Welcome to the newsletter for the Movement for Global Mental Health.

Last month, we received almost 9000 hits on our website, and the number of members continues growing.

The preliminary program of the Global Mental Health Summit, on the 2nd of September 2009, is now available on our website. In three sessions, expert speakers will focus on the need to scale up mental health services in low-income countries, user participation and user involvement, and finally strategies for the future.

In this month's issue, we focus on the upcoming World Congress on Mental Health to be held in Athens, Greece, from 2 to 6 September 2009. The 2009 Congress theme, "Working Together for Mental Health", reflects WFMH's call to action to "Make Mental Health a Global Priority". Registration is still possible through the website, where you also find the program overview and further information.

There is an array of new material available on the site, notably new capacity development opportunities, policy resources, and a new mental health law amongst other submissions. We'd like to encourage all members to continue uploading material to the site using the forms available. By sharing your information with the nearly 750 members who have joined since our inception, you can be sure that your submissions will be widely circulated and provide essential resources for the improvement of mental health across the globe.

We are planting a Field of Hope this year in Accra, Ghana to bring awareness and attention to depression. We are also raising funds by allowing people to plant seeds in honor of depression survivors - or those they have lost to this devastating disease. You can visit their website at www.thefieldofhope.org Why a sunflower? Visit www.ifred.org/rebrandingdepression to see why all forces should join together with yellow / the sunflower to take on the cause

Jagannath Lamichhane, a mental health and disability rights activist from Nepal, wrote an advocacy article about the burden of mental illness in Nepal. Mental illness often remains invisible for the wider community, but puts a heavy emotional and socio-economic burden on family members and caregivers. You can read the article on the following webpage

Friends of Antara UK is an independent, voluntary organisation, which aims to tackle mental illness, poverty and the vicious cycles that connect them.

They work with partner organisations in resource-poor areas to address mental health inequalities by developing new facilities and services and by ensuring equal access to those who need health- care.

In many parts of the world, people with mental illnesses still suffer flagrant violations of their basic human rights.

That is why, as an international Movement, it is so important to commit ourselves to the protection of the human rights of people with mental disorders.

Images from one of the collections available at www.globalmentalhealth.org

Enjoy this month's issue and please direct any questions or comments to submissions@globalmentalhealth.org