Welcome from Mrs. Carter

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this Sixth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health. I am proud that The Carter Center has been affiliated with this initiative since its inception in Atlanta in 2000. It will be valuable to reflect on accomplishments of the decade and the challenges ahead in the face of dramatic economic changes and other widening disparities.

Since the conference began, we have seen a growing awareness of the need for and benefits of mental health promotion, reaching all people in the settings where they live, learn, and work, to safeguard and develop positive mental health. We have increasingly come to appreciate that there can be no health without mental health – at any age. Some transitions and circumstances make people more vulnerable, such as the years when young people leave home to attend school, or people who face job loss or persistent unemployment, live with a chronic condition such as HIV, or older people who experience many losses. We also have come to know that the sooner we recognize the potential of a mental health problem and intervene early, the more likely we can prevent longer term mental disorders.

This Sixth World Conference offers a wonderful opportunity for policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and consumers and their families to come together to share and learn about the effectiveness of various policies and strategies for promotion and prevention. Together, we can pave the way to a future where attention to mental health is free from stigma and discrimination, where all can receive the services they need, and where there is parity for addressing physical and mental health.

With best wishes for a most successful event,

Sincerely,