Digital conference: Good and equal health in the Nordics

This is a recording of the digital conference ‘Good and equal health in the Nordics’, broadcast live from Stockholm on 7 May 2024. The digital conference was a part the 2024 Swedish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers and was organised in collaboration with the Nordic Welfare Centre.
Today, good and equal health for all is much more than solely a question of mitigating the impact of significant traditional risk factors such as smoking or alcohol use. Health also involves meaningful and active leisure, screen time and digital media use, as well as addressing loneliness and social isolation.
These themes were also the main topics of the digital conference, with a special focus on children and youth.
In his opening remarks, Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health in Sweden, posed three questions framing the conference themes:
1. How do we get all children involved in leisure and community activities - including those who, for various reasons, think it is impossible or a big step to join a club or an association?
2. How can we create a constructive dialogue about how society can support children and young people to build a healthy relationship with digital media?
3. What role can society play in combatting loneliness and social isolation?
Throughout the conference, various Nordic speakers aimed to provide insights and answers to these questions, drawing from their presentations and expertise.
PROGRAMME
Welcome and introduction
00:00:05
• Welcome and practical information
- Morten Hyllegaard, Conference moderator
00:02:12
• Welcome speech
- Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health, Sweden
00:13:47
• The relevance of meaningful leisure time and social
connections for good and equal health
- Karin Tegmark Wisell, MD, PhD, Director General at the Swedish Public Health Agency.
00:24:40
• Behavioural and cultural insights for equitable health
- Katrine Bach Habersaat, Regional Advisor and Unit Lead at theWHO Regional Office for Europe
Meaningful and active leisure for children and youth
00:44:11
• Interview about the initiative for a prepaid leisure card in
Sweden
- Madeleine Larsson, Senior Analyst and Project Manager at the Swedish Public Health Agency
00:51:53
• The Finnish model for leisure activities as a tool to improve
the wellbeing of children and youth in Finland
- Iina Berden, Special Government Advisor, Department for Culture and Art Policy, Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland
01:09:40
• A strive for equal possibilities for socially disadvantaged children - an introduction to social partnerships and leisure card in Roskilde Municipality.
- Michael Lind Olsen, Specialist in the Culture, Library and Sports section of Roskilde Municipality, Denmark
01:22:05
• Interview on the Role of Organized Activities in Primary Prevention and comments on the talks from Finland and Denmark
- Margrét Lilja Guðmundsdóttir, Chief Knowledge Officer at Planet Youth, Iceland
01:35:16
• Panel conversation on the Nordic models to ensure a meaningful and active leisure for children and youth
- Madeleine Larsson (SE)
- Iina Berden (FI)
- Michael Lind Olsen (DK)
- Margrét Lilja Guðmundsdóttir (IS)
Screen time and digital media use among children and youth
01:51:22
• Danish Health Authority: Screen time recommendations - history, process, knowledge and what to do next
- Jens Kristoffersen, Senior advisor at the Prevention and Inequality unit at the Danish
Health Authority
02:06:41
• Screen time use and recommendations - some experiences from Norway
- Olov Belander, Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Directorate of Health
02:18:44
• Is there a need for recommendations for healthy digital media use among children in Sweden?
- Helena Frielingsdorf MD, PhD and Sara Fritzell PhD Senior Analysts at the Swedish
Public Health Agency
02:42:30
• Interview on screen time recommendations and the impact of digital media use from a youth perspective
- Andreas Salomonsson, Member of the Presidium of the Nordic Youth Council
02:55:07
• Panel conversation on the Nordic models for screentime and digital media use among children and youth
- Jens Kristoffersen (DK)
- Olov Belander (NO)
- Helena Frielingsdorf (SE)
- Andreas Salomonsson (NYC)
Prevention of loneliness and social isolation
03:09:59
• Mapping the challenges and developing a national strategy for tackling loneliness and social isolation in Sweden
- Hillevi Busch. PhD, Senior Analyst at the Swedish Public Health Agency
03:24:03
• How NGOs are continuously fighting the most dangerous threats to our health
- Guri Idsø Viken, Senior Political Adviser at Frivillighet Norge
03:39:55
• Panel conversation on the prevention of loneliness and social isolation in the Nordics
- Hillevi Busch (SE)
- Guri Idsø Viken (NO)
- Margrét Lilja Guðmundsdóttir (IS)