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Conference Chair
Prof. Rizwana Roomaney
Conference Co-Chair
Prof. Xanthe Hunt
Welcome to the 3rd South African Mental Health Conference 2027
It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the South African Mental Health Conference 2027, taking place in the vibrant city of Durban.
Our theme, ‘Advancing Mental Health Through Partnerships’, reflects a simple but powerful belief: improving the mental health of our nation is something we can only do together.
South Africa faces complex and evolving mental health challenges. Addressing these challenges requires more than any single profession, discipline, institution, or sector can offer. It requires psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, educators, researchers, policymakers, community organisations, people with lived experience, families, and many others to come together, share knowledge, challenge assumptions, and develop solutions that are meaningful within our communities. This conference is an invitation to do exactly that.
We want to create a space where diverse perspectives are valued, where research can meet practice, where policy can engage with lived experience, and where innovative ideas can develop through collaboration. We hope to welcome an interdisciplinary community of presenters and delegates who share a commitment to advancing the mental health and wellbeing of South Africans.
Our ambition extends beyond the conference itself. We want this gathering to be a catalyst for new partnerships, new ideas, stronger networks, and collective action. Most importantly, we want to build a community that continues working together long after we leave Durban.
Whether you are a researcher, clinician, student, policymaker, community practitioner, educator, advocate, person with lived experience, or simply someone passionate about mental health, there is a place for you in this conversation. The same goes for sectors, and we look forward to welcoming colleagues from academia, government, non-governmental and community organisations, industry, and beyond.
We invite you to bring your knowledge, your questions, your experiences, and your vision for the future.
Join us in building a movement for better mental health in South Africa, which we can only achieve through partnership, collaboration, and collective action.
We look forward to welcoming you to Durban in 2027.
