‘Not Alone’ stories event to be held next month in Muscat

Muscat: Whispers of Serenity announced its fifth edition of the “Not Alone” stories event to be held in Muscat on October 5 and 6 at Kempinski Hotel.
Several celebrity keynote speakers will share their experiences associated with mental health during the event. The list of speakers will be revealed at a later stage; however, it will be an interesting mix of speakers from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Arab world.
“It has been five years for the Not Alone campaign. This year, we are doing it a bit differently as it is going to be more international. Our aim is to highlight topics that are linked with mental health such as psychological depression, loss, fear, divorce, bullying, stress, anxiety, surviving cancer and others,” said Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said, mental health activist and founder of the Whispers of Serenity Clinic in Oman.
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“The campaign shows and teaches people how mental health awareness is extremely important. Therefore, we use a lot of creativity when we do these campaigns and basically work around the date of October 10, as it is the mental health day, and the month of May as it is the mental health month,” said Al Said.
As part of the event, workshops for both children and adults will also be held. The two-day event will take place from 9am to 4pm on both days and will cost OMR40 for entry. Ticket sales will be up soon and people are encouraged to follow @notaloneoman on Instagram for updates.
“Half the money paid towards the ticket will go to the disability association for the children and the other half for the launch of the application to help children against child abuse to know what they need to do in case any predator hurts them,” she added.
This year’s slogan is “Not Alone Stories, my Secret to Change”.
It will be the biggest such event by far featuring celebrities who will come and share their inspiring stories to motivate listeners and bring change to their daily lives and help them deal with unwanted stress or pressures they might be facing in their lives.
The Not Alone awareness initiative was launched in 2014 and is aimed at reducing social stigma about mental health disorders.
The initiative has, till date, carried out various awareness campaigns including a short video clip featuring a host of famous personalities, an awareness walkathon, a mental health convoy for six months in six different governorates of the Sultanate and an artistic talent show which showcased several forms of expression including short stories, poetry, sculpting, music and fashion.