Originally launched last year as a brand new initiative from Bristol Green Capital Partnership CIC, Healthy City Week is a week-long programme from 15th – 22nd October 2016 that aims to inspire citizens of Bristol to achieve healthier lifestyles as part of a more sustainable future city. The programme will be created by inviting contributions, so we’re encouraging organisations across the city to take part and help us shine a spotlight on health and wellbeing that doesn’t cost the earth.

Please note: the deadline for online submissions was 5pm 25th July 2016. Sign up to our e-newsletter and follow @bgreencapital on Twitter for future announcements.

In line with the Partnership’s vision of a ‘low carbon city with a high quality of life for all’, Healthy City Week aims to actively promote how sustainable living and personal health and happiness are related, and how contributing to improvements in the global environment can make one healthier and happier and vice versa.

The week will offer a platform to showcase and encourage participation in the many innovative, grassroots projects in health & wellbeing in the city that demonstrate why Bristol is a leader in creating healthy & happy cities.

The Healthy City Week programme will provide individuals and organisations across Bristol with an opportunity to exchange knowledge about a variety of ways to achieve wellbeing in a sustainable city, to address current issues and challenges, and to highlight existing initiatives through a range of events, discussions and activities.

Our vision of Bristol’s sustainable future as a Healthy City is where:

• All residents enjoy a physical and natural environment that sustains health and well-being
• There is a social culture which values wellbeing and personal and community resilience
• A spectrum of public, third sector and commercial organisations work for wellbeing
• Integrated health services champion preventative medicine and whole person care
• Health services provide equitable and effective treatment for illnesses as they arise
• The health sector is managing its resources to minimise its environmental impact
• There is a below-average gap in life-expectancy between high and low income groups

What does a Healthy City mean to you?

Share your ideas by taking part in the Healthy City Week 2016!

There are a range of ways that you and your organisation can get involved with the programme to help us to shine a spotlight on wellbeing that doesn’t cost the earth:

• Submit an existing event/activity or project taking place that week to be included in the programme 
• Organise a new event, talk or activity for the week
• Offer talks, speakers, activities or taster sessions at other events
• Sign up as a Champion – inviting your friends, networks and colleagues to get involved
• Host events at your organisation or venue
• Offer an unusual or interesting space  to hold activities

We’re unable to offer funding for events, but Bristol Green Capital Partnership CIC will offer many benefits to support you and help you to make the most of your involvement in Healthy City Week:

• Promoting your event in a central Healthy City Week programme, online and in print
• Offering an online platform for related blogs, articles and resources
• Offering a free social media workshop to help you reach your target audiences
• Offering workshops & events for you to share ideas and meet other contributors
• Sending you a HCW branding package to help you promote your event as part of the week
• Helping you to secure a free or subsidised venue for your event – Healthy City Week has a number of venue partners and we will seek to ‘match-make’ your event with a venue wherever possible
• Keeping you in the loop with other opportunities to participate during the week

We expect all contributions to broadly align with the values and themes of Healthy City Week 2016. 

What next?

• Spread the word – use #HealthyBristol to let your networks know that Healthy City Week 2016 is happening on 15th – 22nd October!
• Start planning and get inspired! Take a look at what happened last year and think about how you or your organisation could take part in Healthy City Week 2016
• If you are not already signed up, join the Bristol Green Capital Partnership e-newsletter to receive further information when the programme opens for contributions.
• Follow@bgreencapital on Twitter and Facebook to hear about opportunities to get involved.
• If you have any questions, get in touch via healthycityweek@bristolgreencapital.org.

Healthy City Week 2015 – see what happened last year

The concept of a ‘Healthy City Week’ emerged from voluntary members of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership’s Health and Wellbeing Group as an opportunity to showcase local sustainability and healthcare initiatives during Bristol’s year as European Green Capital.

Across 10 days in October 2015, over 100 events across Bristol received over 3,000 attendances – a concentration of health and wellbeing events included seminars, talks, taster sessions and workshops. 99 local organisations engaged with the week as speakers or event organisers, and the hashtag #HealthyBristol was used over 2,000 times by over 550 Twitter accounts in a fortnight alone, reaching potentially over 2 million accounts.

Find out more about last year’s Healthy City Week by visiting www.bristolgreencapital.org/healthycityweek/

Feedback from event attendees included:

“Professionally I feel more positive that constructive change can and is happening. Through the event I was able to meet other professionals which has opened up further collaboration.”

“Great to see so many people engaged in discussion around health and thinking of it from different examples, for example, sustainable environment, connecting with nature, physical activity and bringing ideas together.”

“The week helped me realise how organisations and people are willing to work together for positive outputs.”

“A fantastic opportunity to gain awareness of the local health and wellbeing initiatives in Bristol.”

Healthy City Week 2016 is a Bristol Green Capital Partnership CIC initiative, sponsored by Bristol Health Partners, inspired by city-wide contributors and supported by Triodos Bank, hosts of the Healthy City Week 2016 Hub.