps we take in our communities. So we have invited him to be the Keynote Speaker for our 2024 event.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017, has played a pivotal role in advancing the insights of Sir Michael Marmot through Manchester’s involvement in the UK network of ‘Marmot Cities.’ These cities focus on addressing the social determinants of health—conditions in which people are born, grow, live, and work—by collaborating with the Institute of Health Equity. At our 2024 event, The Strength of Community, Mayor Burnham will share Manchester’s journey as a Marmot City, discussing the impact of prioritizing relationships in regional growth, the challenges faced, and advice for other regions. We are thrilled to welcome him to the conversation and thank him for contributing his expertise to help Scotland become an ACE-Aware Nation.