Orygen was a proud co-host of the 5th International Conference on Youth Mental Health held in Brisbane last month. The conference attracted more than 600 delegates from 41 countries, and stayed true to its theme of ‘United for Global Change.’
Following an impressive Welcome to Country by the Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dance Company, plenary sessions focused on rural mental health, a positive focus for the future, culturally specific challenges in youth mental health, and substance use. A range of research projects were presented during lightning sessions.
Orygen supported 24 young people to attend the conference. Many of them were participating in a conference of its sort for the first time and reported that it was an informative and positive experience.
“I found the tabletops most engaging as they allowed for deeper interaction with a broad range of topics and used more accessible language,” participant Rose said.
More than 60 Orygen staff participated in the conference as session chairs, presenters and attendees. Orygen’s policy analyst Nicholas Fava said the conference fostered countless connections between passionate youth mental health advocates from around the world.
Coinciding with the conference, many world leaders in youth mental health took the opportunity to visit Orygen’s Parkville facility in Victoria to learn about Orygen’s revolutionary work in youth mental health research, clinical services, education and training. Some of the visitors included a delegation from Hong Kong, colleagues from Jigsaw in Ireland, headspace Israel , and Foundry and McGill University in Canada.