Final outcomes of the MHE led Transnational Exchange Project "Good Practices for Combating Social Exclusion of People with Mental Health Problems"

The final outcomes of the project were presented on 1 June 2007 in the frame of the Mental Health Europe Conference 2007 in Vienna, Austria. The event gathered over 50 participants coming from all over Europe.

Following a presentation of the aims, objectives and activities of the project by Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator, each of the ten project partners gave an overview of the results of their analyses of factors that have blocked activities that promote the social inclusion of people with mental health problems in their countries at the national level as well as factors that have facilitated activities that promote social inclusion.

Presentations were also given by Liz Sayce from RADAR-The Disability Network on strategies for putting mental health and social inclusion at the heart of public policy; Erik Olsen from the European Network of (ex)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) presented the view of users on the issue of mental health and social inclusion; and Katarina Lindahl, Acting Head of Unit for Inclusion, Social Policy Aspects of Migration, Streamlining of Social Policies at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, gave a presentation on how the Open Method of Coordination in the field of Social Protection and Social Inclusion can support efforts to tackle remaining challenges in the field of mental health and well-being.

In the last session of the event John Henderson, MHE Senior Policy Advisor, presented the conclusions and recommendations resulting from the project. The key points that were highlighted centered around three sets of factors influencing the development of good practices promoting the social inclusion of people with mental health problems: factors concerning the policy level, factors concerning the relevant organisations and stakeholders, and factors concerning specific initiatives. All of these factors must be taken into consideration in order to improve the situation of social inclusion of people with mental health problems in an effective and sustainable way.

Further information about the event as well all the presentations held on that day can be found on the project website: www.mentalhealth-socialinclusion.org

MHE launches database of good practices

On 1 June 2007, on the occasion of the presentation of the final outcomes of the project in the frame of the MHE Conference 2007 in Vienna, MHE launched the website of its transnational exchange project "Good Practices for Combating Social Exclusion of People with Mental Health Problems".

The database contains all the "best practices" from the 10 partner countries broken down by country and also by area. It is conceived as a source of inspiration for anybody who wants to learn about small, local initiatives that help supporting the social inclusion of people with mental health problems and that are easily transferable to other European countries. MHE intends to constantly update the database as well as to extend it to include good practices also from other European countries.

If you know of any good practices combating social exclusion in any of the area listed above, e.g. training, employment, housing, social/leisure activities, transport etc., or with a focus on a particular group, e.g. women, young people, elderly, migrants etc. who experience mental health problems, please let us know about them or send us the names and details of the contact person for the project or initiative.

Please visit the website at: www.mentalhealth-socialinclusion.org

For further information about the project please contact: Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator, E-mail sogol.noorani@mhe-sme.org, Tel +32 2 280 04 68.

First meeting of the MHE Committee on Mental Health and Minority Ethnic Communities

The first meeting of the MHE Committee on Mental Health and Minority Ethnic Communities took place on 1 June 2007 in Vienna, in the frame of the MHE Conference 2007 "No health without mental health: From slogan to reality".

The aim of the first session of the meeting was to exchange knowledge and experience on key issues related to mental health, minority ethnic communities and cultural diversity in the European Union. The members of the MHE Committee presented their own organisation's activities in the field. The second session was dedicated to the shaping and defining out of the MHE Committee's role and areas of action, on the basis of a related MHE working document. After a fruitful discussion, participants agreed on a shared vision, aim and objectives of the Committee.

The vision of the Committee is of a society where mental well-being is actively promoted among minority ethnic groups in the European Union. In line with this view, key aims of the Committee will be to raise awareness at the European level of the core themes permeating the issue of mental health of minority ethnic communities in Europe and advocate for culturally sensitive approaches and empowerment strategies as a desirable alternative or supplement to therapeutic interventions.

The main objectives proposed by the participants are as follows:

• To establish a cross-national exchange of effective strategies in the European Union tackling health inequalities and promoting better mental health and well-being of minority ethnic communities;
  
  
• To promote cooperation between key stakeholders and decision makers at different levels by providing examples of how such partnership can be put into action;
  
  
• To disseminate knowledge and raise awareness across Europe by addressing a multitude of interrelated social-cultural issues such as access to services, cultural and educational diversity etc.

The full minutes of the meeting will be published in the MHE website shortly.

For further information: contact Person, Mari Fresu, Project Coordinator, E-mail mari.fresu@mhe-sme.org, Tel +32 2 280 04 68

MHE Conference 2007, "No Health without Mental Health - From Slogan to Reality", Vienna (31 May - 2 June 2007)

We are pleased to inform you that the conference proceedings and outcomes, as well as pictures and presentations will be available from July on on the website of Pro Mente Wien, the conference's co-organiser: www.promente-wien.at

New items on the MHE website!

1st ANNOUNCEMENT: MHE Conference 2008, 7-9 August 2008, Aalborg (Denmark)

MHE Conference 2008 is inspired by the declaration of the European Commission that 2008 will be the Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

The focus of the conference will be on "Diversity in Mental Health and Wellbeing - An Opportunity for intercultural Dialogue". Cultural diversity is not limited to the ethnic dimension alone. It has a philosophical dimension (mental health and wellbeing) and is also related to other areas, for example the cultural dimension of the various health systems, the cultural differences that exist in the practice of health professionals and in the provision of care and treatment.

Lectures, discussions and workshop will give an opportunity for sharing information, ideas and deepening knowledge and an opportunity for exchange of best practices. Participants coming from all European countries will contribute with their own experience on diversities within different dimensions of cultures.

The conference will be organised together with SIND - Danish association for Mental Health, in joint venture with SIND - North Denmark, the psychiatric sector of the North Denmark Region and the Community-Psychiatry of Aalborg.

You can contribute by sending us ideas for workshop and/or lectures you find interesting.

For further information and to sign up for the MHE 2008 Newsletter, please visit: www.mhe-aalborg.dk, or contact the MHE Secretariat, Tel +32 2 280 04 68, E-mail info@mhe-sme.org

Mental Health Europe involved in a new project on mental health promotion

ProMenPol is a new project aiming to support the policy maker and the practitioner in the area of mental health promotion and protection (MHPP). Funded under the EU's "Support to Policy" programme, the project will address MHPP for 3 target groups - school going children and adolescents, people in the workplace and people who are resident in older people's homes.

The incidence of mental distress and disease is increasing rapidly throughout Europe - mental health problems impact on about a quarter of the population at some time in their lives and are being experienced by 10% of adults regardless of culture or country at any point in time. Mental health conditions can be catastrophic for individuals and families in health and social terms - it increases risks of persistent poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability to stigma and discrimination. The burden on society is equally severe in terms of lost productivity and treatment costs.

ProMenPol sets out to identify useful and practical approaches to MHPP. It will develop a multidimensional approach to identifying and classifying effective tools for promoting mental health across the lifespan in the settings of schools, workplaces and older peoples' residential homes. ProMenPol will:

• Identify and Re-Package tools for mental health promotion and protection within three contexts - schools, the workplace and residences for older people.
• Produce a systematic and easily navigated knowledge management system populated with useful information, key references and important web links.
• Construct a set of three mental health toolkits tailored to the life span stage of target users and predominant context within which they live their lives i.e. school, work and residences for older people.
• Organise a series of pilot implementation projects to evaluate and review the knowledge base and toolkits.
• Produce a set of multi-sectoral policy principles designed to promote and support more proactive and targeted mental health initiatives in each of the sectors.
• Create sustainable collaboration between the key actors in the project to carry forward the results into the later stages of the project and beyond.

PROMENPOL targets a range of stakeholders in the mental health protection and promotion arena including policy makers, practitioners, researchers, NGOs representing Mental Health, Public Health, Schools and Older Persons issues and social partners.

The project has developed a multi-stranded strategy to support the widespread dissemination of information, packaging of the information and the provision of support to both policy making and practice.

The project runs from January 2007 -December 2009 and is being led by the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Partners in the project come from Ireland (Work Research Centre Ltd., the Rehab Group), Greece (EWORX S.A.), Austria (Research Institute of the Viennese Red Cross), Finland (STAKES), Belgium (Mental Health Europe), Estonia Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute and the Netherlands (Maastricht University).

For more information: visit the project dedicated website, www.mentalhealthpromotion.net

Thanks to Richard Wynne, from the Work Research Centre (Ireland), for this contribution.

MHE representation at various meetings

On 31 May-2 June, the MHE Annual Conference 2007, "No Health without Mental Health - From Slogan to Reality", took place in Vienna (Austria). (see p. 2-3)

On 1 June, the MHE Membership and Accreditation Committee met in Vienna.

On 2 June, the MHE General Assembly was held in Vienna.

On 6 June, Sogol Noorani, Project Coordinator, participated in the 6th Roundtable on Poverty and Social Inclusion organised by the European Commission Social Inclusion Unit together with the Portuguese Presidency.

On 7-8 June, John Henderson, Senior Policy Advisor, represented MHE in the meeting of the ProMenPol Project's Conference Subcommittee, which was organised in Vienna.

On 8 June, Mari Fresu, Project Coordinator, participated in the meeting of the European Platform for Rehabilitation's (EPR) Discussion Group on relations with service users. She made a presentation on "The involvement of Service Users in Mental Health Europe".

On 12 June, Josée Van Remoortel attended official launch of the European Parliament Interest Group on Carers and Eurocarers, which took place in the European Parliament in Brussels. (see p. 13)

On 13 June, Mélanie Mazier, intern, attended the EPHA Policy Coordination meeting in Brussels.

On 14 June, Elisabeth Muschik, Vice-President, and Sogol Noorani participated in the Social Policy Working Groups at the Social Platform.

On 26 June, Sogol Noorani represented MHE at the presentation of AGE's project "Developing the role of older people experiencing poverty and social exclusion in the implementation and further development of the NAPs on social inclusion", which was held in the European Parliament in Brussels

On 26-27 June, Fanny Muller, Information Officer, attended the Council of Europe Conference of INGOs in Strasbourg.

On 27 June, Mary Van Dievel, Director, visited a MHE Slovenian member: organisation OZARA.

On the same day, Sogol Noorani took part in the meeting of key stakeholders with the European Commission Social Inclusion Unit to discuss the social inclusion process.

On 28 June, Mary Van Dievel visited SENT, the Slovenian Association for Mental Health, which is also a MHE member organisation.

On 28-30 June, Mary Van Dievel and Mari Fresu participated in the 4th meeting of the Mental Health Economics European Network - phase II, which took place in Ljubljana (Slovenia).