The Fifth World Conference on th (Last Updated On: ) The Fifth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders Melbourne, Australia, 10-12 September 2008 The host organization was the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), headed by Chief Executive Officer Todd Harper. The partner organizations presenting the conference in Melbourne together with VicHealth were the World Federation for Mental Health, the Carter Center (Atlanta, USA) and the Clifford Beers Foundation (UK). Professor Rob Moodie from the Nossal Institute at the University of Melbourne and Professor Helen Herrman of ORYGEN Research Centre headed the International Program Committee. Within VicHealths Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit headed by Lyn Walker, Senior Program Officer Irene Walker headed a very able organizing team. At the previous conferences held in the USA (2000), United Kingdom (2002), New Zealand (2004) and Norway (2006) the program followed established themes of research, policy-making, evidence-based programs, dissemination, and development of training and expertise. For the Melbourne conference the International Program Committee added social and community engagement, discrimination, violence in various forms including violence against women, and access to economic resources. Violence and Human Rights The theme of violence was supplemented by a notable emphasis on human rights throughout the plenary program. Kate Gilmore, deputy director of Amnesty International, gave a passionate address on human rights abuses which started and ended with the genocide in Rwanda. Rob Moodie, co-chair of the International Program Committee, began his presentation with a condemnation of the way that asylum seekers, who have already experienced trauma, are placed in circumstances during the asylum process that can cause or worsen mental illness. Mohammed Diaaeldin Omer, UNICEFSudan, described the high prevalence of common mental disorders among women living in camps in West Darfur (75.8%), and the low attention paid to it. Harry Minas of the University of Melbourne described the Pinel 21 Project that is investigating the physical restraint and confinement of people with mental illness in Aceh and Sumatra (Indonesia). Paris Aristotle, Director of Foundation House, discussed refugee and resettlement issues, including the strategies that governments use to put up barriers for people with mental illness. During the conference VicHealths CEO, Todd Harper, launched his organizations new program to combat violence against women by providing grants to five local service organizations. In a very explicit way, too, VicHealth drew attention to human rights close to home. The closing item of the conference was a performance by the Choir of Hard Knocks, which has become well known in Australia through a prize-winning documentary and its two platinum CDs. The choir features more than 30 people in Melbourne, many of them homeless, who have experienced extreme disadvantage in life. The groups intensely moving performance drew the audience into consideration of basic themes explored by the programsocial participation, discrimination and economic issues. Choir of Hard Knocks. Photo credit: Snappy Pics Furthering the human rights theme, two plenary speakers spoke about the newly released report of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (www.who.int/social_determinants/en/). Prof. Fran Baum, a member of the Commission, noted the influence of the former Surgeon General of the United States, David Satcher, in seeing that mental health issues were incorporated in the report. Prof. Carles Muntaner presented research on labor issues, showing how the way the modern work place is organized has a heavy impact on mental health. Youth Engagement Strategy The conference incorporated a youth engagement strategy exploring ways to reach out to young people. On the first morning the State of Victorias Minister for Mental Health, the Hon. Lisa Neville, MP, spoke about the need to build up a mental health platform in early childhood services and in schools to address perceived needs and help young people reach their potential. Elsewhere the conference planners pointed towards ways to reach young people outside conventional settings, through social activities and particularly through the Internet. Programming on young peoples issues was incorporated in many sessions and youth was in evidence to an unusual degree throughout, from the dancers of the Indigenous Hip Hop Project to the Reach Out! programs ambassadors. Two young ambassadors from the program, Doug Millen and Ehon Chan, addressed a plenary session and gave the (much older) audience an insight into ways to reach young people, while also showing the importance of taking their opinions into account. The Inspire Foundation (www.inspire.org.au and Oxfam Australias Youth Engagement Program (www.reachout.com.au) were represented, and VicHealth arranged for young people to participate in online forums before the conference. Film-makers from the Student Youth Network (www.syn.org.au) shot a witty video giving their view of the conference and presented it at the closing session. The video and other materials produced during the conference were used later in various youth websites. Measuring Mental Health There were several presentations on how to measure mental health, a particular interest of VicHealth through the work of its McCaughey Centre (www.mccaugheycentre.unimelb.edu.au , which has produced a set of community wellbeing indicators for the State of Victoria (www.communityindicators.net.au). A presentation on Bhutans Gross National Happiness Index attracted considerable attention. Karma Tshiteem, Secretary of that countrys Gross National Happiness Commission, proposed that measuring GNH is about a balanced and holistic approach to development using alternative definitions of wellbeing. A nationwide survey of one thousand people, using 300 questions, was used to derive 31 GNH indicators from which a single GNH Index will be derived. Apichai Mongkol from the Thai Ministry of Public Health spoke about the development of a similar index. The Thai Happiness Index has 66 items, and looks at areas such as spirituality, health and family support. As these indicators were discussed, it was observed that when mental health is mentioned in Bhutan and Thailand people think of relative degrees of happiness, while when it is mentioned in the West people think first of mental illness. Karma Tshiteem, Gross National Happiness Commission, Bhutan, addressing the conference. Photo credit: Snappy Pics The special area of database development was also reviewed. Norways large project to develop a database for evidence-based interventions in prevention and health promotion was described by Willy-Tore M?rch, of the Norwegian Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Activities Attached to the Conference As at previous conferences, various activities were attached before and after the meeting. These included the biennial meeting of the Global Consortium for the Advancement of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health (GCAPP); a day-long preconference on school mental health arranged by the International Alliance for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Schools (Intercamhs); and a meeting of the International Network of Health Promotion Foundations. The Arts Program Throughout the conference VicHealth showcased its belief that the arts have an important role to play in promoting community mental health (and fun). Sixteen arts projects were presented, sometimes at unexpected moments, thanks to special support from Arts Victoria. Highlights included the vocalists of Black Armband who provided contemporary indigenous music at the opening, and the closing ceremony which included the rock music of the BiPolar Bears as well as the Choir of Hard Knocks. The Melbourne Charter Well before the conference began, consultation was under way on the drafting of a preliminary format for the outcome document, a Charter outlining the principles of mental health promotion and the prevention of disorders. The drafting group received input from the abstracts sent in by those who presented at concurrent sessions, and from the general audience. Special arrangements were made to get advance contributions from youth groups. The Charter will be finalized and edited in the coming months, then circulated internationally. It will be offered for review and updating at the Sixth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders.