“Creating Futures” in Papua New Guinea: just the beginning

Abstract

Objectives: “Creating Futures 2012: PNG” was the largest mental health conference to date in Melanesia. This paper describes the history, purpose and content of this initiative as a means to facilitate capacity building in Papua New Guinea (PNG), increase binational cooperation and develop a regional mental health network. Conclusions: Fifty Australian professionals were recruited to work with PNG colleagues to develop a suite of 20 workshops on locally identified themes. Over 300 delegates from across PNG and the western Pacific attended the four-day meeting, which was framed by Professor Vikram Patel in a series of presentations on global health. Feedback from PNG delegates and potential ongoing activities are described.