The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and Macau Federation of Social Workers jointly held a seminar yesterday at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, during which IAS President Wilson Hon Wai reminded members of the public that “everyone can be each other’s gatekeeper in life”.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the one-day seminar, Hon noted that this year, as of end of September, the bureau, in conjunction with more than 40 local social service organisations, had organised more than 450 educational and awareness-raising activities on nurturing “life gatekeepers” and building up the resilience of the general public, with the participation of more than 21,000 attendees.
Themed “People and their Environment - Discovering the Beauty of Life”, the seminar, which was attended by about 150 participants, aimed, according to a speech by the association’s president Cheong Un Si, to unite the strengths of social workers in Macau and elsewhere in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) to better understand the close relationship between self-care and mental health, while further promoting the professional development of social services in Macau.
In addition, with the growing mental pressure arising from the challenges brought about by life, Hon said he expected social workers, through yesterday’s exchange platform, to discover the “good things” in their environment and life, relieve their own pressure and build up a healthy and sound mindset, and to help members of the public with their social work practice and spirituality.
Hon also pointed out the significance of social work, which, he said, aimed to help people achieve self-esteem, satisfaction and happiness in their life, underlining the “greater” need for the local community to pool the efforts of the social services sector to help the public pay attention to and deal with mental health issues.
Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) President Wilson Hon Wai addresses yesterday’s opening ceremony of a one-day seminar themed “People and their Environment - Discovering the Beauty of Life”, at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. – Photo: Yuki Lei
