Birth of a new EU agency

© Belga Image More information: https://osha.europa.eu/en dangerous substances, or promoting safe maintenance, risk prevention and a sustainable working life. The upcoming campaign, Lighten the Load (2020-2022), will be the first one to follow a three-year cycle. It will focus on work- related musculoskeletal disorders. Good practice exchange is also a key element of the campaigns. The Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards highlight examples of innovative and sustainable approaches to OSH in relation to each campaign’s theme. Foresight EU-OSHA also produces the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER), which investigates how OSH risks are managed, in practice, in workplaces across Europe. The first results of its third edition were due to be published at the end of 2019. Its fieldwork covers over 40 000 establishments across all business size classes and activity sectors in 33 European countries. EU-OSHA’s Foresight activity aims to provide policy-makers and researchers with the information they need to anticipate trends in the rapidly changing world of work. It also aims to understand the new and emerging risks that such change may mean for OSH. Of particular interest is the impact of the digitalisation of the economy on OSH. Focal points The success of EU-OSHA’s work depends very much on the commitment of its partners: the national focal points and their tripartite networks, the official campaign partners and the media partners. Through its network of focal points, EU-OSHA aims to establish and increase cooperation among Member States on OSH matters, mainly to raise awareness of OSH risks and promote their prevention. Nominated by each government as EU-OSHA’s official representative in that country, the focal points are typically the competent national authority for safety and health at work. They disseminate the agency’s products and information to national stakeholders and are primary contributors to the implementation of EU-OSHA’s work programmes. Napo EU-OSHA also provides a series of online tools for raising awareness and managing OSH risks: OiRA, that simplifies the assessment and management of safety and health risks in the workplace; OSHwiki, a rich source of information on all aspects of OSH; e-guides that provide guidance for OSH management; infographics; the campaign toolkit; data visualisation tools… And of course, the Napo films! Napo is the animated star of a series of language-free educational films that combine a humorous approach with important messages. The films are created by a consortium of European OSH organisations. The likeable characters and light- hearted approach offer an effective way of engaging people in OSH and raising awareness of risks and how to manage them. Musculoskeletal disorder: “Lighten the load”, EU OSHA’s Healthy Workplace campaign 2020-2022, focuses on work- related musculoskeletal disorders. SOC I A L AG E NDA / NOV E MB E R 2 0 1 9 / 1 9