Health and Economic Development Summit, 2010.
In August 2010, REACH US organised a health and economic development summit which brought together a think tank of more than 100 hand-picked researchers, policy makers, elected officials, health and economic development specialists, community leaders, and residents from Alabama’s Black Belt and inner-city neighbourhoods joined forces to identify three priorities for improving health and economic opportunity in Alabama.
Representing important government, private, and nonprofit groups as well as numerous UAB schools and divisions, the panelists and attendees agreed that improvements in education, transportation, and equity are fundamental keys to healthier communities and economies throughout the state. They also encouraged communities to organize and partner with government and business leaders to be a part of the solution.
"Until recently, economic growth was seen as a precondition for real improvements in health. Today, improvements in health are important for economic growth. Where people have poor health and the level of education is low it is more difficult to achieve sustainable economic growth." (World Health Organisation (WHO) commission on Macroeconomics and Health)
Following discussions about the key relationship between economic development and health Judy Kurth presented about Stoke-on-Trent and the current Health reforms in the UK with Public Health moving into the Local Authority. In addition, the UK team presented Stoke-on-Trent's mandate for change.
Stoke-on-Trent is facing a challenging economic period and needs a clear plan focusing on a "working city". The mandate for change sets out a plan for developing the city over the next four years, based on four strategic aims all underpinned by an effective and confident council. The four strategic aims include;
More details about Stoke-on-Trent's Mandate for Change can be found by clicking here
After a short break we were introduced to a number of UAB Business school interns who had taken part in a project which worked with a community in Wilcox County in South West of Alabama. As previously mentioned in this blog, we were very impressed by the way in which the MHRC made health 'everybody's business' across the University. It was inspiring to see the enthusiasm of members of the business school in their acknowledgement of the relationship between economic development and health. The Wilcox County project demonstrates the value of such partnerships across University faculties for the benefit of local communities.
The interns gave a presentation of their project which had been conducted over the summer of 2011;
The Mission Statement of the project was;
"To enhance the economic development of the Wilcox County communities by partnering with the Chamber of Commerce to provide training to local high school students and assisting businesses with detailed planning expertise".
The main aims of the Wilcox County project were for UAB interns and local high students, in collaboration, to;
1. Promote and market the Black Belt Treasures, a local tourism business that displays and sells many artifacts that are indigenous to the county;
2. Collaborate with the Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce to develop a county-wide tourism and marketing plan; and
3. Develop in-roads to broaden future employment opportunities within the county through networking, collaboration, and infrastructure building.
We were extremely impressed with the enthusiasm and application of the UAB business school interns. The project addressed issues of cohesion and integration as well as economic development by bringing groups of young people from the private and public schools together to work on a specific project in collaboration. The project used an assets-based approach with the students, young people and community members by conducting a SWOT analysis of the economic development potential of Wilcox County. Another impressive aspect of this project was that a sustainability plan was developed from the very beginning. The UAB Business School committed to sustaining the student-service learning concept by providing seed funding for the project and incorporating it into their school curriculum.
The Wilcox County project is definitely something that we would like to see happen in Stoke-on-Trent!
More information about the Wilcox County project can be found on;
- One Tank Treasures Blog
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| A blog dedicated to the Wilcox County Project (developed by UAB interns and High school students) |
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| A Facebook page dedicated to the project |
- Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce
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