In accordance with the subsidiarity principle, it is the responsibility of each Member State to implement its own health policy, but there are areas where Member States can not act alone effectively (i.e. reducing marketing pressure on children) or where Members States can learn a lot from each other.

Thus, the overall aim of the Conference is to support Member States and stakeholders to work more efficiently in addressing the burden of NCDs, using innovative cooperations and governance structures. The conference, by bringing together leading European stakeholders with a common objective, will provide Member States and other stakeholders with a forum for sharing information, resources, best practise and expertise in primary prevention by addressing three of the key health determinants (nutrition, physical activity and tobacco control). The Conference should also help identifying common actions at EU level that can provide added-value to national efforts.

In addition, the Conference aims to reduce health inequalities existing between Member States by giving a particular attention to Central and Eastern European countries and new Member States.

Considering
- the diversity of national public health systems in the European Union;
- that the action plans of Member States are not widely disseminated;
- that public health indicators of new Member States and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are similar to each other and far behind those of the EU-15

the specific objectives of the Conference are:
1. to present effective public health systems and sustainable action plans;
2. to identify and share best practices and know-how at EU, national and local levels;
3. to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and exchange of experiences between experts working in three different areas (nutrition, physical activity, tobacco control);
4. to provide an opportunity for new Member States and Central and Eastern European countries to present their activities.

200 delegates from each EU-27 countries are expected to attend the Conference. Given the central location of the hosting country and the sponsorship offered for Member States, a strong representation of each Member State is foreseen, however, about one-third of the participants is envisaged to arrive from Hungary and neighbouring countries.

The Conference aims at reaching an equal representation of experts from the three areas (i.e. nutrition, physical activity and tobacco control) as well as a balanced representation of different sectors:
- about 25% from government departments and policy makers at national level
- about 25% from DG SANCO, WHO EURO and international bodies and agencies
- about 35% from academic sector
- about 15% non-profit organizations and NGOs

The Action for Prevention Conference is restricted to invited experts and decision makers. A total number of 200 participants is expected, out of which 72 participants will have their travel and accommodation costs covered (invited speakers and 2 delegates per Member State).

Target audience of the Conference is:
- experts and policy makers from Ministries and national institutes;
- relevant WHO EURO National Counterparts, EU National Focal Points and HLG members;
- representatives of DG SANCO, WHO EURO, European Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health and relevant European agencies;
- health professionals;
- non-profit organizations and NGOs.

Because the Conference will build upon networks such as EU National Focal Points for Tobacco Control or Nutrition, HLG, that cover all Member States, it is envisaged to be attended by each EU-27 countries.

The PREVACT Conference is a 2-day event, to be held in the Royal Palace of G�d�llo on 30-31 May 2011. The conference date will coincide with the World No-Tobacco Day. In two days there will be 4 plenary sessions, 3 parallel workshops and a special session dedicated to Award winning poster presentations.

The first two plenary sessions will focus on presenting well-functioning public health systems and effective and sustainable action plans. Afterwards, participants can take part in three parallel workshops (Actions at EU/national/local levels). These workshops will give an opportunity to experts working in different fields to share their experiences and know-how in relation to specific questions such as PPP, sustainability or cost-effectiveness. The last plenary session of the day will be dedicated to disseminating actions from the CEE region.

In the first plenary of the second day, representatives of DG SANCO, EAHC and key experts will discuss lessons learnt in relation to the 2nd Health Programme and identify possible action areas for the next Health Programme. The 2nd day will also provide time for reporting back conclusions of the workshops and for Award winning poster presentations.

In addition to the presentations and workshops, there will be a poster session where each Member State may present 2 national or local actions selected according to criteria previously defined. Furthermore, Member States will have an opportunity to present their national or local programmes in an interactive and attractive way in an exhibition. The Conference intermissions will be thematic breaks relating to the three main health determinants.