Episode 1: Indoor air quality in schools: impact on children wellbeing and role of research in Europe
Image 1: Speakers and moderators during SynAir-G workshop (Montpellier, 09 October 2023)
The SynAir-G workshop series are part of the WP7 – Data management, Guidelines, Dissemination and Exploitation, aiming at exchanging know-how and practices between partners and stakeholders to present the project and validate its impact indicators while gathering feedback and state-of-the-art advancements in the field of indoor air quality and its impact on health.
Over the course of the project, 3 workshops will be organised, to facilitate discussion, and engage the public, while presenting the results as the project progresses.
The first workshop ‘Indoor air quality in schools: impact on children wellbeing and role of research in Europe’ took place on the 9th of October in Montpellier (France). The hybrid event brought together patient representatives, health care professionals, researchers across Europe to discuss the importance of indoor air quality in schools, its impact on the wellbeing of children and the role of research and development of new technologies and know-how.
Specifically, the workshop facilitated a discussion on the status and challenges of Indoor Air Quality in schools in 3 European countries (France, Greece and Poland), including socio- economic and technical barriers and highlighting the importance of indoor air quality in schools and its effects on all the people who attend schools, including teachers and other staff members.
Emphasis was also placed on the role of preventative care in NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases), including asthma and allergies, and the synergist dialogue and coordination between different experts to ensure good quality of life for the people living these conditions, including people spending time in schools.
The workshop hosted a panel discussion on how to innovate devices and services in the school sector through participatory approaches. The speakers were representatives of the SynAir-G, K-HEALTHinAIR and InChildHealth projects, members of IDEAL Cluster, an EU Commission initiative aiming at filling knowledge gaps in the understanding of the impacts on our health and well-being of those environmental, occupational and socio. During this session, the three projects discussed their objectives, promising impact on society, and the importance of advocacy.
The first workshop ‘Indoor air quality in schools: impact on children wellbeing and role of research in Europe’ was organised by the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), and the hybrid sessions were moderated by Prof. Nikolaos G. Papadopoulos, SynAir-G Coordinator, and Valeria Ramiconi, EFA Programme Manager.
The SynAir-G Workshop series will continue with two other episodes in the upcoming years to discusse the SynAir-G project impact on science and on European policy, and disseminating its results.
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