From September 20 to 25, 2026, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Associate Eri Cahill participated in the study group for WHO Core Group on Social Participation, held in Ljubljana and other locations in Slovenia and hosted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia.

At the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), held in May 2024, a resolution on social participation (WHA77.2) was adopted. The Core Group consists of the six countries that championed the adoption of the resolution (Brazil, France, Norway, Slovenia, Thailand, and Tunisia), together with civil society organizations. In September 2026, HGPI joined the Core Group as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Civil Society Commission.

This study visit placed a particular focus on youth social participation. The program included an introduction to Slovenia’s systems by the National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia (NIJZ: Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje), participation in the Portorož Youth Health Forum 2026 in Portorož, and a visit to the Community Health Center in Radovljica. Throughout the visit, participants exchanged views on institutionalization, financing, and evaluation of social participation with people from a wide range of backgrounds. These included youth organizations active in Slovenia and across the EU, as well as participants from countries that have embedded social participation in their systems.

HGPI’s mission is to achieve citizen-centered health policy, and it has worked with a broad range of stakeholders, including patients, people with lived experience, and citizens, to offer policy options to society. Social participation, through which people, communities, and civil society take part in health decision-making, is closely aligned with this mission. As a member of the Core Group, HGPI will continue to bring insights from other countries to Japan, share Japan’s experiences with the international community, and work to advance social participation in health policy.