CDRF Launches Youthful Minds: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative
On November 24, 2023, the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF) and
the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government signed an agreement to cooperate on
Youthful Minds: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Initiative in Fuzhou, Jiangxi
Province. Fang Jin, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of CDRF, gave the
opening address; Cai Jianhua, Senior Advisor of CDRF's Child Development
Research Institute, and Du Zhixin, Deputy Director of the institute, attended
the ceremony; Mr. Sun Qian, Standing Member of the Fuzhou Municipal Party
Committee and Deputy Mayor of Fuzhou attended the signing ceremony and delivered
a speech; Cai Qing, Vice Mayor of Fuzhou, hosted the ceremony. Experts from
China Family Planning Association, Peking University Sixth Hospital, Beijing
Academy of Social Sciences and other relevant institutions attended the
ceremony.
Fang Jin pointed out that the Party attaches great importance to the work on
students' mental health. The current high incidence of mental health problems is
a global public health issue that needs to be addressed, and is more prominent
in the child and adolescent stage. He said that CDRF will use this pilot project
to explore innovative strategies and intervention programs to find a practical
path for future policy in this sector, and hopes the parties can work together
on data on children and youth, and safeguard their future.
Sun Qian said that CDRF’s support to Fuzhou is deeply welcomed. She believes
the pilot project will inject new vitality into Fuzhou’s work on youth mental
health, and assured that the municipal government and the education department
will work closely together to promote the successful implementation of the pilot
project.
After the signing ceremony, Liu Jing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee
of the Sixth Hospital of Peking University, Director of the Children's Mental
Health Center, and Vice President of the China Mental Health Association, Wang
Feifei, Deputy Director of the International Liaison Office of the China Family
Planning Association, and Han Jialing, Researcher at the Beijing Academy of
Social Sciences, gave lectures respectively. The signing ceremony was attended
by relevant staff from Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Education and Sports, Bureau
of Health, Bureau of Justice, Civil Affairs Bureau and subsidiaries, and some
middle schools in Fuzhou.
Afterwards, the CDRF delegation and related experts held talks with relevant
personnel from some county (district) governments, schools, hospitals and social
organizations, and visited Linchuan No. 2 Middle School and the Municipal Red
Cross Society.
