All proposals for dialogue topics (in English, French or Spanish) should be sent by email (see the instructions below) to Sara Bensaude De Castro Freire, VHPO Administrator, at sbensaude@ iuhpe.org.
VHPO runs Streams of dialogue on topics suggested to the IUHPE and managed generally by a member of the IUHPE Student and Early Career Network (ISECN), who monitors the dialogue. Anyone anywhere in the world can submit a topic, and topics can be on any subject related to the IUHPE's mission, projects and activities -- for example, equity issues related to IUHPE conferences, or health promotion advancement, such as linking health promotion to economic development schemes.
The topic proposal must be limited to 500 words and include an objective, some background and a statement of the topic's relevance to the IUHPE. You may include in the proposal pertinent Internet links related to the topic, i.e., a website, an article, etc. These links will be made available as part of the Stream's introduction, should your proposal be accepted. VHPO is under the management of the IUHPE Vice-President for Communications and the IUHPE Communications Officer, who serves also as the VHPO Administrator. Proposals will be evaluated and must be accepted by them. Proposers whose topics are not accepted will receive a written justification for non-acceptance. Reasons for non-acceptance include but are not limited to consideration of balance in the overall content of VHPO, and the number of Streams that are manageable simultaneously.
If your topic proposal is accepted, a Stream Manager is appointed and the Stream and the dialogue begins, with your abstract as the first posting. We will endeavor to notify all IUHPE members about the start of each new Stream and may also alert them to important developments in a Stream.
The Streams only develop on the page of the topic's original language, so if your proposal is in Spanish, for example, the Stream will be accessible through the Spanish page only. However, users are able to respond in any of the three IUHPE languages. It is also possible that some topics may develop simultaneously in the three languages (for example, Streams started by IUHPE leadership). A Stream will continue until some more or less obvious stop date (e.g., a deadline to be met, no further activity, etc.). At the end of a Stream, the Stream Manager produces a written synthesis, which is made available on the Archive page, together with a link to the Stream's postings, and the synthesis is distributed to the Board of Trustees of the IUHPE, so that the IUHPE leadership is fully informed. Certain Stream topics may also be placed on the agenda of the IUHPE Board, for information and/or for action.
VHPO provides a new opportunity for dialogue amongst all who are interested in health promotion, and also provides a bottom-up communication link between IUHPE members and leadership. Be an active user of VHPO and help it to succeed!