Health Literacy and Human Rights

Listening and empowering people to build trust

 5 December 2025 INAIL, via IV novembre 144, Rome, Italy

 

This event is organised by the National Office Against Racial Discrimination of Italy, in cooperation with the Council of Europe,
and with the support of the Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities of Italy, and the Minister of Health of Italy

 

 Objective

This event will launch the pathway for the Rome Coalition on Health Literacy and Human Rights, a network to bring together political, institutional, and civil society actors, with the goal of promoting equity and inclusion.

 Programme

Welcome coffee (10:00 - 11:00)

Opening Statements

11:00 - 11:45

Moderator: 

  • Assunta MORRESI, Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO)

Panellists:

  • Eugenia ROCCELLA, Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities, Italy
  • Orazio SCHILLACI, Minister of Health, Italy
  • Rafael BENITEZ, Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment, Council of Europe

Introductory remarks

11:45 - 12:15

Moderator: 

  • Agnese Nadia CANEVARI, National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR), Italy

Panellists:

  • Evis SALA, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Albania
  • Vasiliki KARAOULI, Secretary Permanent, Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs, Greece

Morning Summary

12:15 - 12:20

This session will recall the views and political commitments expressed during the morning and the shared intention to collaborate in the setting up of the Rome coalitition on Health Literacy and Human Rights with the support of the Council of Europe.

  • Lorenzo MONTRASIO, National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR), Italy

Lunch (12:20 - 14:00)

Listening and empowering people to build trust

14:00 - 14:20

This session explores the stigma and discrimination faced by people and groups in vulnerable situations, and considers ways to better to listen, empower and protect them so that they can effectively exercise their right to the protection of health.

Moderator: 

  • Lee HIBBARD, Health Division, Council of Europe 

Panellists:

  • Kristine SØRENSEN, Global Health Literacy Academy, Denmark 
  • Guglielmo BONACCORSI, University of Florence, Italy
  • Chiara LORINI, University of Florence, Italy

Listening and empowering people to build trust - Institutional perspectives

14:20 - 15:50

This session discusses how public institutions and government bodies listen, empower and protect people’s health, and considers how the Rome Coalition adds value to their efforts, both individually and collectively.

Moderators: 

  • Miguel TELO DE ARRIAGA, Directorate-General of Health, Portugal

Panellists:

  • Luisa BORGIA, Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO)
  • Robert GAJDA, Commission for Protection from Discrimination, Albania
  • Tigran KARAPETYAN, Council of Europe
  • Signe MEŽINSKA, Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health at the Council of Europe, Latvia 
  • Luciana TEOFILI, National Blood Center, Italy

Closing remarks and way forward

15:50- 16:00
  • Mattia PERADOTTO, National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR), Italy
  • Rafael BENITEZ, Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment, Council of Europe

 Photos

 Speakers & Moderators

Speakers and moderators are being confirmed progressively, with updates shared on this webpage as they become available.

nugara Vasiliki KARAOULI

Secretary Permanent, Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs, Greece
Vasiliki KARAOULI

Vasiliki Karaouli studied Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens and pursued postgraduate studies in Environmental Protection, specializing in Sanitary Engineering at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. She furthered her education by obtaining a second postgraduate degree in Environmental Protection and Occupational Health and Safety from RWTH Aachen University in Germany. Ms. Karaouli also worked at LAMSADE, the Research Center at Dauphine University in Paris, focusing on Multicriteria Analysis as a decision-support methodology. Additionally, she graduated from the National School of Public Administration in Greece, specializing in Public Administration organization and management, with a focus on Health Systems and Services.

Since 2006, she has served as the Director of the Directorate of Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Hygiene at the Ministry of Health. From November 2014, Ms. Karaouli served as the Director of Public Health, and in June 2018, she became the General Director of Public Health and Quality of Life at the

Ministry of Health in Greece. Ms. Karaouli has actively participated in numerous committees on Public Health-related topics and represents Greece in international and European workshops and committees organized by the WHO and the European Union. 

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