Last week, leading experts, innovators, academics and health
care practitioners gathered in Melbourne to attend the official
launch of the Young and Well CRC (formerly known
as the Cooperative Research Centre for young people, technology and
wellbeing).
Based in Melbourne, the Young and Well CRC is a world first
collaboration that brings together over 70 researchers,
not-for-profit organisations, government and industry partners with
young people, to explore the role of technology in young people's
lives, and how those technologies can be used to improve the mental
health and wellbeing of young people.
According to the Centre's CEO, youth mental health expert Associate Professor Jane Burns, we as a
community need to learn to help young people at risk in their own
language - that of digital technology.
"Adults can talk about worrying
issues such as cyber bullying, binge drinking and youth suicide,
but the solutions can only come by working directly with young
people to understand their needs and to develop creative technology
solutions that are most helpful to them."
Bronte, a twenty-year-old member of the YAW-CRC's Youth Brains
Trust, has lived with bi-polar disorder and believes technology
has the capacity to help young people receive access to quality
mental health care at the right time.
"Identifying the ways in which
support and the promotion of wellbeing can be offered through
technology is vital in a society where technology is so important
to how we learn, connect and interact," Bronte said.
ReachOut Pro will be working with the Young and Well CRC to
highlight tools and learnings from the CRC that can help health
care professionals support young people's mental health, and to
translate that research into practical case studies that you can
use in practice.
Find out more about the Young and Well CRC, and get the
transcript of the Minister's speech, over at http://yawcrc.org.au/
Click here to find out
more about the Research Projects that will be conducted by the
CRC.