Leaders in public and mental health coming to Newcastle for new summit

Highly regarded leaders and experts in public health and mental health from across Australia will come together in Newcastle Wednesday, 6 December 2023 for the national Prevention in Practice Summit.

The one-day event is focused on bridging the knowledge-to-practice gap in the prevention of mental ill-health. Attendees will hear from a wide range of expert speakers, share best-practice examples and contribute to national priority setting.

Dr Jaelea Skehan, Director of Everymind, says the Prevention in Practice Summit is a must attend event for those with an interest in the prevention of mental ill-health.

“We are so excited to be bringing such accomplished speakers together for this event. They include representatives from governments, research institutions, lived experience, community, mental health organisations, workplaces and philanthropic institutions who will bring truly diverse experience to what we believe will be very thought-provoking and action focussed discussions.

“We wanted to facilitate a robust conversation about how we move from knowing that prevention is an important part of our national approach to mental health to getting it implemented at scale across policy and practice. Without doing that, we cannot make a real and lasting impact on peoples’ lives.

“I encourage anyone with an interest in mental health, whether that be professional interest or lived or living experience, to join us for this event. We want to hear your thoughts on how we can work together taking a whole of government, whole of community approach to make further advancements to prevent the onset and the impacts of mental health concerns across our communities in Australia.”

The Prevention in Practice Summit is being hosted by Everymind, in partnership with members of the Wellbeing and Prevention Coalition in Mental Health, HMRI Healthy Minds Research Program and the Manna Institute. The event will be held at Rydges Newcastle and online, and includes four-themed sessions each with a keynote address and panel discussion. Limited in-person and virtual tickets are available for purchase via Everymind’s website.

Featured speakers at the event include:

• Professor Rob Moodie of Public Health, University of Melbourne and former Chair of the National Preventative Health Taskforce
• Ivan Frkovic, Queensland Mental Health Commissioner, Queensland Government
• Dr Stephen Carbone, Founder and CEO, Prevention United
• Dr Sally Fitzpatrick, Program Manager, Everymind
• Monica Kelly, Executive Director of the Prevention, Equity and First People’s Branch of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Division, Victorian Department of Health
• Cecelia Gore, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, NT Health
• Shane Hamilton, Deputy Secretary Aboriginal Affairs, Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Government
• Carolyn Nikoloski, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Australia
• Professor Daryl Higgins, Director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University
• Greg Jennings, Chief Engagement Officer, Beyond Blue
• Adjunct Associate Professor Robyn Mildon, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Evidence and Implementation
• Samara Shehata, Acting Manager for LGBTQ+ Health Equity, ACON
• Associate Professor Sarah Wayland, Senior Research Fellow Manna Institute, Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of New England
• Dave Burroughs, Chief Mental Health Officer, Westpac Group.