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Opening reception: We must create knowledge and take action - simultaneously

On Monday 13 November, Centre for Childhood Health officially opened its doors and welcomed everyone at a well-attended opening reception. Even though the Centre is no longer in the news, around 80 corporate partners, colleagues, networks and friends chose to drop by.
Vores adm. direktør, Morten Grønbæk, holder velkomsttale til åbningsreceptionen. FOTO: Stine Heilmann

Our CEO, Morten Grønbæk, said in his welcome speech that the Centre has been given a complex and comprehensive task. In fact, the task is so comprehensive in nature that he was reminded of the title of last year's big Oscar winner 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once':

There were also speeches from our founding partners, the Ministry of the Interior and Health and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and from the chair of our Board of Directors, Jonas Egebart, Director of the Danish Health Authority. The speakers all touched upon the urgency of getting started.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Director of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, summarised the WHO figures for obesity worldwide: over a billion people are overweight and the number is steadily rising.

"In Denmark, we are not as badly affected, but it is important that we act now."

According to Svend Særkjær, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior and Health, the government has a strong focus on the well-being of young people and will therefore follow the Centre closely. All the speakers also emphasised the unique structure of the Centre. This is a Centre that translates both action into knowledge and knowledge into action.

That could actually be the title of our strategy. Preventing unhealthy weight gain and improving well-being in children requires that we take action in many areas of children's lives simultaneously – even before they are born. And, it is safe to say that we are busy. We can't wait for more knowledge to become available. So, we need to get started right away.
Forperson i bestyrelsen for Center for Sundt Liv og Trivsel og direktør for Sundhedsstyrelsen, Jonas Egebart, direktør for Novo Nordisk Fonden, Mads Krogsgaard, departementschef i Indenrigs- og sundhedsministeriet, Svend Særkjær, og adm. direktør i Center

It aims to establish contact with research environments in Denmark so that more knowledge about children's weight development and well-being can be gained. At the same time, the Centre endeavours to create collaborations with those who are in frequent contact with children and adolescents. This will ensure that there is a close connection between the knowledge being created and the action being taken.

According to Jonas Egebart, the two things can easily go hand in hand.

"You don't have to wait to do something until you know something. You can do something and want to know something at the same time."

However, the ongoing efforts also require that Centre for Childhood Health receives ample support from the surrounding community, Svend Særkjær stated:

This is the reason why I would like to call on everyone here today, representing the country's municipalities, regions, NGOs and institutions: Invite, offer and make yourselves available so that we can work together across the board.

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