HOPE Agora 2026

DATE AND LOCATION

29-31 May 2026

Escola Superior de Saúde de Lisboa

Av. D. João II, Lote 4.69 01
Lisbon 1990-096
Portugal

TOPIC

Patient safety, patient experience

ABOUT

The HOPE Exchange Programme started in 1981. It now consists of a 4-week training period intended for managers and other professionals (whatever their background is) with managerial responsibilities. They must be working in hospitals and healthcare facilities and be proficient in the language(s) accepted by the host country. The HOPE Exchange Programme is neither a medical nor a technical programme. It is a multi-professional programme.

Since 1992, the Exchange Programme culminates with the HOPE Agora. This closing conference is considered an integral part of the HOPE Exchange Programme giving the participants the possibility to show and to discuss their observations and conclusions. Every year, as a part of the HOPE Agora, the participants of the HOPE Exchange programme as a group give a presentation of their experiences.

In line with the 2026 topic, ‘Patient safety, patient experience’, participants have been invited to identify up-to-three good practices from the following options: policies that help develop a patient safety culture and that prioritise minimising patient harm by focusing on open communication, teamwork, learning from errors, and leadership commitment to safety, Incident reporting systems and analysis of adverse events; programmes for the safe use of medications, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, safe surgery, safe use of medical ionizing radiation or in other ways avoiding adverse events; identification of low-value practices / “Do Not Do” recommendations.

The conference will first host experts from the EU-funded project SAFEST, who will present different approaches at the European level and in specific countries. Then the HOPE Exchange Programme participants will share what they learned during their four-week experience abroad.

Read the HOPE Agora 2025 proceedings.

Previous HOPE Agora conferences and topics.