RESILIENT YOUTH
RESILIENT NATION

As Brunei is aspiring to urgently transform the nation into a well-diversified economy, youth as the engine of transformation must be equipped with the skills to be resilient and the ability to prepare and plan for, cope and recover from, and importantly successfully adapt to adverse events such as unemployment, economic shocks and pandemics among others.

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physical and virtual participants

speakers invited

Session #1: 2.00PM - 3.30PM
THE DILEMMA ON MENTAL HEALTH
Moderated by Aspadiyah Mohd Sah

Mental health is one of the most neglected areas of health globally - this was true before COVID-19, but the pandemic has further exacerbated the status of mental health. Building resilience requires a paradigm shift in and acknowledgement that mental health problems and issues are the new realities and must be proactively addressed through “whole of society approach,” with community-based involvement, along with education and resources.

The first series of the forum will focus on deciphering the realities of mental health facing our youth and share insights on how youth can develop the skills to be resilient.

Session #2: 3.30PM - 5.00PM
SKILLS FOR RESILIENT YOUTH
Moderated by Fatin Arifin

Our youth today are living through an unprecedented global crisis. COVID-19 is forcing students out of the classrooms; forcing entrepreneurs out of businesses and forcing youth out of jobs with no clear end in sight. The devastation of the pandemic — millions of deaths, economic strife and curbs on social interaction — has already had a marked effect on people’s mental health. There is no doubt that young people are the most affected by the crisis which has brought rise to anxiety and depression which may take years to recover from. It is ever more important to help young people to develop resilience to face the challenges and adapt to changes brought by the pandemic. The session shall discuss skills that youth can develop to be resilient.

SESSION #1
THE DILEMMA OF MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health is one of the most neglected areas of health globally - this was true before COVID-19, but the pandemic has further exacerbated the status of mental health. Building resilience requires a paradigm shift in and acknowledgement that mental health problems and issues are the new realities and must be proactively addressed through “whole of society approach,” with community-based involvement, along with education and resources.

The first session of the forum will focus on deciphering the realities of mental health facing our youth and share insights on how youth can develop the skills to be resilient.

REMOVING THE STIGMA OF MENTAL HEALTH

• Treat mental health like physical health.
• Be kind to yourself and others.
• Set healthy boundaries by taking part in social media detox and controlling what you see on social media.
• Take care of your psychological needs by prioritising hygiene, exercise, eating healthy and surrounding oneself with a supportive circle.
• Be willing to open up and seek help when facing mental struggles.
• Encourage family, friends and peers to seek professional advice if they are facing their own mental struggles.
• Be empathetic when dealing with mental illness and avoid giving harsh criticism or judgement.
• Educate yourself on mental health by seeking advice from professional bodies.
• Be open to go for counselling and treatment.
• Set your own intentions for the sake of Allah SWT.
• Engage in Zikir in remembrance of Allah SWT – Zikir allows us to put our confidence, trust and belief in Allah SWT.
• Allah SWT test his servants in order to strengthen our faith in him.

MENTAL HEALTH IN SCHOOLS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Educate students and teachers alike to be compassionate.
• Improve awareness in schools and work places on the importance of mental well-being
• Develop mental well-being strategies in schools and workplaces
• Develop policies on mental health in workplaces and schools
• Schools and workplaces should prepare a dedicate timeout space
• Senior staff members should maintain an open-door policy when dealing with mental wellbeing of the workplace
• Schools and workplaces should have a dependable mental wellbeing support infrastructure

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
​The Ministry of Health offers walk-in psychology clinics during office hours that provide counselling and "Talk Therapy". These are available at:

• Clinical Psychology Division, 2nd Floor, Old Nursing Hostel, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital.
• Community Psychology Division, 1st Floor, Simpang. 32 – 37, Flat B30, Anggerek Desa, Jalan Berakas.
• Psychiatry Services, Simpang 253-79, Kampong Kiarong, Bandar Seri Begawan
• Psychiatry Services, Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Health Centre, Kampong Sungai Asam.
• Psychiatry Services, Jubli Perak Sengkurong Health Centre, Kampong Sengkurong.
• Psychiatry Services, Berakas Health Centre, Rancangan Perumahan Lambak Kanan.
• Psychiatry Services, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, Tutong.
• Psychiatry Services, Suri Seri Begawan Hospital, Kuala Belait.
• Psychiatry Services, Sungai Liang Health Centre.
• Psychiatry Services, Seria Health Centre, Jalan Lorong 1 Barat.
• Psychiatry Services, Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Hospital, Temburong.

SESSION #2
​SKILLS FOR RESILIENT YOUTH

Our youth today are living through an unprecedented global crisis. COVID-19 is forcing students out of the classrooms; forcing entrepreneurs out of businesses and forcing youth out of jobs with no clear end in sight. The devastation of the pandemic — millions of deaths, economic strife and curbs on social interaction — has already had a marked effect on people’s mental health. There is no doubt that young people are the most affected by the crisis which has brought rise to anxiety and depression which may take years to recover from. It is ever more important to help young people to develop resilience to face the challenges and adapt to changes brought by the pandemic. The session shall discuss skills that youth can develop to be resilient.

WHAT IS RESILIENCE?

• Resilience is the ability to form perspectives, recover from adversity and accept new and tough challenges.
• Resilience enables us to be motivated by challenges and setbacks and allows us to learn from any failures.
• Resilience allows us to be the captain of our ship and the master of our seas – in other words, resilience gives us the ability to control our fate.
• Resilience leads us to adopt values and principles to our character and allows us to define our goals in life.
• Resilience is being able to see hardship and challenges as opportunities to grow and become a better person.

SKILLS FOR BUILDING RESILIENCE

• Take on any tasks or goals that challenge your own capabilities, no matter how small.
• Put yourself outside of your comfort zone by doing things that you do not normally do to expand your skills and grow as a person.
• Be able to form perspectives when faced with hardship or challenges – have the willingness to hope to see the next day.
• Be willing to fail and recover as much as possible – early failures can contribute to future successes.
• Understand that life is not meant to be easy, hardship will affect everyone, and it is up to you to be able to handle it or not.
• To be resilient, you need to expect failure and setbacks in any task or project you do; in this way, you are prepared to do what is necessary to overcome the failure.
• Develop core values to guide you in your journey towards resilience.
• Be self-aware and constantly self-reflect on your actions to build resilience.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES TO BUILD SKILLS FOR RESILIENT YOUTH

• Mentorship WeCan and EmployAbility Series by Young Professionals Network Brunei.
• Centre For Lifelong Learning (CL3) by Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
• Leadership and Lifelong Learning Centre by Universiti Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA).
• Lifelong Learning Centre (L3C) by Ministry of Education.
• Perspective Insan Academy.
• DARE Micro Bootcamp and Accelerate.
• Project FEED.