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Black Tie
International:
Time to
Act on Global Mental Health |
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Co-organizers of the event (right to left): Hayfa
Matar, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain
to the United Nations; Pierre-David Jean, Diplomat,
Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations; H.E.
Ambassador Jeroen Cooreman,
Deputy Permanent Representative, Mission of Belgium to the
United Nations (the three co-chairs of the Group of Friends of
Mental Health and Well-being, member states at the United
Nations committed to promoting mental health and well-being as a
foundation for the achievement of the Global Goals); Dr. Judy
Kuriansky, Main UN NGO representative, International Association
of Applied Psychology and past-President, the Psychology
Coalition of NGOs accredited at the United Nations and advisor
to the Group of Friends;
Elisha London, CEO, United for Global Mental Health, moderator and
presenter
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Time to Act on Global Mental Health
Photos: Black Tie Magazine/Rose Billings
Building Momentum on Mental Health in the SDG Era
One out of four people around the world have to deal with mental
health problems at some point in their life, for themselves or
someone they know. To shine a light on this problem, and
solutions, this year for the first time, an event took place
during the prestigious General Assembly at the United Nations
when Presidents, Prime Ministers and high-level officials
annually come together. On September 26th, a full-to-capacity
room of political leaders, members of civil society,
non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academia, UN
agencies, everyday heroes and mental health advocates gathered
to hear experts, government officials and people with lived
experience about mental health, to share progress and propose
ways to combat stigma
and promote better mental health
-- as included in the UN Global Goals for Sustainable
Development.
In a dramatic gesture of the urgency of the issue, 132 white
roses were passed out to attendees to symbolize the number of
people who would have taken their own
lives during the time of the event. Also, a film about one
solution was shown that was first launched in Zimbawbe, named
the “Friendship Bench,” where people can come to a park bench
to talk openly with a lay health worker about their problems.
Coordinated by United for Global Mental Health and funded by the
Government of Canada, the co-sponsors of the event were the
Governments of Canada and the Netherlands, the United Nations
Group of Friends of Mental Health and Well-being (led by three
member states at the UN (the Missions of Canada, Belgium, and
the Kingdom of Bahrain), the Mission of Ecuador to the United
Nations, the World Health Organization, the Canadian Mental
Health Association, Born This Way Foundation (founded by Lady
Gaga and her mother), NEXUS, the International Association of
Applied Psychology (IAAP) and the Psychology Coalition of NGOs
accredited at the United Nations.
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“Time to Act on Global
Mental Health” |
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Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres
describes commitment of the UN to mental health within the
context of the Global Goals and announces the United Nations
System Workplace Mental Health and Well-being Strategy |
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Her
Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium, SDG Advocate and a
psychologist, talks via video message about the importance of
mental health for all populations and its foundation within the
achievement of the
UN Sustainable Development Goals |
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Dr. Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization;
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health for the Government
of Canada, a government that is a leader in the commitment to
mental health, including financially, and about which Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau has widely spoken about publicly |
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Cynthia Germanotta,
President, Born This Way Foundation, acknowledges that the
foundation dedicated to promoting mental health was founded
because her daughter, Lady Gaga, suffered from anxiety and now
committed to supporting the wellness of young people and
creating a kinder world |
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Cynthia Germanotta making introductory remarks |
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Dr. Svetlana Akselrod,
assistant director-General, Noncommunicable Diseases
and Mental Health, World Health Organization |
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Dr.
Waleed Khalifa AlManea, Undersecretary of the Ministry of
Health for the Kingdom of Bahrain, describing his country’s
commitment to mental health
and well-being |
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The
Honourable
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health
for the Government of Canada, describing the government of
Canada’s commitment
to mental health |
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Dr. Judy Kuriansky,
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Toshiya
Hoshino, Deputy Permanent Representative of the
Mission of Japan to the United Nations who outlined Japan’s
commitment to mental health; Russell Daisey, UN NGO
representative of the International Association of Applied
Psychology |
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Ambassador Michael Grant, fmr. Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Mission of Canada to the United Nations
and co-chair of the Group of Friends of Mental Health
and Well-being;
Dr. Judy Kuriansky; Patricio Marquez,
lead Public Health Specialist, World Bank |
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Pierre-David Jean,
Diplomat, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations |
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Dr. Saxena Shekhar,
Visiting Professor of Global Mental Health. Department of
Global Health and Population.
Harvard T.H.
Chan School of Public Health, and Patricio Marquez, lead
Public Health Specialist, World Bank |
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Dr.
Raghu Appasani, Founder,
The MINDS Foundation
and moderator of a panel |
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H.E. Ambassador Lois M. Young, Permanent
Representative of Belize to the United Nations and Dr. Judy
Kuriansky, describing the history of the successful inclusion of
mental health and well-being in the UN Agenda 2030 for
Sustainable Development as a partnership with H.E. Dr. Caleb
Otto, fmr. Ambassador of the Republic of Palau to the UN, and
the history of the Group of Friends of Mental Health and
Well-being
In row behind: IAAP Youth Representatives
& Dr. Kuriansky's student interns KHawla NasserAl Deen (right)
and Emma Wookey
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Sitawa Wafula, mental
health crusader, Aspen New Voices Fellow with the Aspen
Institute, USA, and non-communicable disease champion under the
Ministry of Health in her home country, Kenya, who uses her
personal journey as a rape survivor living with a dual diagnosis
of epilepsy and bipolar disorder to provide people in Africa
with information and support to handle mental health conditions
and deal with everyday life. |
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Dr Judy with Alejandro Posse, Alternate
Representative and Chief of Staff to the Permanent Mission
of Panama to the United Nations |
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Dr. David Nabarro, fmr. Special Adviser to the
United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and Climate Change, and
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on
Ebola. |
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Christopher Egerton-Warburton,
Partner,
Lion’s Head Global Partners,
Financial Advisors to United for Mental Health |
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Psychologists and NGO
representatives to the UN and members of the Psychology
Coalition of NGOs accredited at the United Nations, a co-sponsor
of the event
(left to right): Dr. Sonia Suchday, Professor of
Psychology and Department Chair, Pace University and UN NGO
representative of the International Union of Psychological
Sciences, and Dr. Rachel Ravich, UN NGO. |
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Panel 1 (left to right):
Co-moderator Cynthia Germotta; Dominique Hyde, Director for
Strategic Engagement in the External Relations cluster of
WHO, (in Dr. Tedros’ seat after his presentation); Ginette
Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health for the Government of
Canada; Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and
Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
calls for greater action for mental health in conflict/post
conflict;
Maggie De Block, Minister
of Heath for the Kingdom of Belgium, discusses the
importance of community mental health care and the
experience of her country, Belgium; Maria Veronica Espinosa,
Minister of Public Health of Ecuador describes the
importance of mental health in achieving universal health
coverage;
Dr. Waleed Khalifa AlManea, Undersecretary of the Ministry
of Health for the Kingdom of Bahrain, describing his
country’s commitment to mental health and well-being, and
co-moderator Dr. Appasani |
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(In lower right hand corner)
Bahrain's Minister Waleed AlManea hugs Dr. Judy in response to
her closing statements expressing appreciation for the event and
progress in showcasing mental health and inviting the audience
to cheer and to hug each other. |
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Elisha London, personally committed to helping others as she
was once helped, reflects on the 135 white roses handed out
to the attendees, symbolizing the number of people that will
die of suicide during the course of the event, as a lead-in
to outline
why now is the time for a united movement on mental health.
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Panel 2,
Leaders in public mental health as well as people with lived
experience, to discuss solutions that are working and what needs
to happen next
(left to right):
Moderator Cynthia Germanotta and panelists Dr. Tim Evans, Senior
Director of Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank
Group;
Sitawa Wafula; Dr. Saxena Shekhar; Craig Mokhiber, Deputy to the
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights discusses the
importance of mental health and human rights; and Emma McCann,
Youth Engagement Facilitator at the Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health, Toronto Canada and Canada Youth Advocate sharing
about her suffering from anxiety and emphasizing the importance
of overcoming stigma
about mental problems
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(Right to left): Dr. Walter Reichman, Main ECOSOC NGO
representative of the International Association of Applied
Psychology; Dr. Mohammed Nurhussein, Chairman, United African
Congress; Dr. Monica Sweeney, Chair, Department of Health Policy
and Management and Vice Dean for Global Engagement, School of
Public Health, SUNY Downstate Medical Center; and Dr. Judy
Kuriansky |
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Dr. Shariha Khalid Erichsen, Managing partner of Mission and Co,
Malaysia, +SocialGood Connector and
Global Good Fund Ambassador and Dr. Judy, who were on the
winning team for their proposal in Goal 3, Good Health and
Well-being, in the “SDGs in Action” competition for innovation
at
the World Government Summit in Dubai |
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Sarah Kline, Deputy CEO and Kel Currah, advocacy
lead, United for Global Mental Health graciously greeting the
enthusiastic attendees |
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Graduate students in Dr. Judy’s class
on“Psychology and the United Nations”at Columbia University
Teachers College
(left to right): Yves
Augustin, Clint Hougen and Emma Wookey with Pierre-David Jean,
IAAP youth representative Khawla Nasser AlDeen
and IAAP representative Russell Daisey |
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