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Health Promotion Board
Press Releases

Celebrate Friendships With Your Posse

24 August 2009

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1. Whatever. Whenever. Your friends are always 100% behind you. This is the focus of the Health Promotion Board s (HPB) upcoming World Mental Health Day youth event. It seeks to highlight the importance of strong social support networks, built through friendships and peer support, to enhance emotional and mental wellbeing.

2. Youths need the support of their friends to weather challenges that they may face. Friends can be a role model, listener, adviser and companion while providing fresh perspectives, reassurance, a listening ear and feedback. Through various activities, we want to raise awareness among youths that friends are important for the good and bad times in life. said Dr Wong Mun Loke, Deputy Director, Youth Health Programme Development (1), Health Promotion Board.

3. Youths who enjoy strong social support exhibit better mental resilience when faced with stress, setbacks and challenges. Building and managing relationships therefore form a key component of HPB s youth mental wellness promotion programmes.

4. A series of events and activities supporting the Board s focus on building friendships has been planned, culminating in a celebration of World Mental Health Day on 12 September 2009.

PITCH 09 marketing competition 
5. To reinforce the message that friends are important for mental wellbeing, HPB partnered Ngee Ann Polytechnic to support PITCH 09, a marketing competition for secondary school students.

6. The competition saw 16 teams from 14 schools pitting their marketing skills against one another to develop campaigns to promote the importance of social support and mental wellness among their peers in their respective schools.

7. Dunearn Secondary School emerged the winner of the competition, with a proposal for a carnival to be held on the school premises on 25 August 2009. MacPherson Secondary School took second place while Junyuan Secondary School came in third. Please refer to Annex A for details of the proposal from Dunearn Secondary School.

Best Buddy Forever contest
8. In line with the focus on peer support, an online contest for the Best Buddy Forever award was launched on 14 August to encourage youths aged 13 to 25 years to submit photographs or videos in appreciation of their best buddy.

9. As of 24 August 2009, 119 submissions have been received. Youths are encouraged to log on to the website at www.audiblehearts.sg/bbf to participate in this competition or to vote for their favourite submissions. The contest closes on 4 September 2009 while voting ends 8 September 2009.

10. POSSE: World Mental Health Day 2009 for youths 
In conjunction with World Mental Health Day, an event entitled POSSE will be held on 12 September 2009 at the Sheltered Drome (Plaza Singapura) to celebrate the importance of friendships. The event will include an exhibition, appearances by celebrities and music performances. The winners of PITCH 09 and the Best Buddy Forever contest will also receive their prizes during the event.

About World Mental Health Day 

11. World Mental Health Day is a global awareness campaign focusing on mental health and mental disorders, observed annually on October 10 since 1992 by more than 100 countries worldwide.

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