The Ottawa Charter offered a bold idea: that health isn't just shaped in hospitals or clinics, but in the everyday decisions we make about policy, environments, education, and empowerment. Nearly four decades later, that idea feels more urgent than ever.

In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, host Gordon Thane unpacks the story of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. From its origins in Ottawa, Ontario, to the movement it tried to spark, we’ll explore why the Charter felt revolutionary in 1986, how it slipped from practice, and why its vision still matters today.

Hosts & Producers

◼️ Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®

References for the Discussion

◼️ Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion: An International Conference on Health Promotion

◼️ The 1st International Conference on Health Promotion, Ottawa, 1986

◼️ Milestones in health promotion : statements from global conferences

◼️ Health promotion emblem

Podcast Production Notes

◼️ 1st news clip adapted from  ‘UN: Chronic, Non-Communicable Disease Is World's Leading Killer’ [Voice of America]

◼️ 2nd audio clip adapted from ‘Health Report - WHO Campaign to Beat Cardiovascular Disease’ [Voice of Africa]

◼️ 3rd audio clip adapted from ‘Global Cancer Crisis: WHO's Urgent Call to Action’ [News Central TV]

◼️ 4th audio clip adapted from ‘Why is diabetes spreading around the world? | Inside Story’ [Al Jazeera English]

Credits

◼️ Music from Johnny Harris x Tom Fox: The Music Room

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Subscribe to The Insight newsletter so you don’t miss out on the latest podcast episodes, live events, job skills, learning opportunities, and other engaging professional development content here.

Leave Us Some Feedback

If you enjoy our podcasts, be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcast or Spotify, and spread the word to your friends to help us get discovered by more people. You can also interact directly with the podcast episodes on Spotify using the new “comment” feature! We’d love to hear what you think.

Send us a Text Message to let us know what you think.