Authors: Dr. Ronan Foley (Interim Chair) and Orlagh Eustace (MU Health Promotion Officer), Maynooth University and ALL Institute
Research Stream: Symposium
Following the national launch of the Healthy Campus Charter and Framework in 2021, Maynooth University committed to supporting the Charter and implementing the Framework across our university campus.
We have been making significant strides ever since. In conjunction with Healthy Ireland, we are working with the principles of the Okanagan Charter from 2015 and also working with wider definitions of what a healthy university should be.
What is a Healthy Campus?
‘A Healthy Campus adopts a holistic understanding of health, takes a whole campus approach and aspires to create a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances the health and wellbeing of its community and enables people to achieve their full potential’. As health and wellbeing are viewed as everybody’s right and responsibility partnership and collaboration across all departments is required.
What are we focusing on in Maynooth
Within Maynooth a dedicated Healthy Campus Team has been recruited and a Steering Group is being formed. The Healthy Campus Team and Steering Group report to the EDI Office and the Academic Council Campus Life Committee. The six key areas of focus for Maynooth Healthy Campus are Mental Health and Wellbeing, Physical Activity, Sexual Health, Healthy Eating, Healthy Physical Environments, Substances and Addictive Behaviours. As such, the team work closely with students and staff from across all departments, in particular Maynooth Green Campus, Student Services, Maynooth Access Programme, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Human Resources and the Maynooth Students Union.
What has been done so far
Part of the Framework guidelines asks that HEIs form a high-level Steering Group with broad membership across services and disciplines (e.g. students, staff, departments, services). The purpose of this group is to oversee the individual HEIs implementation of the Charter and Framework. As noted above to date Maynooth has recruited a dedicated Healthy Campus Team and formed a high-level Steering Group. We held an event on 30.11.23 where the Maynooth President, the MSU President and the Steering Group Chair formally co-signed the national Healthy Campus Charter to signify our commitment to continuing work on implementing the Framework. The University has also appointed a Health Promotion Officer and an Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment Officer as well as two administrative posts to support the process, which represents a significant and committed investment to the process.
How might ALL and the Healthy Campus Committee work together?
The Healthy Campus initiative falls under the remit of the VP of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and that focus on EDI informs all of our thinking, across all of the areas of interest. This in turn, would hope to put the perspectives of a wide range of students and staff cohorts as well as townspeople that would also reflect ALL Institute members work on an Age-Friendly Campus. In our Terms of Reference, we note that our Action Plan will, ‘take a ‘whole campus’ approach where health and wellbeing is viewed as everybody’s right and responsibility, and where there is a shift in focus from ‘what can go wrong’ in people’s lives to a focus on ‘what makes things go well’. We believe this aligns with the ALL Institute’s commitment to person-centred, participatory systems and a human rights based approach that aims to facilitate empowerment and enhance quality of life.
Next Steps
Substantial progress has been made around introducing the Healthy Campus concept to students and staff, commencing data collection to identify what initiatives people would like to see, enhancing existing MU initiatives regarding mental health and ending sexual violence and harassment. Ongoing work on designing Campus Trails will also take into account exciting new ideas on Healthy Mobilities that recognises, ‘differential mobilities, including the finely tuned movement-repertoires developed by disabled people’. The overlap with research from across the ALL network is substantial with opportunities to co-create some innovative ways in which our campus can be made available and accessible to all, in respectful, safe and reparative ways. We are excited to develop links with the ALL Institute and particularly our shared belief in social inclusion and participation and developing a campus space that is safe and health for all persons. We already have links with ALL projects such as GoGreenRoutes, who will work with us on the design of the Campus Trails, and support the idea of an Age-Friendly Campus. We are excited, on the occasion of ALL’s 6th Anniversary, to share a vision of an inclusive society and will do everything in our power to contribute to ALL’s work into the future as the Healthy Campus ethos develops and embeds itself for all the people who occupy the campus space.
Links below to all posts in this years symposium.
Around ALL in Seven Blog Posts…
Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the ‘Ideas in ALL Blog’ in the 2023 Winter Symposium; a Commentary from the Editorial Team
Building a Digitally Wealthy society with the support of the ALL Institute
Moving Forward to Have a More Inclusive Society
Reflecting on a Journey of Meaningful Impact: Celebrating with the ALL-Institute