The International Foundation of Research and Education (iFred) and Founder Kathryn Goetzke, is curating and hosting ‘The Future of Health’ on March 18th from 8 am EST to 6pm EST for the first ever World Happiness Virtual Agora. The event is taking place online, with free access for all with an internet connection, bringing together leading scientists, educators, innovators, technologists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and youth to share why and how mental health must be addressed today, as; there is no health without mental health. Each is providing ‘Calls to Action’, and we encourage you to share far and wide with friends, family, and coworkers, to join together in solidarity and learn from these global experts. You can register online or watch live from iFred’s Facebook page and see live tweets on Twitter @ifredorg.
The World Happiness Virtual Agora is a five day event from 8:00am-6:00pm EST Monday, March 18 through Friday March 22, and is offering the first day “The Future of Health” free. As over one billion people globally have a mental, neurodevelopment, or substance use disorder, it impacts everyone in some way. Luis Gallardo, Founder of the World Happiness Agora states that “we have recognized mental health as one of the key contributors to illness, loneliness and overall misery in the world, so we have given it a fundamental role in the agenda and make it the first topic to be addressed during happiness week. We give it this significance, with the aim to eradicate mental health stigma, knowing that normalizing mental health as we do physical health, and making it a part of in everyday conversation, is a fundamental factor in creating a world of equality, health, and happiness for all”.
Kathryn Goetzke, MBA, Founder of iFred, President & Chief Mood Officer of The Mood Factory, curated the first day of World Happiness Virtual Agora, bringing together colleagues from around the world to share their work and hope for the future. “We have a growing challenge with mental health, as depression and anxiety in youth are rising at alarming rates, and the stigma of mental health is strong. Yet we have proven, effective treatments, there is a positive return on investment for many solutions, and there is a great deal of hope to be celebrated,” said Goetzke. “It is an honor and privilege to bring together these thought leaders and share their incredible work with the broader community interested in creating a happier and healthier future for all.”
The ‘Future of Health’ Day is set-up of Ted type 20-minute talks, with key insights from experts with calls to action we collectively need to take to address this significant issue.
The Future of Health March 18th Agenda (All times EST):
8:00am – Luis Gallardo, MBA, Juan Jose Reyes, MD, and Kathryn Goetzke, MBA
The Future of Health
8:05am- Shekhar Saxena, MD, FRCPsych, DAB, MRC, Psych
Mental Health and Our Future
8:30- Patricio V. Marquez
Making the Business Case for Mental Health
9:00- Dr. Antonella Santuccione Chadha, MD, Co-founder & CEO, The Women’s Brain Project
Health & The Women’s Brain
9:30- Barbara Van Dahlen, PhD, PhD
Time to Change Direction
10:00- John M. Grohol, PsyD
Connecting with Community Online
10:30- Dr. Dixon Chibanda, MD
Connecting Generations through Communities
11:00-Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD
Making Happiness a Habit
11:30- Garen Staglin
One Mind for Brain Health
12:00pm – Moitreyee Sinha, PhD
How do Cities Rise?
12:30- Gary Belkin, MD, PhD, MPH
How to: Cities Thrive
1:00- Bill Bernat
Sharing Your Story
1:30- Myron Belfer, MD, MPA; Kristy Stark, EdM, MA, BCBA; Kathryn Goetzke, MBA
Operationalizing Hope
2:00- Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft and Nicole Votruba
Mental Health and Sustainable Development (UN SDGs)
2:30- Dr. Gabriel Ivbijaro, MD
Bringing Dignity to Mental Health
3:00- Walter Greenleaf, PhD
Leading technologies for treatment
3:30- Rohan Dixit
Mind, Meet Body; Merging mental and physical healthcare
4:00- Tyler Norris, MDiv
Well. Being. Trust.
4:30- Vikram Harshad Patel, MBBS, PhD
Creating Our Future
5:00- Charlene Sunkel
Launching a Movement with Peers
5:30- Lian Zeitz, Brooks Kenny, and Matthew Jackman
The Future is Youth
This event is free, and available around the world to all those that have internet access. Feel free to create an event, and watch with your colleagues or friends. The event is also livestreamed from iFred’s Facebook page, and all talks are being recorded, so that individuals can watch in the future if they are unable to watch live. Anyone can sign up for online or find out more about the event and its speakers on the iFred facebook page and twitter page @ifredorg.
Please join us and help spread the word to make this world happier and healthier for all.
About iFred: The mission of International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression (iFred) is to shine a positive light on depression and eliminate the stigma associated with the disease through prevention, research and education. Its goal is to ensure 100% of the 350 million people affected by depression seek and receive treatment.
iFred is creating a shift in society’s negative perception of depression through positive imagery and branding—establishing the sunflower and color yellow as the international symbols of hope for depression. To further its mission, iFred engages with individuals and organizations to execute high-impact and effective campaigns that educate the public about support and treatment for depression and teaches Hope to young kids through Hopeful Minds.
iFred also just launched Hope Training through 7 Cups, a Peer to Peer support app used around the world.
About World Happiness Agora: The World Happiness Agora is the world’s largest, most diverse, polycentric and comprehensive forum of happiness with well-being experts, thought leaders, activist, shapers, and game changers. We are connecting the world through our social media hub and using communications technology to maximize the impact of our social interactions to connect online and offline.