IFEH World Congress 2008 - Brisbane, Australia,  May 11-16  2008

Back to the future

In 1988, as a part of Australia’s bicentennial celebrations, AIEH hosted the Inaugural IFEH World Congress of Environmental Health in Sydney. That week-long event attracted 1,300 delegates from 23 nations, and set the standard for subsequent biennial international gatherings.

2008 in Brisbane sees a return to Australia for the IFEH World Congress. The 10th IFEH World Congress will be held at the Brisbane Convention Centre in May 2008, and is to be conducted in conjunction with the 2008 AIEH Queensland Branch and National Annual Conferences.

The AIEH and its members will have the chance to teach, to learn, and to share experiences with some of the world’s very best in environmental health - a truly remarkable opportunity that’s not to be missed.

The Congress planning group includes members of the AIEH Board of Directors and Queensland Branch Council, the Singapore Society of Environmental Health, the Malaysian Health Inspection Association and the New Zealand Institute of Environmental Health.

Congress Theme

The theme of the congress is “Environmental Health, a Sustainable Future - 20 years on .....”

The international environmental health industry today faces its greatest challenges: natural resource management, bird flu, AIDS and water quality represent just the tip of an iceberg that is starting to feature on newspaper front pages and will very soon become the lead story. And add to those the growing threats of natural and man-made disasters.

The 10th IFEH World Congress, through plenary and breakout sessions, will address and explore the issues, seek innovative and realistic solutions, and challenge the governments and the people to act.

This congress will be a platform for international industry professionals to put environmental health at the forefront of the public mind. Participants will also explore the application of technologies in delivering solutions across the broad spectrum of environmental health issues.

How can smart technology be used in managing communicable diseases like bird flu and AIDS? Is local government making the most of today’s (and tomorrow’s) waste management technology, particularly for medical and industrial waste? Can we really develop and maintain healthy waterways? Are healthy communities and cities a reality? How healthy is public health legislation? Are we well-prepared in areas like immunisation, bio-security, food safety and epidemic control? We will have the world’s best practitioners here to address these issues, and you should be part of that process.

The congress will recommend global solutions to global challenges and assess local community responses in the “New context for environmental health in the next decade”.

The AIEH invites you to be part of the 2008 IFEH World Congress in Brisbane. Regular information updates will be advertised on this website.

Mr Peter Davey FAIEH,
Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University
Chair 2008 IFEH World Congress

Mr Waikay Lau,
Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Environmental Health