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Eberhard Wenzel
Eberhard Wenzel worked in public health for over 20 years. He began his work in Germany before moving to the Philippines and thence to Australia. Here he became known to many while at Griffith University, Brisbane, through his prolific work on the International Public Health Watch web site and email list serve, as well as his dedicated effort for the Virtual Library: Public Health, which earned this site a rating of the best in the field (as recorded by The Lancet) during the period in which he moderated it. [View the original website
Eberhard was an inspiring advocate for a socio-ecological view of health. He lauded health promotion as it was described over 20 years ago in the Ottawa Charter. This health promotion represented a significant move away from a medical view of health promotion that focused primarily on disease prevention. Eberhard was highly critical of recent trends, both nationally and internationally, that signified a step backward to such a medical paradigm of health promotion.
Eberhard was not afraid to speak his mind about what he saw as the critical failings of public health. His thoughts were often challenging and sometimes controversial. He could be relied upon to question accepted dogma, bring a different perspective, challenge accepted beliefs or practice, and to stimulate new ways of thinking. Eberhard's students, and others touched by him, carry on this legacy of critical thinking both here in the Virtual Library:Public Health and also through the Eberhard Wenzel Memorial Oration which is offered annually at the conferences of the Australian Health Promotion Association. For a copy of the latest Oration, see http://www.healthpromotion.org.au/ewm_oration.php
Eberhard's chose to expose his battle with cancer on his website throughout 2001, with his friends and colleagues setting up a 'healing circle' to support him. His last entry occurred on 17 September that year, only three days before he died.
- Lily O'Hara, March 2002, augmented by Jan Ritchie, July 2005
- Papers - offers online access to the "written work" of Eberhard Wenzel. Some of the work has been published. You can read what Eberhard has been thinking about in the years up to his death in September 2001 - either alone or together with colleagues.
- Links - connects to a variety of topics in which Eberhard was interested. There are diverse topics and some are probably "far out", but that's the way he sometimes seemed to be.
Original website founded Lucien E. Schlosser and Eberhard Wenzel, 1997.
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