World Reach Out Together Day: A Primer

Toronto, Canada, July 12, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Toronto-based non-profit Reach Out Together’s upcoming Global Virtual Mental Health Summit for World Reach Out Together Day this Sunday, July 12, will feature speakers, performers, sponsors, and collaborators from six continents, including 18 countries over its 12-hour duration.

The Summit will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT, with two-hour time slots for Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, South & North America.

The event includes discussions featuring panelists from each continent, performances, Q&A and interactive activities.

North America’s lineup includes Dr. Gursharan Virdee, a clinician, researcher and mental health advocate pursuing her career in Clinical and Counselling Psychology in Ontario, Canada. She received her Doctorate in Psychology from the University of London (UK). Dr. Virdee works with adults and adolescents experiencing psychosis, mood and anxiety disorders, addictions, self-harm and trauma. She has a special interest in culturally appropriate psychological assessments and interventions. Her research focuses on expanding our understanding of mental health recovery for diverse populations, including immigrant and racialized youth. She currently leads The Roshni Project, a multi phase research and knowledge mobilization project focused on young South Asian women experiencing mood disorders.

Also from Ontario, Luciana Santaguida is a performer, sound artist and the founder & CEO of NÜLOVE. She describes NÜLOVE’s mission as “to assist in aligned transformation back to love, actively creating a more radiant world from the inside out,” through an online studio space with yoga, meditation, mindful fitness and other programs.

South America’s lineup includes Dr. Sabas Castillo, a Mental Health Honorary Adviser of Healing Venezuela, a U.K.-based NGO. Dr. Castillo is also a Guest Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society, an Associate Member of the Caracas Psychoanalytic Society, the General Director of PsicoConsultanos (a U.K.-based group of professional psychotherapists offering online and face-to-face sessions), the Secretary of the British Venezuelan Association, and an Honorary Psychotherapist at Maudsley Hospital in London, England.

Australia’s lineup includes Matthew Jackman, a representative for the Western Pacific Region of the Global Mental Health Peer Network and a Human Rights and Disability Justice Activist. In his own words, his focus is on “redesigning the mental health curriculum in Australia around a lived experience perspective focusing on recovery, trauma and socio-structural determinants countering the dominant biomedical lens in global mental health.”

Europe’s lineup includes Executive Producer, social entrepreneur, multiple award-winning novelist, and host of "Unsugarcoated with Aalia," Aalia Lanius, as host and facilitator. Lanius is dedicated to helping survivors of trauma lead mentally healthier lives through live-events and media that offer education, healing and a perspective that she believes can help bridge communities. As President and founder of Unsugarcoated Media, Lanius’s novels draw from experiences such as abandonment, homelessness, domestic violence, loss, and cancer. Her work also includes spearheading non-profits. All of her work, she says, is done “with a focus on empowering others.”

Asia’s lineup includes Jacqueline Siu as a performer, representing Hong Kong. Siu was recently accepted into the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program as one of 300 young leaders, out of 5,600+ applicants, to “combat intersectional feminism and systemic racism with a global network.” Siu is also a volunteer with Reach Out Together.

Africa’s lineup includes Aspen Institute New Voices Senior Fellow, TED Talk veteran and “non-communicable diseases champion” with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Sitawa Wafula. Since 2013, Wafula has also hosted “My Mind My funk,” a podcast which she describes as “a mental health resource hub that provides mental health information and support for people in Africa and those of African descent in the diaspora.

Also representing Africa will be Angelica Mkorongo, from Zimbabwe. Mkorongo is the Founder and CEO of Zimbabwe OCD Trust which raises awareness and support for people with OCD and Associated disorders. She was recently appointed as Deputy Representative for the African Region at the Global Mental Health Peer Network.

Collaborators include Unsugarcoated Media, which partnered with Reach Out Together to launch an annual “EmpowerCon” event promoting mental health in 2019, as well as sponsor GloProNet, an organization of industry leaders who provide career coaching, counseling, and mentorship services to new immigrant and graduating students, the South-Asian Professional Networking Association (SAPNA) Toronto, The Face of Humanity, UMSRA, and MamaMia Events.

Tune in on World Reach Out Together Day's 12-hour global virtual summit and be a part of social change.

Schedule details and tickets are available via reachouttogether.com

About Reach Out Together:
Reach Out Together is a registered Canadian not-for-profit organization empowering people to improve their mental health, break stigma, and work toward recovery. Reach Out Together has hosted outreach events across the world, with a vision to make Reach Out Together the largest global network of mental health advocates.