From L to R: Dr. David Sabapathy, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer; Rebecca Alexander, Meetings & Conventions PEI; Patsy Beattie Huggan, President of The Quaich Inc.; Laura-Lee Noonan, Manager, Health Promotion Unit

Meetings & Conventions Prince Edward Island partner with local meeting planners to land the 6th Global Health Forum coming to PEI in October 2016

 

Issued Friday November 20th, 2015

Meetings & Conventions Prince Edward Island are pleased to announce the 6th Global Forum on Health Promotion have chosen Prince Edward Island as their 2016 Global Convention Location. Prince Edward Island was announced as next year’s location at the 2015 Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this month. The video presentation, created by M&CPEI, was successful in getting delegates excited about attending in 2016. The presentation was supported with M&CPEI “Imagine You Here” postcards and bags of COWS chocolate covered potato chips for every delegate. This prestigious gathering of over 300 health professionals from around the world will have a tremendous positive impact on tourism and the PEI community as a whole.

“Convention delegates leave a significant impact of direct spending and induced spin off that drives economic activity in our communities,” says Ann Worth, Executive Director with Meetings and Conventions Prince Edward Island. “The credit for landing this valued convention lies with the many industry partners and suppliers we work with every day to sell Prince Edward Island as a fantastic place to live, work and play.”

The local bid committee, led by Patsy Beattie-Huggan, President of The Quaich Inc., and the Chief Public Health Office: Laura-Lee Noonan, Manager, Health Promotion Unit and Dr. David Sabapathy Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, worked with the M&CPEI team and members to deliver an amazing proposal that showcased Prince Edward Island as a great destination for a convention. The vast majority of these convention delegates have never been to Canada. Prince Edward Island will be their first impression and we intend to impress them with our authentic Island experiences and professional services as they convene for business and incorporate some vacation into their stay.

The mandate of the Alliance for Health Promotion, the organization host for this important gathering is to improve the health and development of all people by building a collective NGO voice and strengthening advocacy, policy and action in the promotion and protection of health. Taking advantage of the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Ottawa Charter in 2016, the Alliance is holding their 6th Global Forum on Health Promotion in Canada with the collaboration of Canadian partners including one of the Alliance members, Toronto based Health Nexus, and Montreal based Groupe Enterprise en Santé. This provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase PEI health promotion innovations and to raise the profile of health promotion in Canada.

MCPEI’s “Bring It Home” campaign encourages islanders to showcase our authentic and unique experiences and Bring Home the value of what a meeting held on PEI does for the local economy. “We encourage islanders that attend conferences off-island to consider PEI as a fit for their conference to be held here. MCPEI offers free resources and assistance to help plan, organize and make it happen on PEI.” says Ann Worth, Executive Director MCPEI. “It’s important to recognize the outstanding efforts of the people that lead in helping make PEI such a popular convention destination.”