Université de Sherbrooke
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The Université de Sherbrooke is a long-standing partner of Sherbrooke Ville en santé initiative, meaning "Sherbrooke Healthy City", which is part of the Québec Healthy Cities and Villages Network (Réseau québécois Villes et Villages en santé (RQVVS)). This network’s mission is to promote and support the development of sustainable and inclusive living environments that promote health and quality of life in a municipal context for communities of all dimensions. To do this, the RQVVS focuses on intersectoral partnership, mobilization, citizen participation and that of community groups. It is by bringing these forces together and put forward concrete projects that such objectives can be met.

To that regard, several projects related to the environment, social equity and the economy were created in Sherbrooke as part of the Sherbrooke Ville en santé initiative. Here are some examples:
- Training sessions to become acquainted with public transit;
- A project to recover and donate bicycles and helmets to children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds;
- Thematic conferences for seniors and retirees;
- Sherbrooke’s Initiative sherbrookoise en développement des communautés (ISDC), meaning Sherbrooke’s Initiative in Community Development. It elaborates several projects related, for instance, to food security, intercultural ties and citizen mobilization, with in mind to prevent poverty, encourage and support the educational success of young people, while putting citizens at the heart of the process by encouraging and valuing their participation;
- The project L’alliance sherbrookoise pour des jeunes en santé, meaning Sherbrooke’s Alliance for Young People's Health. It promotes healthy lifestyles among young people.

The Université de Sherbrooke contributes financially to the Sherbrooke Ville en santé and thus formally adheres to the partnership’s objective of promoting and supporting the sustainable development of healthy living environments. Furthermore, Pr. Pierre Cossette, President of the Université de Sherbrooke, sits on the Board of Governors. Several other players representing universities and colleges, school boards and the CIUSSS of Estrie-CHUS (integrated university center for health and social services, including Sherbrooke's University Hospital, child and youth protection centers and rehabilitation centers) are also present on the Board to address the social, environmental and economic issues pertaining to the City of Sherbrooke. The Board of Governors receives, initiates, supervises and adopts projects, promotes the Healthy City concept and develops inter-network collaborations.