Pre-conference Advisory No. 1

Welcome to #HELECON2015 As a pre-registered delegate to the first ZFF National Health Leaders Conference 2015, you will be able

to have full access to all the plenary and parallel sessions of the conference. In order to make your participation worthwhile and productive, please go over this pre-conference advisory for important

details.

What is the National Health Leaders Conference? The National Health Leaders Conference (HELECON) is a 2-day gathering of ZFF partner LGUs,

including partners from government, academe and other non-government organizations, during which discussions of relevant issues in the field of public health are conducted. There are plenary sessions wherein key leaders at the national and local level are invited to discuss current events and updates pertaining to their expertise in public health. There are also parallel sessions where speakers from the front lines of public health specifically present existing

innovations and practices implemented in their area of work or coverage and share insights as to how these practices have helped achieved better health outcomes.

The theme of HELECON2015 is “Co-Creating the Future of Philippine Public Health”. This is aptly

so for a first conference. The idea is for the participants and speakers to provide a vision for Philippine public health from the perspectives of the leaders and front liners. Majority of the speakers will be exemplary Mayors, Municipal Health Officers and Community leaders from ZFF CHPP LGUs who will share with the audience what they think the future of Philippine Public Health would be based on what they have currently started doing at present.

When is the Health Leaders Conference? The HELECON2015 will be held on November 24-25, 2015 (Tuesday and Wednesday). The

Conference begins promptly at 9am November 24 and sessions end at 5:30pm.

Registration opens at 7:00am.

HELECON2015 at SMX Aura Convention Center The HELECON2015 will be held at the SMX Aura Convention Center. It is located at McKinley Parkway, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located at Level 3 of SM Aura Premier. The HELECON Plenary Sessions will be held at Function Room 2. It will also serve as one of the rooms for the parallel sessions. Meeting Rooms 4,5 and 6 combined will serve as another room for one of the parallel sessions.

To enter the Convention Center, it is

recommended that you access the SM Aura

Premier Mall Entrance facing the McKinley

Parkway. It is the only entrance that will

allow you to enter the Mall and proceed to the Convention Center.

Landmarks: The Main Entrance along the McKinley Parkway is within the vicinity of

To go to SMX Aura Convention Center, use the escalators to

proceed to Level 3. Elevators are also available from the basement parking area all the way to Level 3 where the SMX Aura Convention

Center is located. Parking slots are available on a first-come-first-served basis subject to availability of parking spaces.

SM Aura Premier Mall Hours start at 10am but the HELECON2015 Registration starts as early as 7:30am. Accessing the Convention Center requires entering the Mall premises. Therefore, please be reminded that only the Main Entrance facing McKinley Parkway will be

opened to delegates to the HELECON2015.

Travel Expenses and Accommodation Delegates to the HELECON2015 should be taking care of their own travel and accommodation expenses. For those out-of-town delegates, consider booking a flight or trip to Manila on November 23 Monday in order to register early and catch the opening plenary session on November 24 Tuesday. Arrange your return trips on November 26 Thursday so you can attend the final afternoon sessions on November 25 Wednesday. When looking for hotels, consider the amount of time traveling between your hotel and the Convention Center. The roads around the area can experience heavy traffic especially in the morning and afternoon.

Registration during the Conference Registration opens at 7:00 am until 9:00am. The First Plenary Session begins at exactly 9:00am. As a pre-registered delegate, you will be receiving your “ticket” via email which will allow you

entry to the conference. Please make sure you bring your ticket with you. If you haven’t received your ticket by November 2015 in your email, please contact the organizers at

benillos@zuelligfoundation.org or +639176204964. Don’t forget to check your spam mails as well. Present your ticket at the registration table found near the entrance to Function Room 2

(Plenary Hall). Upon registration, you will be given your conference kit which should include a Conference I.D. and meal stubs and Certificate of Participation. Certificate of Appearance will be given during the last session of Day 2.

Please take note that only those who pre-registered will be considered as official participants to the conference. If you plan to bring other companions (i.e. office staff, security personnel, clerk, etc) please take note that unless they were pre-registered they won’t receive an I.D. conference, meal stubs, conference kit and certificate of attendance.

“Ushers will guide you to

the right place.”

Meal Stubs and Identification

You will be given meal stubs which you will present to the waiters in exchange for your snacks and meals. Lunch will be served buffet style. Cocktails will be served at the end of the final session of Day 1. For those attending the Awards Ceremony for ZFF Partner LGUs, Dinner will be served buffet style. Meal stubs will be required. Please do not lose your meal stubs. The organizers might not be able to give you extra meal stubs to replace the ones you have misplaced. Wearing of the ID is required always. You may not be allowed access to the conference area if you are not wearing your conference ID.

Food During the Conference Throughout the conference, you will be served with morning and afternoon light snacks and lunch. Cocktails will be served during the final session of Day 1. For those planning to attend the Zuellig Excellence Awards for Leadership in Public Health Awarding Ceremony for ZFF partner

LGUs, Dinner will be served. As part of our Health Lifestyle Promotion, no carbonated and alcoholic drinks will be served throughout the conference. No pork dishes will also be served

throughout the conference. We will ensure a variety of food choices for you to choose from and we will make sure that they are as nutritious as they are delectable. Coffee and drinking

water will be made available at all times.

No Smoking Policy The conference will be adopting a No Smoking Policy. There will be no

areas within the premise of the conference delegated for smoking.

Parallel Sessions There will be parallel sessions in the afternoon of the conference. Depending on your preference, you can choose which among the

topics you would like to attend. Some parallel sessions will have limited slots and they are available only on a first-come-first-served basis. Please make sure to choose which among the

topics you would like to attend during the parallel sessions beforehand. A copy of the Conference Program will be given to you or you may check them out already at our website http://helecon2015.wordpress.com.

Dress Code It is encouraged that delegates should wear smart casual, semi-formal or business attire throughout the conference. Delegates may opt to wear a formal attire such as Barong Tagalog for men and Filipiniana dress for the women but this is not required.

Documentation of Sessions We will be uploading the powerpoint presentations of the speakers online and will be downloadable should you wish to have a copy of the slides. They will be made available after the Conference. Please keep yourself updated by regularly visiting our website: http://helecon2015.wordpress.com

Share. Like. Tweet. Post. If you have access to your social media accounts, don’t forget to update your facebook status, tweet or post in Instagram about your attendance to the National Health Leaders Conference. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #HELECON2015. If your facebook posts, tweets and instagram posts are Public, they might appear in our Public Tagboard which everyone can see especially if you use the hashtag #HELECON2015. We encourage you to take pictures of your HELECON2015 experience.

Sign the “Declaration” One of the outputs of the conference is to come up with a Declaration of Support and Commitment for Achieving Better Health Outcomes. A draft is being circulated online where you can propose your own suggestions to the draft. Visit the website: http://helecon2015.wordpress.com and select from the menu the link to the document where

you can edit. You can suggest edits anonymously or log in using your gmail account so we can identify you and officially include you in the list of proponents. You can even share the link with

other individuals whom you feel can help improve on the draft. During the Conference, a symbolic signing of the declaration will be done by selected health leaders.

FINAL NOTE: As a pre-registered delegate, you will be receiving a call, text or email from us before the end of October asking for your final confirmation of attendance. If you registered as a group and you

might need to revise your group registration (e.g. reduce number of delegates , change the name of delegates), you need not wait for us to contact you. You may contact us directly via

benillos@zuelligfoundation.org or +639176204964. Please make sure you confirm your participation. We are looking forward to your participation in the plenary and parallel sessions.

We would like to make the sessions as informative and interactive as possible. We hope to see you in all of the sessions of the 2-day conference actively participating and contributing to our

body of knowledge and stories that can inspire not only the present generation of leaders but

pave the way for the future health leaders.

See you at the #HELECON2015