The 20th annual meeting and 16th conference of HEPA Europe, the European Network for the Promotion of Health-Enhancing Physical Activity, took place from 17 to 19 September 2025 in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. Jointly organised with WHO/Europe, this year’s event was held under the theme “Health-Enhancing Physical Activity: Taking Steps Towards Sustainability” and brought together researchers, policymakers and practitioners from across Europe to advance the promotion of physical activity through evidence, innovation and collaboration.
In the days leading up to the conference, the IMPAQT consortium gathered for its Third Interim Meeting, attended by Prof. Adrian Bauman, an advisory board member from the University of Sydney, and Inga Gerulskiene, Lithuania’s national physical activity focal point. The meeting was an important opportunity for partners to share progress across several key work packages, including the identification and appraisal of evidence on policy implementation, the validation of policy monitoring tools through stakeholder participation, and the adaptation of the Physical Activity Environment Policy Index (PA-EPI) to subnational levels. Discussions also focused on health equity and diversity in policy development and explored future funding opportunities. The two-day programme concluded with a networking dinner in a traditional Lithuanian setting, which provided an informal space for collaboration and relationship building.
On 16 September, the IMPAQT team hosted a highly interactive pre-conference workshop titled “Physical Activity Policy Implementation: Measures, Methods and Means of Evaluation.” The workshop introduced participants to the PA-EPI tool and provided hands-on experience in evaluating physical activity policy implementation at national, regional and local levels. Presentations, small-group discussions, data analysis and co-creation exercises created a practical and engaging learning experience for attendees.
On the same day, Prof. Catherine Woods and Dr. Sven Messing ran a special workshop with EU HEPA Focal Points, presenting the PA-EPI and the wider IMPAQT project. Using a World Café format, the Focal Points were encouraged to discuss three key questions related to Dr. Messing’s Marie Curie Fellowship research, fostering dialogue between researchers and policymakers.
During the main conference, on 17 September, most IMPAQT partners were involved in coordinating and facilitating the European Union HEPA Focal Points Marketplace, which aimed to connect national focal points with researchers to exchange expertise on surveillance, policy coordination, implementation challenges and evaluation.
The second day featured a keynote from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Gelius, who delivered an inspiring talk titled “Pillars, doughnuts, wedding cakes: Multidimensional models of sustainability and their implications for physical activity.” His presentation explored how innovative sustainability frameworks can help shape effective and long-lasting health-enhancing physical activity policies.
On 19 September, the symposium “Advancing knowledge on equitable physical activity policy implementation: Learnings from the IMPAQT consortium” attracted strong engagement from the audience. Presentations explored the impact of public policy on equity in physical activity (presented by Fleur Heuvelman, University of Amsterdam), the development of the PA-EPI Equity Module (presented by Dr. Sven Messing, ɫƵ), the identification of best practice exemplars for policy implementation (presented by Dr. Kevin Volf, ɫƵ), and guidance on equitable recruitment of expert and citizen councils (presented by Inès Abdelli, University of Lausanne).
Further contributions from the IMPAQT consortium featured in thematic sessions on policy monitoring, including a presentation by Leonie Birkholz from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg titled “Monitoring Physical Activity Policies at the Subnational Level: A Review of Existing Tools” – another output of the IMPAQT project.
The HEPA Europe 2025 Conference highlighted the growing importance of sustainability, equity and policy innovation in the promotion of physical activity. It also provided excellent opportunities for networking and reconnecting with colleagues from other universities.
Leonie Birkholz and Antonina Tcymbal
