World Mental Health Day Collaboration

On 9th October 2021, 6 delegates from Grade 10 of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School participated in the World Mental Health Day Collaboration, jointly hosted by The Doon School and The British Overseas School. The theme of the conference was “Mental Health in an Unequal World” and over 250 delegates from across the world attended it including delegates from schools in South Asia and the Gulf Region, such as Bangladesh, the UAE, Oman, and India, among others.

The conference began with speeches from the headmasters of both the hosting schools – Dr. Jagpreet Singh (The Doon School) and Dr. Andrew Williams (The British Overseas School). After this – the delegates were divided into smaller Barazza groups to share their perspective on the topic of Mental Health.

Each Barazza had a unique name and subjects of the discussion were centred around the very name of the groups. Groups included “Mind or Marathon”, “Mending Mindsets”, “Constitutional Wellbeing” and many more. Several other topics of discussion in the Barazza sessions included fascinating subjects such as the impact of genetics and discrimination on Mental Health, the importance of mental health vis-a-vis physical health, etc.

This was followed by the keynote speaker – Dr. Kimberly Kendall – an academic psychiatrist. Dr. Kendall helped all the delegates of the conference in identifying specific parts of the large problem of mental health, different kinds of mental illnesses and their effects, defining key terms relating to mental health including schizophrenia, mental wellbeing, anxiety, etc.

The delegates then returned to their Baraza groups and were given the task to come up with resolutions to the problems relating to mental health. After concluding the discussions – each Baraza prepared a presentation to display the main points of the discussion and came up with a resolution to an aspect of mental health. This was presented in front of all the other Baraza groups and gave the delegates a chance to learn about different solutions on the common problem of mental health.

All in all, the conference opened up the mental pathways for the delegates as they were exposed to discussions and debates that sparked questions about mental wellness and growth. The conference was very enriching, and it was a memorable learning experience for our delegates.

DAIS Delegates: Trisha Karmakar, Annika Cerejo, Sumeir Walia, Suhani Choudhry, Daya Ravi, Hrishita Shah. Accompanying adult: Ms Ruhi Vakil