The Symposium on Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health cum the Annual Conference of Guangzhou Mental Health and Smart Intervention Research Centre 2024 was hosted by the School of Education, Guangzhou University and jointly organised by the Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong (ECE Department at EdUHK) and the Guangzhou Mental Health and Smart Intervention Research Centre (Guangzhou Research Centre), at Guangzhou University on 18 December 2024. This event was well attended with more than 2,000 people joining online and offline. It also attracted a significant amount of media coverage from the Mainland China.
With the theme of "Family Empowering the Healthy Development of Children and Adolescents", the symposium consisted of pre-conference workshop, keynote speeches and postgraduate forums, aiming to explore the current status of mental health of children and adolescents in Guangdong and Hong Kong under the new era. This event is also the first joint academic activity under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the Faculty of Education and Human Development, EdUHK and the School of Education, Guangzhou University in September this year.
Pre-Conference Workshop
In order to enhance the understanding of the latest methods among researchers, Dr. Li Jianbin from the ECE Department at EdUHK conducted a pre-conference workshop to introduce meta-analysis.
Symposium
The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Dou Kai, the Executive Director of the Guangzhou Research Centre. Representatives from Guangzhou University, the Psychological Society of Guangzhou, and EdUHK delivered opening speeches, respectively. Dr. Li Jianbin said in his speech that this symposium fully affirmed the necessity and significance of exchanging ideas on children’s and adolescents’ mental health between experts from Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
The Guangzhou Research Centre, initiated by Prof. Nie Yangang of Guangzhou University, was approved to become the Guangzhou's key research base for humanities and social sciences under the seventh round of announcement. A grand opening was held by Prof. Nie together with other attending representatives before the start of the symposium.
Keynote Speech
Prof. Nie Yangang from Guangzhou University, Prof. Tian Lili from South China Normal University, as well as Dr. Chan King Chung Derwin, Dr. Tao Sisi and Dr. Wu Dandan from EdUHK were invited to deliver keynote speeches. They analysed research initiatives of children’s and adolescents’ mental health from different perspectives, such as self-consciousness, happiness, and use of Internet. Their sharing not only allowed participants to have a comprehensive understanding on psychological characteristics of children and adolescents, but also provided a solid foundation for proposing strategies to promote mental health.
Postgraduate Forum
Six postgraduate students from Guangzhou University and the ECE Department at EdUHK shared their recent achievements and introduced the research from their respective teams. Their presentations together indicated that psychologists should enhance the quality and quantity at the same time when trying to improve parenting styles. Dr. Li Jianbin then presented certificates to these six student presenters at the forum.
Closing Ceremony
Dr. Tao Sisi from EdUHK delivered the closing speech. She fully affirmed the importance of this symposium and the research about children’s and adolescents’ mental health. She suggested to explore the possibility of combining and leveraging the strengths of universities in the Greater Bay Area for enhancing psychological research, as it is an important way for psychological personnel to serve the society. Prof. Dou Kai at the end announced the closing of the event on behalf of the hosting organiser.
This symposium has facilitated view exchanges between Guangzhou and Hong Kong in the field of children's and adolescents’ mental health. It not only provides ideas and directions for related research in the future, but also lays a solid foundation for implementing work and actions related to family education and children's and adolescents’ mental health.
(Photo Source: EdUHK, Guangzhou University)