Tezpur University has hosted a three-day workshop on the emotional and mental health of youth.
The department of Mass Communication and Journalism (MCJ), Tezpur University in collaboration with the Youth Wellness Hub, Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Tezpur has hosted the workshop from January 6, 2021, which will continue till January 8, 2021.
The workshop titled ‘Pursuit of Wellness’ is being supported by the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
It is aimed at fostering discussions around youth mental health issues with special reference to the northeastern region of India, building awareness about youth mental health problems and facilitating destigmatisation through dialogues, Tezpur University said in a press statement.
The inaugural session was attended by Prof. SK Deuri, director, LGBRIMH, Prof. Sibnath Deb, director, RGNIYD, Prof. PK Das, Dean School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tezpur University, Prof. Sonia P. Deuri, head, department of Psychiatric Social Work, LGBRIMH and other dignitaries.
While appreciating the initiative undertaken by the department of MCJ, Tezpur University, the speakers underscored the importance of creating awareness and sensitization around mental health issues promoting wellness and happiness for individual, social and community well-being.
They also emphasized upon the role of young people in this regard and how educational institutions can play a part in creating an enabling environment for the same.
Dr. Nanda Kishore Kannuri, additional professor at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad and Dr. Jai Ranjan Ram, well-known child and adolescent psychiatrist delivered the keynote addresses.
Dr. Kannuri in his address highlighted upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and deliberated on the inter-sectionality between mental health, SDGs and the social determinants of health.
Dr. Ram presented a roadmap for prevention of mental illness and promotion of mental health with particular reference to the Indian context.
A host of other eminent resource persons would be conducting sessions on different aspects of mental and emotional wellness during the three-day workshop, it said.