To Your Health! A Century of Health Prevention and Education Campaigns (1902–2002)

Posters, slogans, educational games, films and advertising spots… Over the course of a century, health prevention and education have progressively adopted the codes of communication and advertising. Presented at the National Archives in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, the exhibition À votre santé! (To Your Health!) highlights the collections of the French Committee for Health Education (CFES) and explores the history of public health education in 20th-century France.

Through iconic campaigns, diverse communication tools and memorable messages, the exhibition examines the evolution of health communication, its objectives, key actors and challenges. It traces major milestones, from the first public health law of 1902 to the creation of the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (INPES) in 2002, highlighting the transformation of prevention policies and the rise of health promotion.

Affiche du ministère de la Santé publique, 1931. Ill. Emilio Vila, Archives nationales, 50AP/57