Trust, Connection & Community Wisdom

At the recent Preventive Health Conference, we shared what we’ve been learning about what really drives lasting impact in prevention.

In the keynote address, HCT CEO Ellen MacDonald, outlined how community‑led prevention works best when it starts with relationships, not programs. Drawing on HCT’s journey from working alongside community on the Tasman Peninsula then with many other communities across the state with the Health and Wellbeing Networks pilot, with more than 100 locally driven initiatives involving over 1,000 Tasmanians influencing decisions and outcomes for their communities. Ellen highlighted that community wellbeing grows when institutions meet people where they are, recognise lived experience as essential expertise, and intentionally share power.

Fellow keynotes for the session included Dr Heena Akbar, presenting ‘Our People, Our Way’ and her experiences of Pasifika women’s leadership influencing positive health outcomes, and Prof. Ray Lovett presenting about the public health emergency that is the impact of racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (both pictured with Ellen above).

We eagerly anticipate what the future of preventive health looks like in Tasmania with the publishing of the Tasmanian Government ‘Health Revolution’ 20 Year Preventive Health Strategy, and hope for a future were communities and consumers have greater influence in how and what preventive health action happens, and every decision that is made, across sectors, considers the impact on the health of Tasmanians now and in the future.

We know that relationships are core infrastructure, trust is built through humility and accountability, and prevention succeeds when we focus on creating the right conditions for communities to lead.

Thank you to those individuals and communities that have been so committed, walked alongside us, and taught us at HCT about what’s important.