More than 500 mental health changemakers pull up to Iloilo City

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The 4th Global Mental Health Advocacy Forum, convened by the Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN), will bring together more than 500 advocates, people with lived experience, policymakers, researchers, grassroots leaders, U.N. agencies, and donors from more than 70 countries in Iloilo City, Philippines.

The forum is convened by the Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN), a global network of mental health advocacy whose secretariat is hosted by United for Global Mental Health.

Organizers said they are co-hosting the forum with #MentalHealthPH in Iloilo City, positioning the Philippines as the meeting ground for a major international discussion on mental health policy, financing, and rights.

The three-day event is themed “Reimagining Global Mental Health: No Voice Left Behind,” a message the organizers say is meant to center the people most affected by mental health conditions in shaping solutions.

The forum is already being recognized by major nonprofit and mental health event trackers, with organizers citing inclusion in the Segal Family Foundation’s Top 30 Nonprofit Events of the Year list and nest’s roundup of events shaping what’s next in mental health.

Organizers said the attention matters less than the outcomes, describing the forum as a place where the future of mental health policy, financing and rights will be shaped by advocates and people with lived experience.

The published agenda places the forum at the Iloilo City Convention Center on Feb. 2–4, 2026, using Manila time for scheduling.

ACTIVITIES

The program includes a “Day ‘Zero’” on Monday, Feb. 2, with site visits across Iloilo City, pre-registered workshops at the convention center, and a welcome reception with local officials.

Over the three days, organizers said the forum will spotlight “some of the most urgent and under-reported mental health stories of our time,” including how to turn global political commitments into national action after the U.N. High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health.

One site-visit option, “Memories of Care through Crises: guided storytelling,” is described as a guided storytelling activity on Filipino Indigenous, emancipatory, and liberation psychologies linked to social justice movements, led by Naro Alonzo of KERI, with a listed capacity of 25.

Another option, “Amlig sa Syudad: A World Café on Iloilo City-Led and Local Mental Health Advocacy Efforts,” is hosted in partnership with #MentalHealthPH and highlights three local models—a specialized hospital-based service, a community-driven NGO initiative, and an Iloilo City Government-led program—with a listed capacity of 150.

A third option, “Beauty and the Brain: What happens in your brain when you walk down the street?” is a guided tour led by Anaami Pandit-Haji of GMHAN and Wilfredo Sy Jr. of Iloilo City’s Committee on Cultural Heritage and Conservation, linking architecture, cultural conservation, and health through “urban neuroscience,” with a listed capacity of 25.

The agenda also includes “A Mindful Walking Experience in Iloilo City,” described as a guided route led by Hannah Morillo of MLAC Institute for Psychosocial Services that ends with a mindful tasting of Filipino merienda and a mindful eating exercise, with a listed capacity of 25.

Another Day ‘Zero’ activity, “We are safe here: A Mindfulness-based Art Therapy and Psychoeducation session,” is led by Philline Salvador of Mulat Pilipinas and includes a short lecture, meditation, acrylic painting, and small-group sharing, with a listed capacity of 50.

“Mindful Yoga by the Riverside” is also listed as an outdoor session with two one-hour slots, each with a capacity of 40.

Registration at the venue is scheduled to open from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Day ‘Zero,’ followed by pre-registered workshops from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with limited slots assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Workshop topics include “Nothing about us without us: Building a meaningful movement to advance deinstitutionalisation,” led by the co-chairs of GMHAN’s new Expert by Experience Action Group, which the agenda says aims to advocate for an end to coercive care and expand community-based, person-centered approaches.

Other workshops listed include “Deconstructing mental health innovations: From Idea to Scaled Impact” led by the Mental Health Innovation Network, “From Lived Experience to Leadership: How Advocates Can Advance Mental Health Task-Sharing,” and “Rising faster than the sea-levels” on climate-related mental health experiences of young people in the Philippines.

Additional workshop sessions include “Solutions, storytelling and strategy,” “Being initiative: Youth mental health in a changing world,” “Bringing Mental Health into Universal Health Coverage – Global Dilemmas,” and “Experiencing Life in a Criminalised World: Suicide Prevention.”

The suicide prevention workshop text cites suicide as causing “over 727,000 deaths annually worldwide,” with “20 attempts for every fatality,” and argues for shifting approaches from punitive models to a compassionate public health model informed by lived experience.

A welcome reception is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Day ‘Zero,” with remarks from the GMHAN Secretariat and local officials, a performance celebrating local culture, and a networking dinner.

Day One on Tuesday, Feb. 3, opens with registration from 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., followed by welcome remarks from a local government representative.

An “Inspiration Session” titled “My life in advocacy” features a fireside conversation with Emma Rawson Te-Patu, listed as president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations and described in the agenda as the first indigenous leader of a global health organization, in conversation with GMHAN young leaders Muskan Lamba and Dion Ras.

A keynote titled “Being Fundable and Findable” is scheduled next, led by bestselling author Kevin L. Brown and focused on nonprofit fundraising strategy and the “Fundable/Findable Framework,” followed by networking and speed-networking.

A late-morning plenary, “Self, Society, and System: A Holistic Spotlight on Philippine Mental Health Initiatives,” is billed as a locally led session examining advocacy, service delivery, and policy engagement across government, civil society, professional associations, service users, and international partners.

An afternoon session titled “Looking back and looking forward beyond the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health” is described as a strategy discussion with experts from WHO, UNICEF, Wellcome, and national advocates aimed at turning political declarations into accountability and reform.

A stigma-focused workshop, “Mapping the Geography of Stigma,” invites participants to contribute lived-experience examples to inform an online portal and advocacy toolkit being developed through GMHAN’s Stigma and Discrimination Working Group.

Day Two on Wednesday, Feb. 4, includes an inspiration session titled “My Career in Global Mental Health – How Young People are Driving Change,” featuring a fireside conversation with Zeinab Hijazi, listed as UNICEF’s global lead on mental health, in conversation with GMHAN young leaders Murilo Slomka and Zane Muwanguzi.

A policy session, “Influencing and Being Influenced” Roundtable, is described as a discussion with government representatives, professionals, and advocates on shaping policy amid setbacks, shifting priorities, and power dynamics.

A financing-focused discussion and workshop titled “Don’t Follow the Money: Rebuilding Mental Health Financing and Power Around People” is framed around concerns that donor agendas can override local needs, and it references “international development funding cuts” while outlining co-produced advocacy strategies.

The agenda also includes an open discussion, “Reimagining Global Mental Health Through LGBTQI+ Lenses,” which frames LGBTQI+ experiences as a lens for examining stigma, criminalisation, ageing, exclusion, and broader system blind spots.

A youth session, “From Youth Engagement to Youth-Leadership: barriers and opportunities for Mental Health Advocacy,” argues that youth leadership must be treated as a structural commitment rather than an add-on.

GLOBAL CONCERN

Organizers say the forum’s broader goal is to elevate under-reported mental health stories and translate global commitments into national action, including changes in suicide-related laws, deinstitutionalization led by people with lived experience, and lessons from the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific.

The agenda also emphasizes suicide prevention and the decriminalization of suicide, including a session that cites more than 727,000 suicide deaths annually worldwide and an estimate of 20 attempts for every fatality.

Another core focus is how people with lived experience are leading the deinstitutionalization of mental health care, framed as a push toward community-based approaches that uphold dignity, autonomy, and human rights.

Youth leadership is also a featured theme, with organizers calling for a shift “from youth engagement to youth leadership in mental health” and the agenda including a dedicated session on youth-led advocacy barriers and opportunities.

Organizers said the forum will also surface lessons from the Philippines and the wider Asia-Pacific region, with a plenary spotlight session focused on Philippine mental health initiatives and local policy and service delivery experiences.

The full program has been released alongside the announcement, offering detailed session descriptions, speakers, and workshop options for attendees.

In explaining the stakes, organizers said almost a billion people worldwide are living with a mental health condition and that many face stigma, discrimination, and human rights violations.

They said the forum aims to elevate community-level stories with global relevance, including how advocacy challenges harmful laws, how young people are reshaping mental health movements, and how grassroots groups pursue policy change amid shifting political and funding environments.