WINNERS

 

World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. An initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health (link is external), WMHD is an annual program held on 10 October to raise public awareness of mental health issues worldwide.

This year in Australia, WMHD has three objectives:

1. Encourage help seeking behaviour 
2. Reduce the stigma associated with mental illness
3. Foster connectivity throughout communities 

The 2015 WMHD campaign aims to achieve these goals by encouraging people to take personal ownership of their own mental health and wellbeing. 

To do this, the campaign focusses on a simple, personal mental health promise that can be made by anyone, regardless of their own mental health.

You don’t have to have a mental illness to take part, you just need to have an interest in your own good health, which is important to everyone.

Mental Health Australia is delighted to be leading the WMHD campaign in Australia. As the peak not-for-profit organisation representing the mental health sector in Australia, Mental Health Australia has a focus on ensuring the whole community recognises the part we all play in creating a mentally healthy societ

World Post Day

 

On 9 October each year we celebrate World Post Day.

Did you know the UK Penny Black, featuring Queen Victoria's portrait was issued on 1 May 1840 and it was the world's first official adhesive postage stamp.

The day marks the anniversary of creation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in Bern in Switzerland.  Then, in 1969, the Universal Postal Union Congress was held in Japan and they declared October 9th World Post Day.  These days, countries from all around the world celebrate postal systems everywhere!

Nearly 445 billion letters are delivered around the world every year.

In the UK, the peak period for the Royal Mail (the UK postal system) was 2005-2006 when they delivered around 84 million items every day and had around 14,376 Post Offices across the country!

A number of events will be held worldwide to celebrate the day, including workshops on the art of stamp making and information and seminars about stamp collecting.

Often around this special day, postal services issue special commemorative stamps, so all you budding philatelists (that's stamp collectors to you and me!) should keep your eyes peeled on the World Post Day website!

The day is supported by the United Nations (UN), and you can also find out more about the history of the postal service at the site.