DH holds event to sustain efforts of Joyful@HK campaign (with photos)
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Officiating at the Spread the Joy event organised by the DH today, Professor Chan said that the Government attaches great importance to mental health in the community and set up the Review Committee on Mental Health in 2013 to review relevant policies and services. The Joyful@HK campaign was launched in response to the review committee’s initial recommendations. She was pleased to see that the campaign had marked a major step forward in the promotion of mental health in Hong Kong with support from different sectors of the community over the last couple of years.
Professor Chan said, “The Mental Health Review Report announced in April 2017 has put forward 40 recommendations on Hong Kong's mental health regime, so that it can rise up to the challenges of a growing and ageing population. To introduce improvements to the mental health services in Hong Kong early, an Advisory Committee on Mental Health was set up in December last year to advise the Government on mental health policies and assist in developing policies, strategies and measures to enhance mental health services in Hong Kong. The Advisory Committee will also follow up and monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Mental Health Review Report.”
She said that the Government will sustain the efforts of the Joyful@HK campaign and allocate recurrent resources to the DH to roll out an ongoing mental health educational and destigmatisation campaign. The DH is carrying out the preparation work and the campaign is expected to be launched early next year.
Also officiating at the event, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, quoted the World Health Organization as saying that there is no health without mental health. One of the objectives of the Joyful@HK campaign is to increase public engagement in promoting mental well-being. Since the launch of the campaign, the DH has been collaborating with different stakeholders to achieve the objective.
For example, the Joyful@School campaign launched in collaboration with the Education Bureau has provided funding to more than 400 schools from the Quality Education Fund to organise activities related to the campaign. Over 1 000 organisations joined the Joyful@Healthy Workplace Programme jointly launched by the DH and the Occupational Safety and Health Council, benefiting over 280 000 employees. Through the Community Partnership Programmes launched in 2017, the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed evidence-based interventions in the community, so far seeing the participation of over 10 000 people.
Dr Chan said, “The experience gained and evaluation of the Joyful@HK campaign have provided clear direction for the Government to formulate long-term strategy and initiatives for the way forward on mental health promotion." She also thanked all members of the Advisory Group on Mental Health Promotion for their support and advice for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the Joyful@HK campaign.
Other officiating guests at the Spread the Joy event included the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Wong Ka-hing; Deputy Secretary for Education, Mrs Michelle Wong; and the Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Council, Dr Alan Chan.
At the ceremony, all of the guests and participants were invited to put together puzzle pieces which showed the logo and the name of the Joyful@HK campaign, representing the spread of joy through the support and engagement of different sectors of the community.
The Joyful@HK campaign is a three-year territory-wide mental health promotion programme that was launched by the DH in January 2016. A series of initiatives has been rolled out to encourage the public to enhance mental well-being by integrating three key elements, namely "Sharing", "Mind" and "Enjoyment", into their daily life. Key initiatives have included the Joyful@HK Run and the "Your Joyful Record" Video Competition, the appointment of singer Sammi Cheng as the campaign's ambassador, the launch of the theme song "Through the Hurdles" and its music video, a thematic website and Facebook fan page, Announcements in the Public Interest, a promotion van activity, media interviews and advertising plans.
For more information on the Joyful@HK campaign, the public may visit the thematic website (www.joyfulathk.hk) or the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/joyfulathk).
Ends/Friday, April 20, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:01
Issued at HKT 19:01
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