For more sustainable healthcare

On Saturday, 10 August, the third Locarno Symposium on Sustainable Healthcare, organised by Swiss Medical Network in collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival, was held at Palacinema. With the common aim of bringing together the various actors and experts in the healthcare system to discuss the challenges of the future, this edition welcomed around one hundred representatives from politics, medicine, nursing, science, teaching and business, including many from French and German-speaking Switzerland. The Rector of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Luisa Lambertini, spoke as a guest speaker, kicking off the discussions.

Introducing the Symposium was Raymond Loretan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Medical Network, who opened the proceedings by greeting the participants and inviting to the stage attorney Luigi Pedrazzini, Vice-President of the Locarno Film Festival (representing the newly elected President Maja Hoffman). Pedrazzini briefly recounted the history of the Locarno Film Festival, which has managed to uphold its values in all situations. He then highlighted the importance of challenging oneself.

The Rector of USI, Luisa Lambertini, began the discussions by addressing the topic of sustainability in healthcare. She defined it as the ability to create a healthcare system that meets current needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Lambertini emphasised that sustainability is a strategic goal for USI for the four-year period 2025-28. She then provided concrete examples of how the University is contributing to this goal through training and research in various disciplines to meet the challenges in healthcare. "In order to achieve its sustainability goals, USI is first and foremost strengthening its institutional structures," stressed the Rector. "The key players in this endeavour are the new Pro-rectorate for Sustainable Transformation and Equal Opportunities, the Quality Assurance and Sustainability Service, the Sustainability Commission and the House of Sustainability in Airolo, which opened in March 2024. On the student front, the new association, SEEDS - Students Engaged in Environment, Development and Sustainability - has recently been established. In the near future, USI plans to create a Centre for Sustainable Transformation and an Institute for Sustainable Architecture and Technology. The University intends to cultivate a culture of sustainability in the academic community with awards, competitions and fellowships, as well as by organising the annual Sustainability University Week together with SEEDS".

Continuing her speech, Lambertini addressed the central theme of sustainability in healthcare. "As far as USI is concerned, in the field of education this focus translates into concrete activities. For instance, integrating sustainability into medical training curricula to educate future doctors about sustainable practices and their significance. The goal is to increase public awareness among patients and the community about the advantages of sustainable healthcare." Other avenues are also being explored, such as the establishment of the new USI-ETH Zürich chair for the study of health policies and the exploration of in-depth research on the field of ageing through the NCCRs. "Sustainability in animal research is also of great concern to us," Lambertini concluded, mentioning at the end of his speech the Innosuisse E-Waste project for "smart" clinical waste management and the role of artificial intelligence, which is also becoming increasingly important in this context.

The evening continued with the various guests invited to contribute to the discussion, which finally culminated in the greetings of the CEO of Swiss Medical Network, Dino Cauzza: "Creativity and sustainable solutions were the leitmotif for this third Symposium strongly advocated in the setting of the Locarno Film Festival, an ideal place for this kind of event, whose response from participants is significant. The speakers highlighted the importance of integrated care and emphasised the role of training and inter-professionalism in shaping the future healthcare system."