Leiden University joins the Planetary Health Alliance: ‘We really do have to work together’
The international Planetary Health Alliance network is a consortium of more than 450 organisations committed to addressing the health impacts of global climate and environmental change. Planetary Health education coordinator Laura Warmerdam explains why our university recently joined and how this will benefit staff. ‘We can use this huge network for our research and teaching.’
Hi Laura, what is the Planetary Health Alliance and why has our university joined?
‘Planetary health is the relationship between natural systems on earth, such as the climate or biodiversity, and the health of life on earth. We humans impact these natural systems, which in turn affects our health, particularly that of people in vulnerable positions. The Planetary Health Alliance brings together research institutions, educational organisations and non-governmental organisations from around the world to research and address these impacts. Various faculties at our university are working on planetary health and sustainability. I’m massively proud that we in Leiden are the first Dutch university to have decided to join the Planetary Health Alliance as a whole rather than as separate faculties. Planetary health does not stick to disciplinary limits, after all, so it’s important we work together, both within the university and internationally. We really do have to work together.’
What are the benefits for our staff?
‘We can use the Planetary Health Alliance’s huge international network for our research and teaching. That could be useful if, for example, you want to contact environmental or sustainability experts for research projects. But the alliance also has a big education network and a database with teaching materials that we can use straight away or with a few minor changes. With planetary health, transdisciplinarity is also important: working with other academic and community partners. The Planetary Health Alliance makes it easier to find these partners. There are also various working groups within the alliance that you can join if you want to develop within a particular theme.’
So plenty of opportunities. Do you have any tips for colleagues who want to learn more or start working on this?
‘Start by looking at the Planetary Health Alliance website. If that gets you fired up, you’re welcome to contact me. You can join the Planetary Health Alliance online community to grow your network, for example. A group of staff from different faculties at our university also meet up now and then to exchange experiences with sustainability teaching. Feel free to join them. And there are bags of other opportunities to contribute, depending on your discipline and interests. There is something for everyone.’
Our Planetary Health Alliance membership is just one of the many ways we as a university are working on sustainability. Read more on the website about how we are creating a sustainable work and study environment, integrating sustainability into our teaching and conducting sustainability research. You can also join the Sustainability Network on Teams or join one of the communities that meet several timer per year. Send an email (and any other questions you may have) to duurzaamheid@leidenuniv.nl.
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