In summary

  • Prince Harry and Meghan attended a workshop hosted by batyr at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus
  • Swinburne helped bring global attention to youth mental health, with young Australians given the rare opportunity to share their lived experiences
  • The event brought students together to share their experiences of the challenges faced by young people from regional, rural and remote areas

Swinburne has helped bring global attention to youth mental health, with Prince Harry and Meghan attending a workshop hosted by batyr at Swinburne’s Hawthorn campus on Thursday.

Young Australians were given the rare opportunity to share their lived experiences directly with The Duke and Duchess during the two-day Regional & Rural Youth Voices: Shaping the Future of Mental Health workshop. The event brought students together to share their experiences of the challenges faced by young people from regional, rural and remote areas. 

The Sussexes attended as supporters and listeners, helping to elevate the voices of young Australians and directing global attention to youth mental health advocacy. 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Education, Experience and Employability, Professor Laura-Anne Bull, said the event emphasised the importance of a peer-to-peer approach to tackling mental health. 

“At Swinburne, learners are at the heart of everything we do. This session confirmed just how important it is that we continue to centre the voices of young people and adapt our education and support services to what they need,” Professor Bull said.

“batyr understand this better than anyone, having helped countless Swinburne students feel supported to address mental health challenges. We are delighted to partner with them and were humbled that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would spend their time hearing directly from students to shine a light on this issue.”

Through this lived experience approach, Swinburne and batyr have reached more than 1,000 students, with over 80% of these students saying they would be likely to reach out for support, do not feel alone, and would feel comfortable supporting others through mental health challenges.

The insights and perspectives shared during the workshop will inform advocacy work addressing the unique challenges faced by youth in regional, rural and remote communities, such as limited services, longer wait times, higher costs and increased stigma. 

“We say mental ill-health doesn’t discriminate, but for young people in regional and rural Australia it does,” said batyr CEO Patrick Darcy.

“Organisations like batyr work really hard to deliver preventative mental health education into these communities, equipping young people with the tools to help themselves and each other before crisis occurs. Having The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend the workshop helps bring our integral work into the spotlight and ensure young people’s voices are shaping the mental health system around them.” 

Swinburne partners with batyr to deliver structured, peer-to-peer wellbeing education programs, student leadership training, staff training and on-campus events.

batyr and Swinburne’s work in sharing mental health stories continues to inspire action, equipping young people with the tools and confidence to look after themselves and each other before a crisis occurs.  

Together, Swinburne and batyr are nurturing a university-wide culture of openness that supports mental health and help-seeking from first-year students through to postgraduates.

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