Professor Hedley to give farewell lecture in April 2010

Professor Anthony Hedley has been as stauch advocate of measures to safeguard public health – including guidelines and measures concerning air pollution. He's about to retire, and leave Hong Kong. Before he goes, he will give a farewell lecture, which is open to the public; info here from Clean Air Network:

Professor Hedley will focus on the importance of risk communication, and the difficulties of translating the scientific evidence of harm into clear messages which can be understood and acted upon by all members of the community, including policymakers, legislators and the general public.  He will discuss the critical importance of evidence based approaches and the contest with alternative beliefs which may be antithetical to public health; the role of governments in protecting those who are most vulnerable in the community, and the importance of creating new developments in close collaboration between the scientific and NGO communities in raising awareness across all sectors of current and future hazards to health in a rapidly urbanizing planet.  He will call for a new approach to the public health function with the development of an independent advisory role and a principal focus on the reduction of inequity in environmental health and health care.

The Hedley Lecture is open to the public. Please send us an email at info [at] hongkongcan.org if you would like to attend and we will confirm your place a week before the event.