The Okanagan Charter is a document that was published in 2015. It was produced in collaboration of many universities who convened in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada for the International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges to discuss what makes a health promoting university. This is the result. In Aotearoa, we have used this charter as a base for our own interpretation of what it means to be a health promoting university.
The Charter can be viewed here.
This report by Thursdays in Black is an investigation into student experiences of sexual violence prior to and during tertiary education in New Zealand. It includes statistics regarding the prevalence of sexual assault, an examination of the flaws in the current sexuality education at secondary school and tertiary level (particularly surrounding consent), and several urgent calls to action.
The report can be viewed here and the results of their sexual violence survey can be found here.
This academic paper was written by two of our executive members, Craig Waterworth and Anna Thorpe. Published in 2017, it can be viewed in the Journal of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association. It outlines how the Okanagan Charter could be implemented in the New Zealand context. Abstract is below.
Abstract: In 2015 the International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges was held in the Okanagan, Canada. At this conference, a new international charter focusing on health promotion in tertiary education was ratified. The Okanagan Charter was developed with input from 45 countries,including Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. The Okanagan Charter builds on existing charters and declarations to apply health, wellbeing and sustainability to tertiary settings. This paper outlines how the Okanagan Charter relates to health promotion approaches that are used in Aotearoa New Zealand in higher (tertiary) education for the benefit of students, staff and stakeholders. The principles and action areas of the Okanagan Charter are discussed in their application to health promotion practice in the higher education setting of Aotearoa New Zealand.
This article from the Lancet details evidence linking the consumption of alcoholic beverages to several cancers. Given the binge drinking culture that is prevalent in New Zealand universities, this information worth our consideration.
Link to the article is available here.
This policy brief covers the case for regulation of alcohol marketing on social media sites. This is a highly relevant issue for student drinking.
"The pervasiveness of alcohol-related content and alcohol marketing on social media sites works to normalise alcohol consumption, including excessive drinking [...] We summarise the evidence supporting the need for an urgent review of alcohol marketing via social media – a challenge that can no longer be ignored if New Zealand is to make a serious commitment to reduce the harm caused by alcohol to our young people and communities."
The full report is available here.
"The main aim was to review the effectiveness of population or settings-based strategies and approaches for promoting the mental wellbeing of students and staff within universities. This policy brief focuses on the papers relating specifically to mental health outcomes (around a third of the papers reviewed). The remaining two thirds of papers were focused on alcohol, tobacco or other drugs; we have included a short summary of these papers in the ‘Discussion’ section."
Full report available here
A health promotion approach is used to review alcohol policies and practices and key recommendations are made to reduce alcohol-related harm at tertiary institutions. This was developed by Canterbury DHB.
View the report here
Health Promotion in Tertiary Settings: Reducing alcohol-related harm - Next Steps
A guide using health promotion principles to assess what the next steps are to reduce alcohol harm in a tertiary institution. This was developed by Canterbury DHB.
View this template here