ACHPER NSW is proud to be a silver sponsor of the 2025 Future Health Symposium, a landmark NSW Health initiative inviting students, educators, and health leaders to explore what healthcare could look like in 2040. This event brings together finalists from the Future Health Worldbuilding Competition—an innovative design challenge that empowers young people in Years 7–10 across NSW to reimagine a more connected, equitable, and sustainable health future.

Why This Partnership Matters

As champions of quality health and physical education for every student in NSW and ACT, ACHPER NSW believes in nurturing the next generation’s capacity to think critically, act compassionately, and innovate boldly.

The symposium’s purpose aligns perfectly with ACHPER NSW’s core values of innovation, collaboration, integrity, and excellence. Both organisations share a vision for empowering young people to lead healthier, fairer, and more inclusive futures — through learning that connects real-world health challenges with creativity and foresight.

About the Worldbuilding Competition

The Future Health Worldbuilding Competition challenges students to imagine healthcare in 2040 and bring their ideas to life through diverse formats — from videos and prototypes to short stories and models. Guided by the principles of Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking, the competition encourages participants to explore megatrends like limitless care, a volatile world, empower consumers and augmented care — and to design visionary systems that could meet those challenges head-on.

Fifteen years from now, NSW’s health system will face rising costs, demographic shifts, and evolving expectations. This initiative invites young people to become active co-designers of those possible futures — a message that deeply resonates with ACHPER’s mission to support learning that makes a difference.

Bringing the Worldbuilding Experience to the Classroom

Although entries for this year’s competition have closed, teachers can still access the competition hub for free classroom resources, videos, and submission guides. These materials offer an outstanding opportunity for middle years PDHPE or Health Science teachers to facilitate inquiry-based learning around Australia’s future health challenges and innovations.

Suggested Teaching and Learning Activity Sequence

1. Introduce the Concept of “Future Health”
   Begin with class discussions about major global and local trends — climate change, AI in health care, First Nations knowledge systems, and social equity. Frame this in terms of how these may influence health outcomes in 2040.
2. Explore the Finalist Entries
   Direct students to the People’s Choice Awards hub, where 21 finalist videos showcase creative visions for the future of health in NSW. Each student or group can watch two or three entries and use a structured scaffold (such as a SWOT analysis) to analyse each proposal’s strengths, weaknesses, innovation, and feasibility.
3. Analytical Thinking Scaffold Suggestions
   • SWOT Analysis: Students identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for each concept.
   • DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats: To evaluate an idea from creative, practical, and emotional perspectives.
   • PMI Chart (Plus, Minus, Interesting) for accessible critical reflection.
   • Tournament Prioritiser: Use a collaborative decision-making process to determine which idea represents the “best vision for future health”.
4. Vote in the People’s Choice Awards
   After discussion and analysis, the class can participate by casting votes for the entry they believe demonstrates the strongest and most inclusive vision for health equity and innovation in NSW.
5. Reflect and Extend
   Wrap up with reflection prompts like:
   • What values should drive future health systems?
   • How can community voices shape innovation?
   • In what ways does health education today prepare us for challenges ahead?

As a silver sponsor, ACHPER NSW celebrates this partnership with NSW Health and remains committed to supporting teachers with resources that connect future-focused inquiry with meaningful health education that changes lives.