Young people explore mental health and wellbeing at Orkney youth conference

Young people from across Orkney came together today for Orkney Youth Conference - Your mind. Your voice. Your future - to participate in workshops and hear from keynote speakers on mental health, wellbeing, and self-care.

The conference, organised by the Council's Community Learning, Development and Employability Youth Services team, in collaboration with Scottish Action for Mental Health, brought together young people from Kirkwall Grammar School, Stromness Academy, Sanday, and Stronsay. Due to ferry times, pupils from Westray were unable to attend the main event, but the Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) team will be visiting Westray on Friday to deliver the conference content to the whole school.

The conference was opened by Councillor Rachael King, Vice-chair of the Integration Joint Board. Councillor King said: "Supporting young people's mental health and wellbeing is something that we can all contribute to, whether directly in the roles that we hold, or indirectly as a wider community through making time to listen, understand, be compassionate and sometimes just simply to be there for whatever that young person needs.

“It's equally important that they have a voice in shaping the support available to them, and events like this give them that opportunity to learn, engage, and ultimately influence the services and policies that affect them."

Throughout the day, participants attended multiple workshops from a programme of five interactive sessions delivered by SAMH and Council Youth Services staff:

·         Fact or Myth: an interactive discussion to debunk commonly held mental health myths and explore grey areas in more depth

·         Feels FM: the world's first emoji-powered jukebox, developed by 'See Me' to promote music as a positive coping strategy

·         Self-care, Coping and Me: exploring ways to build resilience and practical strategies for staying mentally healthy

·         Stretch, Comfort, Panic: helping young people reflect on how they respond to different situations and discover ways to grow and thrive

·         Walk & Talk: using outdoor physical activity on the track to facilitate mental health conversations in a safe, practical way

The day also included a keynote speech from Robert Nesbitt, SAMH's Head of Physical Activity and Sport, and a marketplace featuring national and local organisations, giving young people the opportunity to learn about available support services.

Cheryl Rafferty, Youth Services Team Manager, said: "We wanted young people to leave today feeling equipped with practical tools and strategies to support their mental health and wellbeing.

“Whether that's through music, physical activity, or simply learning that help is available, our hope is they'll feel more confident in managing their own wellbeing and supporting their peers."

The conference coincided with additional training taking place over the weekend, with Jason Heard, Movember's European Manager, visiting Orkney to deliver Ahead of the Game training alongside the SAMH Team.

The event was made possible with support from SAMH, who brought their expertise to Orkney for the conference, and Stagecoach, who provided free bus transport for young people travelling from across the islands.