Learning From Other Professionals About Global Health Promotion
Due to the growing challenge of lifestyle-related diseases, companies are seeking advice on global approaches to employee health. Corporate Forum was established to help fill this need by offering an ongoing professional exchange. In the future, this website will include virtual discussions and online seminars. The Corporate Forum on Global Health Promotion was started in the year 2000 by the International Institute for Health Promotion (IIHP) at American University in Washington, DC, USA. Wolf Kirsten served as Managing Director of the IIHP for six years. The original idea was to provide a forum for multi-national corporations with global health promotion strategies. Although a number of forums and opportunities to share good practices and network amongst like-minded professionals exist on a national level there are none on a global level.
The focus of the Corporate Forum is on the major issues confronting multi-national corporations concerning the development and implementation of global workplace health promotion programs. Leading companies such as Dow Chemical, Intel, Dupont, Texas Instruments, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, have come together in the past to discuss common challenges and successes in an informal atmosphere and have the opportunity to network with corporate professionals facing the same responsibilities:
2000 - American University, Washington, DC, USA
2003 - Iguassu Falls, Brazil (alongside the International Congress on Occupational Health)
2005 - Intel Corporation, Chandler, Arizona, USA (alongside the Annual International Conference of 
the Institute for Health & Productivity Management (IHPM))
The 2nd Corporate Forum in Iguassu Falls, Brazil in 2003.
The following topics have been on the agenda in the past three forums:
- Global operational models for health management
- Advancing health promotion internationally in differing business environments
- Finding quality global service providers
- Global policies and standards
- International health risk appraisals
- Evaluation and metrics in other countries
- Culture-specific challenges & best practices
- Communication strategies for different countries
- Competencies for cross-cultural health promotion