Beyond Silos: Why Community Engagement is Vital to Redefining Health, Environment, and Resilience

Co-hosted by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the seminar will feature Dr Nason Tan, NAM-HKU Fellow in Global Health Leadership for the 2023/24 cohort, project conducted as part of his global health leadership fellowship. He will discuss authentic and meaningful community engagement, emphasizing the community as a full partner in advancing public health.

Confronting complex health threats—from climate impacts to non-communicable diseases—requires a fundamental transformation beyond traditional, siloed approaches where science, policy, and community engagement operate in parallel. This presentation posits that authentic community engagement is the critical catalyst redefining this landscape, forging integrated solutions that simultaneously advance health, equity, and social resilience. We demonstrate how co-production of knowledge, exemplified by community-led initiatives, transforms data into actionable evidence and policy change, while place-based initiatives showcase how community stewardship builds the adaptive social fabric essential for resilience. Moving beyond programmatic outreach to deep partnership not only yields more equitable outcomes but also challenges our institutions to champion new models of scholarship, funding, and impact evaluation. We conclude with a call to action for academic institutions to lead this paradigm shift by institutionalizing the principles of community-driven science to foster a more just, healthy, and resilient future.

About Dr Nason Tan
For Dr Nason Tan, public health is a calling forged on the front lines. His 20-year journey from treating tropical diseases with Médecins Sans Frontières in Sierra Leone and Ethiopia to his current role at the University of Hong Kong is rooted in a single, powerful conviction: championing health equity for the most vulnerable. Today, he channels this frontline experience into grassroots action and academic leadership, focusing on planetary health, mental health, and community-driven solutions to build a more resilient future.