Berlin, 2 July2012 Messe Berlin, visitBerlin and the Charité – University Medicine Berlin have succeeded in tying the World Health Summit, the international health convention with a worldwide appeal, even closer to Berlin. In order to promote the top-class, international medical summit and strengthen the positioning of Berlin as a convention metropolis, Messe Berlin and visitBerlin have positioned themselves very clearly in respect of the tying of the convention to Berlin as a location as majority shareholders (42.5% each) of the World Health Summit Foundation GmbH. The Charité holds 15% of the shares. The contracts are now signed. The shareholders hence make a concrete contribution towards securing the venue and strengthen Berlin’s role as a leading health and convention location in Europe.

Institutions campaign for the convention venue Berlin

The fact that visitBerlin, as a tourism and convention organisation, participates in the securing of the venue of a convention is a premiere and underlines the high relevance for the city. Burkhard Kieker, CEO of visitBerlin, comments: “We are absolutely convinced that the World Health Summit organised by the Charité holds an enormous potential for Berlin as a convention location and health centre. The Health Summit, which was born in Berlin, should stay here. That’s why we took this unusual step for the first time, so that the ‘Davos of Medicine’ will remain anchored in Berlin.” The World Health Summit is a large-scale event with the participation of some 1,500 medical experts from more than 90 nations – with a similar status as the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Davos.

As an ideas provider and initiator, the Charité Berlin offers a platform with a scientific and advisory dimension which makes up the attractiveness of the Summit and secures the participation of experts from Germany and abroad. The CEO of the Charité, Professor Dr. Karl Max Einhäupl, says: “The internationally perceived pioneering role of the Charité in the fields of science, healthcare and teaching, its glorious past and the charisma of the Charité were the best prerequisites to the birth of this new idea of a World Health Summit. The Charité has succeeded in getting the entire health industry around a table with the worldwide leading universities in order to look for solutions to global health issues.”

Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin, adds: “Berlin is the ideal location for the World Health Summit. There is no other convention destination around the world staging more large-scale medical conventions than the German capital. The cultural and touristic attractiveness of the German capital in conjunction with an excellent value for money, in particular with the high quality of the top hotels, are extremely important factors. In addition, there are many highly specialised congress service providers which turn every event in a highly professional manner into a success. This includes the staff of Messe Berlin which has profound convention know-how.”

The vision for Berlin: push the convention business

Apart from the conventions established in Berlin and the World Health Summit, visitBerlin intends to work together with the Senate on new, future-proof formats. The focus will be on strengthening Berlin as a convention destination, promoting science, research, health policy across locations and public health, in order to attract further health congresses and large-scale events to Berlin, with thousands of members of the medical professions coming to the city. Health tourism is another central aspect. The now institutionalised World Health Summit visibly sets an example. Berlin has the opportunity to strategically establish itself as a European and international centre for health.

World Health Summit – the “Who’s Who” of medicine

The World Health Summit, launched by the former Charité CEO and Congress Chairman Professor Dr. Detlev Ganten in 2009 is a meeting place for the international elite of researchers with decision-makers from science, healthcare, the business community and politics. “Health is more than medicine and requires an interdisciplinary forum such as the World Health Summit”, says Professor Ganten. “This is the only way for progress in research to benefit people all over the world. Science has a major responsibility here.” Renowned participants were attracted through the M8 Alliance set up in 2009. The “M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centres and Medical Universities” is a global network of eight outstanding medical schools – including the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the London Imperial College, the Sorbonne Paris Cité, the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow and the Berlin Charité. The Health Summit deals with future developments and challenges in the field of global health.

More information on: worldhealthsummit.org and health.visitBerlin.com