Initiative Background
As defined by the World Health Organization, mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health is fundamental to maintaining personal health as well as the functioning of the community. There is no health without mental health.
The “Joyful@HK” Campaign was a three-year territory-wide mental health promotion and publicity campaign launched by the Department of Health in 2016. Under the campaign, a series of initiatives were 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.
As stated in the Policy Address 2017, the Government will launch an on-going mental health educational and destigmatisation campaign. The new on-going campaign aims to reduce stigma towards persons with mental health needs, so as to build a mental-health friendly society and facilitate their re-integration into the community. The campaign seeks to promote higher acceptance of people with mental health needs and, in the long run, enhance their employment opportunities and generate economic, social and health benefits.
In the Policy Address 2018, the Government has earmarked a recurrent annual funding of $50 million to embark on an on-going mental health promotion and public education initiative. The new initiative aims to eliminate stigmatisation towards persons with mental health needs through education, with a view to building a mental health friendly community.
Shall We Talk
“Shall We Talk” is a mental health promotion and public education initiative launched by the Advisory Committee on Mental Health since July 2020.
Objectives
- To step up public engagement in promoting mental well-being
- To enhance public awareness of mental health with a view to encouraging help-seeking and early intervention
- To reduce stigma towards people with mental health needs
Initiative Name
“Shall We Talk”
The initiative’s name, “Shall We Talk”, is taken from the namesake Cantonese song performed by Eason Chan. Well known to many people in Hong Kong, the song strikes a chord in the hearts of people from different age groups. With its name taken from this song, the initiative aims to attract wider public attention and help people understand the challenges posed by mental health problems in Hong Kong.
Initiative Logo
The logo features the name of the initiative in Chinese and English (“陪我講” and “Shall We Talk”) and a paper cup phone. As a small gadget for children to talk to each other over a long distance, the paper cup phone can be seen a symbol of communication and sharing.
