Atlantic Policy Forum on Mental Health Promotion

August 21-23, 2023

Inspiring Hope through Community Action

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Click here to register for the ASI 2023 Forum, taking place August 21-23.

Contact info@asi-iea.ca for more information!

The ASI 2023 Forum will be held as an in-person event with a hybrid option* from August 21-23 in Charlottetown, PEI, streaming from the unceded ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. Materials in French and simultaneous interpretation will be available for many presentations. A Youth Leadership Program will also be offered. Be part of a movement that brings together people who are capable of influencing and implementing changes at the policy and community levels! ASI 2023 aims to increase understanding of the importance of infant, child and youth mental health for the whole of society, and foster policy actions to influence upstream investment in support of mental health. 

Currently, we and our communities face many challenges. Pandemics, impacts of climate change, social unrest and media coverage of same, accelerate feelings of despair for the future.  As we search for a way through, Indigenous world views teach us that mental wellness is influenced by a balance of hope for the future, belonging and connectedness, purpose in our daily lives, and a sense of meaning[1].

Concurrently the World Health Organization stresses that well-being societies build on hope and require coordinated action at all levels to take control of our lives and health.[2] They emphasize that a conscious focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being on many levels – personal, family, community, societal and environmental – can set a path for personal and planetary well-being.

ASI 2023 will explore the concept of hope and advance discussions on how seizing opportunities for community action can inspire hope and purpose that will benefit current and future generations!

 

[1] First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework – https://thunderbirdpf.org/fnmwc/

[2] Geneva Charter for Well-Being – https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/the-geneva-charter-for-well-being

Wellness is a balance of the mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. This balance is enriched as individuals have: purpose in their daily lives whether it is through education, employment, care-giving activities, or cultural ways of being and doing; hope for their future and those of their families that is grounded in a sense of identity, unique Indigenous values, and having a belief in spirit; a sense of belonging and connectedness within their families, to community, and to culture; and finally a sense of meaning and an understanding of how their lives and those of their families and communities are part of creation and a rich history. https://thunderbirdpf.org/fnmwc/

 

ASI 2023 – Inspiring Hope through Community Action – Approved by ASI Board February 9, 2023

Goal:  To advance community action, grounded in hope, as essential along with policy to support community resilience and upstream investment in mental health of infants, children, and youth throughout Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Objectives

  1. To enhance our understanding of the conditions that support mental well-being among infants, children & youth.
  2. To learn from the experiences of communities in promoting mental health of infants, children and youth.
  3. To develop knowledge and skills for inspiring hope through community action and partnerships across sectors in the support of mental health promotion.
  4. To inspire action based on what we have learned about influencing upstream policy to promote mental health for infants, children and youth throughout Atlantic Canada.
  5. To increase the profile and uptake of the ASI policy brief “Upstream Investment: Placing infant, child, and youth mental health promotion at the forefront”
  6. To model a supportive and inclusive environment for learning and wellbeing – and have lots of fun together again!

 

Design Principles

Youth Engagement: Youth will be engaged in providing input to the process of planning the ASI 2023 program and participating in the intergenerational event. 

Universal Design for Learning: Whole society representation will be welcomed in the planning process and diverse audiences will participate in ASI 2023.

Engagement of community influencers: Those in a position to influence and implement action that supports mental health promotion for infants, children and youth at policy and community levels will mobilize at ASI 2023.

Equity: Subsidies will be offered to reduce barriers to participation.

Adult Education:  Styles are interactive and engaging – everyone is a teacher and a learner.

Experiential Learning:  Arts, culture, connectedness to community and nature will be incorporated.

Online Interaction: A robust online conference platform will simulate a face-to-face experience by encouraging networking, relationship building, knowledge sharing with translation support, and post conference connection.

Design Principles for ASI and ASI Call to Action

Youth Engagement   •   Diversity   • Life-course Perspective

  Inclusion     •   Equity   •   Adult Education •   Experiential Learning

   Two eyed seeing • Evidence-based Decision Making • Mental Health in All Policies 

Whole-of-society approach • Respecting Rights of Children   •   Respecting Voices of Lived Experience  

Sustainability of Policies and Programs   •   Respecting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Overarching frameworks and strategies

Circle of Health framework/tool   • Universal Declaration of Human Rights • Ottawa Charter

Social determinants of health and Health in All policies   •   First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework Sustainable Development Goals • The Geneva Charter for Well-Being 

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child •  Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)   

Population Mental Health Framework

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