PLANNING WORKSHOPS REPORT
Compiledby SouthAfrican Federationfor MentalHealth
by: Michel'le Donnelly and Shayni Geffen
Summary 01 02 - 09 Learnings 10 Next Steps 11 Conclusion TABLE OF CONTENTS
and designed
Authored
SUMMARY OF KEY LEARNINGS
Theforumisagoodidea
Inclusivityandclearrecruitmentiscrucial Trainingisamust;itmustbeyouth-friendly Strategiestoeffectivelyconductanonlineforum
Therewillberisks;theycanbemitigated
THE PURPOSE OF THE PLANNING WORKSHOPS
Through2two-dayin-personplanningdiscussions,SAFMHgathered perspectivesfrom19youngpeople(aged18–25years)and7advocacyexperts toinformthedevelopmentofayouthforumfornationalmentalhealthadvocacy. TheplanningdiscussionstookplaceinCapeTownandJohannesburgand participantswereaffiliatedwitharangeoforganisationsworkingintheyouth, advocacy,andmentalhealthfields.Theseincluded:AdonisMusati,AfrikaTikkun, AhmedKathradaFoundationYouth,CapeMentalHealth,GrassrootsSoccer, Ikamvalabantwa,Phola,RadioWorkshop,SocialPerspectives,TheMudita Foundation,TheSouthAfricanInstituteforInternationalAffairs,UNICEF,Wavesfor Change,YouthLab,Youthzones.
Theplanningsessionscomprisedsmallbreakoutgroupsandfacilitatedgroup discussionsontheforum’spurpose,indicators,outcomes,andlogistics.It exploredtrainingcontent,opportunitiesforengagement,andhowtomitigate potentialrisks.
Keylearningsaredetailedinthisreport.Theselearningswillhelpshapethe developmentandimplementationofthispilotforum.
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LEARNING 1
Theforumisagoodidea
Overall,participantswelcomedtheideaoftheforum. Participantssharedwhattheythoughttheimpact, outcomes,keyactivities,andindicatorsofthesuccess oftheforumcouldbe.Examplesinclude:
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LEARNING 1
Theforumisagoodidea
Impact:
Moreyoungmentalhealth advocatesactiveinunderserved areasandmoreyouthdiscussing mentalhealthissuesimpacting underservedareas
Youngpeopleareempoweredto meaningfullyparticipateinmental healthadvocacyandawareness campaignsinSouthAfrica
Nationalmentalhealthadvocacy isinformedbyyoungpeople
Outcomes:
Youngpeoplearebetterequipped tobefamiliarwiththemental healthpolicylandscape Youth-ledawarenesscampaigns areimplementedincommunities
Keyactivities:
Adaptmentalhealthadvocacy andpolicycontenttobemore youth-friendly
Indicatorsofsuccess:
Identifyrelevantdecision-makers, (includingwithincommunities)to targeteffectiveadvocacyefforts Sensitisedecision-makersonhow tocreatemoreyouth-friendly opportunitiesforengagement Increasedknowledgeofmental healthandeffectiveadvocacy Thegroupmakesatleast10new contactsinthementalhealth space.Thiscouldinclude government,peers,andadvocates
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LEARNING 2
Inclusivityandclearrecruitment iscrucial RECRUITMENT
INCLUSION
Participantsstressedthattheforummust beasinclusiveaspossible,withoutthe successfulapplicantsneedingtohave workedinmentalhealthadvocacybefore However,successfulapplicantsmusthave apassionforadvocatingformentalhealth andadesiretolearnaboutthemental healthlandscapeinSouthAfrica.Havinga devicethatcansupportZoomand experiencecompletinganonlineshort coursewereadditionalrecommended inclusioncriteria.
RecruitmentviaaGoogleFormwas deemedfeasible,withtheadded suggestionofinterviewingshortlisted candidates.Shortessay-stylequestions wereproposedtoassessforgoodfit Thesecouldaskwhatapplicantswould changeintheSouthAfricanmental healthfieldandhowapplicantswould raiseawarenessaboutmentalhealth. Civilsocietyorganisationswere suggestedtoberecruitmentpartners,but forummembersshouldrepresentintheir individualcapacity.
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"Peopleshouldn’tbe excludedbecausethey don’thaveexperience withinteractingwith policy."
"It’sgoodtouseyouth organisationsas scaffoldingtoaccess youth,butyouth shouldbeselected individually"
LEARNING 2
Inclusivityandclearrecruitment iscrucial
Additionally, the forum recruitment call must:
Outlinealltimecommitments andforumduties
Statethatthisforumwill examinerelevantpolicyin depth
Emphasisethatthisisamental healthadvocacyforum(nota supportgroup)andthisisa voluntaryposition(notajob)
Askapplicantsabouttheir additionalsupportneeds, stressingthattheforumis inclusive
Requireparticipantsto completewithoutusinganAIpoweredchatbot(e.g. ChatGPT)
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LEARNING 3
Trainingisamust;itmustbeyouth-friendly
AnaimoftheNationalYouthAdvocacy
Forumisforyoungpeopletoinform SAFMH’sadvocacywork.However,SAFMH alsowantstoensurethatwesupportthe developmentofyoungmentalhealth advocates Thisincludesprovidingefficient anddynamicadvocacytrainingtothe forum
Thereismuchtounpackwhenitcomesto mentalhealthadvocacyandtheplanning workshopsconfirmedthiswithparticipants echoingtheneedforrobust,efficientand engagingtrainingtobeprovidedforthe forum
Fromtheplanningdiscussionsitwasclear thatcontenttobecoveredshouldinclude:
Whatismentalhealth?
Whatisadvocacy?
Advocacyinpractice
MentalHealthinSouthAfrica
Whatispolicy?
Digitaladvocacy
Keyupcomingnationalmeetings Resourcetraining(i.e.howtouseGoogle Driveanddesignawarenessmaterial)
Wealsoheardthatthelanguageand presentationformatusedinthetraining shouldbeyouth-friendlyandaccessible.
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LEARNING 4
Strategiestoeffectively conductanonlineforum
Beforetheplanningdiscussions,SAFMHhada sensethatonlinetrainingsessionswouldbe somethingweneededtoconsider.Other considerationsincludeddata,digital platforms,numberoftrainings,lengthof trainings,numberofmeetings,formalityof meetings,recordingthemeetingsetc
Feedbackfromthesessionsincluded:
Ifdigitaldeviceswillnotbeprovided,then atrainingpackwithallmaterialsprinted shouldbesenttoforummembersbefore thetrainingcommences
Trainingpacktoinclude‘welcomepack’ withat-shirtorjournal,somethingto makemembersfeelconnected
Someformoftaskor‘homework’after eachsession
Preferreddigitalplatformoptionsare Google,Whatsapp,andDiscord.MS
TeamsandFacebookarelessdesirable Prizestokeepeveryoneengagedand incentivised Theseprizescouldbeinthe formofvouchersordata
Interactivesessions
Guestspeakers(includingexperts)
Trainingsessionsnolongerthan1.5hours (two45-minsessionswithabreakin between)andonceaweek
Eachmeetingshouldbechairedbyone oftheforumparticipantsasacapacitybuildingexercise
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LEARNING 5
Therewillberisks;theycanbemitigated
RISKS HOWTOMITIGATE
Participantsreceivedatastipends
Loadshedding
Forummeetingdatesaresharedinadvancefor memberstojoinfromaloadshedding-freearea Participantshaveafewprovincialin-person meetingsinthesixmonths
Engagement
online
Continuouscheck-insthroughoutthesixmonths, includingaskinghowparticipantsarefindingthe forumandtrainingcontent
Prioritisecommunity-buildingwithintheforum Provideprizesandincentives,bothspontaneous andbasedonretention
Accountability
Forummembersagreetoandsignacodeof conductatthestartoftheforum
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LEARNING 5
Therewillberisks;theycanbemitigated
RISKS HOWTOMITIGATE
Communicatetimerequirements,dutiesand expectationsoftheforumduringtherecruitment
Burnout
Haveregularindividualcheck-ins
Promoteandfacilitateself-careactivities throughoutthesixmonths
Lackofclarity abouttheforum
Beclearthatthisisanadvocacyforum(i.e.not supportgroup)throughouttherecruitment
Useyouth-friendlylanguageinaccessible formatstoexplainthepurposeandtheoutputsof theforum
Forumdoesnot achievewhatit setsoutto
Setfeasibleandacceptablegoalsandtimelines, informedbythegroup
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FORUMINACTION SEP2023-MAR2024 FORUM PREPARATION Prepare,get feedbackand finalisetraining contentand structure JUL&AUG2023 RECRUITMENT& SELECTION Publish recruitmentcall,
forummembers AUG2023 PAGE10 Forum commencesin Sep2023andruns untilMar2024as theinitialpilot
NEXT S T E P S
screenandselect
CONCLUSION
SUMMARY
Wewanttodevelopayouth forumtoadviseonnational mentalhealthadvocacywhile beingsupportedbySAFMHto developtheirownmental healthadvocacyskills To developtheforumwehosted planningsessionswithkey stakeholderstohonethe forum'sfunctions,activities, logisticsandresponsibilities.
THANKYOU
Participantsoverwhelmingly supportedthedevelopmentof theforum.Aclearrecruitment callandprocessiscrucial. Inclusivityshouldbeprioritised. Trainingisacorecomponentof theforum,andthisneedstobe deliveredinayouth-friendly way.Strategieswereidentified toincreaseengagementonline andmitigaterisks.
Weareincrediblygratefultoalltheparticipantsfortaking thetimetosharetheirviews. Ahugeheartfeltthankyou.
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