External Affairs Committee

Background

The External Affairs Committee is a formal standing sub committee of ISAD’s governing council which has been created by the Society’s governing document. This reflects how vital ISAD feels it is to make a success of external relations with other organisations.

Membership

Prof Chris Thompson, Chair, ISAD Past President
Bill Ashdown, VP Mood Disorders Society of Canada
Chris Manning, CEO, Primhe, UK
Amelia Mustapha Director, Centre for Mental Health
Adriano Camargo,ABRATA
Zane Wilson South African Depression & Anxiety Group

The External Affairs Committee has several activities.

Advocacy Partnership Scheme
Our advocacy partners represent a variety of interests and include patient groups that represent those living with mental health problems and organisations striving to improve healthcare professionals’ standards of care by encouraging positive practice.

Aim:

The Aim of this Partnership is to attract together all relevant interests and activities at both national and international levels to defeat the ignorance, prejudice, political apathy and poor care that are commonly associated with these highly disabling conditions, to enable research and to encourage, nurture and disseminate positive interventions and treatments for them.

Objectives:

To develop a robust network of concerned organisations and individuals at a global level;

To be a major influence on national governments and all organisations and individuals responsible for drafting and enacting relevant policy;

To promote awareness of the conditions and disseminate research about interventions and treatments to health workers and the public;

To promote and enable research, especially in primary care settings;

To give researchers real opportunities to learn from Partners; helping them to understand what really matters to users and informing their research agendas;

To encourage and enable the sharing of positive practice;

To develop an “International Perspective of Depression (An evidence-based Resource for lobbying that is both culturally sensitive and applicable ('tuneable') to any national setting.


External Affairs Committee