Universities around the United States will raise awareness in April about nationwide efforts to embed health and wellness in all aspects of campus life under an international framework called the Okanagan Charter.

Developed by health promotion scholars and professionals around the globe in 2015, the charter is an aspirational document that guides colleges and universities to be leaders in the world for developing and modeling health-promoting principles.

Between April 21 and April 25, the inaugural U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Week will honor the charter’s 10th anniversary and success and the creation of the U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network (USHPCN), which supports the work of member campuses.

Since 2021, 38 U.S. campuses have adopted the charter and 320 have joined the USHPCN to make meaningful changes by bringing together multidisciplinary teams to maximize resources and work collaboratively to impact health on a population level. The growth of the network provides widespread recognition that in order to create thriving communities, attention must be paid to the health of the planet, creation of safe communities, and access to health promotion and health care.