A trio of well-known Norfolk personalities have been confirmed to take part in a virtual conference that will put the focus on ways to improve your mental health and well-being.
Open Up will see a series of virtual workshops, interviews and debates take place online through Friday, February 12 with people being offered the opportunity to watch the sessions free of charge.
The event, run by this newspaper, comes a year after the first Open Up conference, which took place at the former Open charity venue last March and was attended by more than 500 people.
TV presenter Simon Thomas, Humphrey Berney from the world-renowned singing group Blake and Norfolk chef Galton Blackiston have already been confirmed to take part, with several more sessions and interviews to follow.
Open Up is run in conjunction with Norfolk County Council, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Norfolk & Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group and Mind Norfolk and Waveney.
Councillor Bill Borrett, Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for Adult Social Care and chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, said: "We know that the ongoing pandemic is having a huge impact on people’s mental health – so it’s really important to host events like this bringing key messages to the forefront for those who might be struggling so that they know it’s okay not to be okay.
"Whether you are a parent looking for ways to support your children, or a business manager looking for ways to support staff who continue to work from home - there really is something for everyone. I look forward to attending some of the sessions myself throughout the day.”
Jonathan Warren, chief executive at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The ‘open up event’ is the perfect opportunity for us all to open up about our mental wellbeing and find ways to support each other.”
The event will begin at 8.30am with a 30-minute session exercises at home and finish at 4pm and people will be able to log in and out depending on the sessions of most interest to them.
A full schedule will be released shortly but sessions will focus on, amongst other subjects, mental health of children, in the workplace, tips for parents, links between food and good mental health and the impact of the pandemic.
To sign up for the free event visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-up-tickets-138246449853
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