Hotel Atlante Plaza - Recife - Pernambuco - Brasil
CONCEPTUAL MANIFESTO
Twenty-five years after the historic International Seminar on Health Promotion held in Recife in September 2001, we return to the same symbolic and political setting to reaffirm a collective commitment: to defend oral health as a human right, an expression of human dignity, and an inseparable component of social justice. The presence of Professor Aubrey Sheiham at that meeting profoundly influenced critical thinking in oral health by demonstrating that disease, suffering and unequal access to care cannot be understood solely as biological phenomena, but rather as concrete manifestations of the social, economic, cultural and political inequalities that shape contemporary societies.
Today, in a world marked by health crises, climate change, widening inequalities, technological transformations and disputes concerning the very meaning of democracy and collective life, it has become imperative to critically revisit the foundations of health promotion and to rebuild agendas capable of addressing emerging forms of exclusion and vulnerability. One such initiative, bringing together collaboration between the Global North and the Global South, is the CORE Programme. Under the leadership of Professor Richard Watt, one of the foremost exponents of Professor Aubrey Sheiham’s intellectual legacy, the programme has fostered integration among universities and research groups across both hemispheres, encouraging collective reflection on pathways towards more equitable futures.
Oral health remains one of the most revealing indicators of global social inequities. The unequal distribution of pain, tooth loss, access to care, healthy nutrition, information, prevention and opportunities for well-being demonstrates that the mouth continues to be a site of profound social injustice. Understanding the mouth as a political territory to be understood, explored and cared for remains central to this endeavour. We contend that oral health promotion cannot be reduced to individualised strategies focused exclusively on behaviours or personal responsibility. Promoting health requires transforming living conditions, expanding rights, strengthening universal public systems, addressing social determinants and recognising the cultural, historical and political complexities that shape bodies and territories. Above all, it requires linking these initiatives to meaningful community engagement as a fundamental pathway for empowering vulnerable populations and groups with limited political representation.
At this seminar, we affirm a broad and integrated vision of oral health: one connected to public health, global health, human rights, sustainability, critical education and the construction of more democratic and solidaristic societies. We also recognise that new challenges are emerging in the twenty-first century. The rapid incorporation of artificial intelligence, digital surveillance and health data technologies demands continuous ethical and political reflection to ensure that innovation does not deepen existing historical inequalities. The technological future of health will only be legitimate if it remains committed to equity, inclusion and social justice.
Holding this meeting in Recife carries particular significance. Recife represents a place of intense critical scholarship across diverse fields of knowledge essential to this agenda, as well as a centre of cultural and intellectual resistance and the development of Latin American perspectives committed to social emancipation. By bringing together researchers, students, policymakers, social movements and national and international institutions, the seminar seeks to consolidate a global network committed to tackling oral health inequities and to developing socially responsible alternatives for the future. More than revisiting the past, this seminar proposes a collective reimagining of new horizons for oral health in the contemporary world.
