Have you ever felt the pressure to have the perfect body? Or to BE perfect? Living in Hong Kong’s fast-paced and competitive society, we are constantly bombarded with images and messages that equate ‘perfection’ with being worthy of love and acceptance. Register now.
Join us for a thought-provoking event where Stephanie Ng, the founder of Body Banter and author of the new book, Big Bites Break Boundaries, will share the process behind writing a book on her personal experiences in eating disorder recovery and her professional experiences as a mental health advocate, researcher, and entrepreneur in Hong Kong. We will also be joined by our Mind HK ambassadors Annissa and Tiff, who will share their personal reflections on navigating food and body concerns, recovering from mental health challenges, and tackling mental health stigma in the Hong Kong context.
The discussion will be conducted primarily in English, with the inclusion of Cantonese expressions and terms to capture the cultural nuances of the topics explored.
We’re excited to see you at this nourishing and delicious discussion which we hope will leave you with plenty of food for thought!
Event details:
Date: Thursday, 18th April 2024
Time: 6:30PM – 8:00PM HKT (6:30PM-7:30PM mental health story sharing, 7:30-8PM networking event,
Mode: In-person panel discussion
Location: The Women’s Lounge, 4th floor, Hollywood Commercial House, 3-5 Old Bailey St, Central
Guest: Annissa (Mind HK Ambassador) , Tiff (Mind HK Ambassador), Stephanie Ng (Body Banter Founder)
Moderator: Grace Tse (Project coordinator – Anti-stigma Project)
Language: English (the panel and discussion will be in English, but there will be aspects of the discussion in Cantonese due to the nuances involved in the topic)
Price: The event is free entry
Guest Introduction:
Annissa (Mind HK Ambassador)
Annissa is no stranger to mental health growing up, living in recovery with anxiety and depression. She hopes to be a voice for people who are struggling, feeling misunderstood, unheard or not seen. She wants to lead by example and show how transformative it is to share your story.
Tiff (Mind HK Ambassador)
Marketing manager by day, vegan chef off office hours. Tiff’s journey is inspired by her personal experience combating mental health challenges. It first arose shortly after her graduation, in coping with relocation, workplace environment and social life adjustment. Without knowing, this adjustment turned into 10 years of depression and anxiety. Today, she is fully recovered. She hopes, by sharing her personal story, that more people can see the silver lining in all situations – if there’s a will, there’s, always, a way.
Stephanie Ng (Body Banter Founder)
Steph is a mental health advocate, entrepreneur and Ph.D. researcher whose work aims to foster caring conversations on body image and mental health topics. She is the founder of Body Banter, a registered Section 88 charity in Hong Kong on a mission to empower young people to spark conversations about body image with curiosity and courage. She is also the author of “Big Bites Break Boundaries”, a new book which recounts her personal experiences with an eating disorder and her professional experiences in Hong Kong’s mental health landscape.
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“More than a Label 我就是我” is Mind HK campaign in partnership with MINDSET, which stems from their goal of changing and influencing the public’s perception towards persons with diagnosable mental health conditions. Funded by Jardines Matheson, this campaign encourages the public to look beyond the typical, stigmatising, labels associated with mental health diagnoses. Through personal stories of mental health journeys, we showcase realistic portrayals of people who have faced mental health problems are in recovery to ignite hope in others and encourage help-seeking.
With this campaign, we hope to raise awareness of the stigma towards mental health conditions, celebrate the resilience and strength of people in recovery, and educate and equip the public with mental health knowledge. We believe this will encourage more conversation in mental health, which will in turn help destigmatise mental health in Hong Kong.
Body Banter is Hong Kong-based registered S88 charity (91/18424) on a mission to empower youth voices in conversations about body image and mental health.
Through our programs and workshops, we aim to foster curiosity and courage in the communities we work with, helping them navigate conversations about body image and mental health topics on their own terms.
