The main objective of WP11 is to facilitate cluster activities among Equal-Life and the other 8 projects within the European Human Exposome Network.
The European Human Exposome Network is a network of projects studying the impact of environmental exposure on human health. It brings together Equal-Life with 8 other research projects, which received a grant from Horizon 2020, the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation. These projects address issues such as exposures to air quality, noise, chemicals, urbanisation and their health impacts. The projects’ results will contribute to advancing the European Green Deal’s ambition to protect citizens’ health and well-being from pollution and environmental deterioration by providing new evidence for better preventive policies. This network emerged from three decades of work towards better integration of environment and health in research.
18 month update
The main objective of WP11 is to establish a European Human Exposome Network (EHEN), comprising of all projects funded from the call ‘The Human Exposome Project: a toolbox for assessing and addressing the impact of environment on health’ and to implement joint actions. EHEN represents the cluster that was officially formed between all projects which were granted within the exposome call by the European Commission.
In the past 18 months, Equal-Life prepared the Communication and Dissemination Strategy (CDS) in collaboration with ATHLETE for this network. The CDS is focused primarily on external communication and aims to complement and streamline project-specific communication. Equal-Life partners leading the work package on stakeholder involvement (WP8) actively participate in the EHEN working group on communication and dissemination.
Besides the working group on communication and dissemination, Equal-Life contributes to two more working groups in EHEN; Meta Data (involvement by WP9), and Ethical issues (involvement by WP8). Furthermore, Equal-Life has contributed to internal and external EHEN events on health inequalities and the social exposome.
Since March 2021, Equal-Life and ATHLETE coordinate the network. So far, collaboration within EHEN is satisfactory. Plans for future activities are well on their way; a hybrid scientific EHEN meeting is proposed for June 2022 and several external webinars are foreseen.