Regional Poetry Contest on Mental Health

Mental health plays a key role in efforts to achieve social inclusion and equity, universal health coverage and sustainable economic development. We strongly believe that efforts to eradicate poverty, prevent conflicts and disasters, and promote education and sustainable development will not be successful unless mental health is prioritized. Poor mental health and unfulfilled human potentials are major risks to the fulfilment of our goals.

This poetry competition was initiated to explore the minds of our young ones across diverse cultural backgrounds. We wanted to channel thoughts on mental health, and thus provide an opportunity to enhance and hopefully change our mindsets. 

We know we can fully use this platform, to care for people with the need for their mental challenges and psychosocial injuries to be addressed, which I consider to be all of us as mental health is still not well understood and catered for. Mental health problems constitute an enormous burden to individuals and societies, both in terms of human suffering and economy and it is high time we all realized that we need each other and started caring and nurturing our bonds with each other.

One of the challenges in implementing mental health services is the stigma – a community’s negative perceptions towards people with mental disorders – that often is attached to mental health problems. During this Covid 19 crisis more than ever, it is crucial that we care for our vulnerable ones, support, empathize and empower our communities as we are as strong and protected as they are.

The Sustainable development that we all yearn for will require behavior change and innovation with the prerequisite support of all actors in the field of sustainable development in areas as varied as clean energy, responsible consumption, wellbeing, social networks etc. in order for us to realize our full human potential and contribute meaningfully to the improvements of our life conditions.