Rationale | The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in systems of health protection, preparedness, and governance across Europe and globally. It underscored the centrality of education and training in ensuring resilient, adaptable, and ethically grounded public health responses and a quantitatively appropriate workforce. Societies face complex challenges - climate change, demographic transitions, digital transformation, misinformation, migration, and persistent health inequalities - all of which require an interdisciplinary, well-prepared public health workforce.

At the same time, education itself is undergoing transformation. Lifelong learning, continuing professional development, and hybrid teaching are redefining how public health professionals acquire and maintain competences. In this context, ASPHER’s leadership role must not only persist but evolve. The creation of the European Congress on Education and Training in Public Health amplifies ASPHER's capacity to respond to these educational and societal imperatives.

Vision and Objectives | The Congress serves as a flagship European forum to debate, exchange, and co-create knowledge on the education and training of public health professionals. It will embody ASPHER’s mission and values - scientific excellence, solidarity, interdisciplinarity, and social accountability - while offering a platform to shape the future of learning in public health.

Main objectives include: (i) Promoting reflection on current and future models of education and training, from undergraduate to lifelong learning stages; (ii) Strengthening synergies between academia, health services, and society; (iii) Encouraging interoperability of training systems and mutual recognition of competences; (iv) Discussing core curriculum, accreditation and professional credentialing; (v) Providing a space for dialogue among educators, learners, employers, and policymakers; (vi) Reinforcing ASPHER’s institutional visibility and impact.

Strategic Dimensions | The Congress incorporates the ASPHER Deans' and Directors' Retreat within its programme. This integration represents an evolution rather than a replacement. The Retreat’s traditional role as a forum for reflection, peer support, and policy dialogue will be preserved yet amplified through interaction with a wider audience of educators, professionals, and stakeholders.

This dual structure - combining retreat and congress - creates a dynamic interplay between reflection and dissemination, leadership dialogue and community engagement. It positions ASPHER as both a convener of academic leadership and a connector of the broader ecosystem of public health education and practice.

Relevance to Societal Challenges | The Congress not only mirrors ASPHER’s historical role but also its commitment to respond to the pressing demands of our time. Preparing future public health professionals requires curricula and pedagogies that integrate sustainability, digital literacy, ethics, and social justice.

By convening educators, trainers, students, and employers from across Europe, the Congress fosters shared learning and co-creation of lifelong education and flexible, interoperable training frameworks - directly supporting European and global agendas for health equity, preparedness, and resilience.

Anticipated Outcomes and Legacy | The European Congress on Education and Training in Public Health will become a landmark event, fostering a renewed sense of collective purpose among those shaping the future of the public health.

Its outcomes may include joint working groups, shared principles, or a European framework for public health education and training. Over time, it can evolve into a sustainable and recognized event within the European public health calendar, contributing to ASPHER’s visibility, financial health, and continued relevance.