President, Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008-2011)
President, World Psychiatric Association (2014-2017)
President, British Medical Association (2018-2019)
President , Mental Health Foundation (2014-2020)
Professor Emeritus of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, King’s College London

He has published widely in the field of cultural psychiatry, sexual dysfunction and service development. He has authored/co-authored over 500 scientific papers, chapters, editorials and 45 books. Several of his books have won awards and gone into multiple editions. Three of his books have been translated into Mandarin and Japanese. His Oxford Textbook for Public Mental Health won Book of the Year award last year. In the same year Practical Cultural Psychiatry was highly recommended. Last year he published Conversations on the NHS and Psychiatrists on Psychiatry. His two recent books are on Social Justice and Search for the Self. He has been a series editor on books published by Oxford University Press on Cultural Psychiatry.

He is the Editor of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry, and International Review of Psychiatry. His recent research has focused on burnout in medical students and doctors, geo-psychiatry , mental health of sexual minorities and otherism.

He was elected the Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2003-2008) and then it’s President (2008-2011). He was appointed Chair of the Mental Health Foundation (2011-2014). He is Patron of Care-if charity, South Asian Film Festival and on the board of Sane and Psychiatric Research Trust charities. He is a Friend of Migration Museum in the UK. He is a Distinguished Friend of Migration Museum. He chaired DocHealth charity which is jointly funded by the BMA and the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund (2018-2021). Currently he is Non-Executive Director of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health
Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne

Professor Patrick McGorry is an Irish-born, Australian psychiatrist known world-wide for his development and scaling up of early intervention and youth mental health services, and for mental hCCCCealth innovation, advocacy and reform. He is Executive Director of Orygen, Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and founding editor of the journal “Early Intervention in Psychiatry”. He led the advocacy which resulted in the establishment, by the Australian government in 2005, of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, which in 2006 became Headspace, and he remains the Patron of that organisation. Professor McGorry has published over 1052 publications, with 70,197 citations and a “h” index of 135 (Scopus). He has played a key advocacy and advisory role to government and health system reform in Australia and in many parts of the world.


He is Immediate Past President of the International Association for Youth Mental Health, Past-President of the Schizophrenia International Research Society, Past-president of the Society for Mental Health Research and was Founding President and is now Treasurer of the IEPA: Early Intervention in Mental Health. He is also a Founding Board Member of Australians for Mental Health.

In 2010 Professor McGorry was selected as Australian of the Year and became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). In 2013 he received the Annual Research Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Washington DC, and in 2015 was awarded the Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research by the US-based Brain and Behaviour Foundation. In 2016 he became the first psychiatrist to be elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2018 he received the Schizophrenia International Research Society Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2019 the Humanitarian Award of the Society of Biological Psychiatry and the NHMRC Research Excellence Award. In 2024 he was admitted as a Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Dr. Lee joined the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in 1994. He is currently a Psychiatrist and Senior Consultant as well as the Clinical Director at the Office of Population Health at IMH.

He held multiple administrative appointments at IMH over the years, including the Programme Director of National Addictions Management Service from 2017 to 2024; the Vice-Chairman Medical Board (Clinical) from 2012 to 2021; Head of the Emergency Services from 2015 to 2021; the Programme Director of Mobile Crisis Service from 2007 to 2021; the Chief of the Department of Community Psychiatry from 2004 to 2014 and the Programme Director of the Community Mental Health Team from 2007 to 2017.

Dr. Lee is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

Dr. Lee has been a fellow with the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (Psychiatry) since 2003. He is currently the Vice President of the College of Psychiatrists and was the Chairman of the Section of Addiction Psychiatry from 2018 to 2022. He is a member of the Singapore Red Cross Academy Advisory Panel.

He is the Chairman of the Singapore Armed Forces Psychiatry Advisory Board since 2020 and the Chairman of a Drug Rehabilitation Centre Review Committee since 2021. He is a Council member of the Singapore Medical Council since 2021.

Dr. Lee is currently the President of the Singapore Association for Mental Health and was the immediate past President of the Silver Ribbon Singapore. He was also a board member of the National Council for Social Service from 2014 to 2020. He was also a past President of the Singapore Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Lee has been appointed as a Justice of the Peace since 2018.

Dr. Hung graduated from University of Hong Kong in 1978. He joined the Mental Health Services in Hong Kong since 1979. He was trained in Hong Kong. He received further training in London, United Kingdom in 1983-1984 and in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia in 1994.He is a Specialist (Psychiatry) in Private Practice, Honorary Consultant of Kwai Chung Hospital, Honorary Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry of Chinese University of Hong Kong and Honorary Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry of Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. Dr. Hung and his research team is currently working on a study on Child Psychiatric epidemiology. He is the Principal Investigator: Commissioned Study on Mental Health Survey: Hong Kong Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Epidemiologic Survey: Age 6-17.

Dr. Hung was Hospital Chief Executive and Consultant Psychiatrist of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Team of Kwai Chung Hospital and Yaumatei Child Psychiatric Centre before his retirement in March 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists as well as a Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists. He was Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrist in 2017. He was a member of the Task Group of Global Child Mental Health of the World Psychiatric Association from 2002 to 2006 and President of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists from 2006 to 2010.

He has been awarded the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Services in 2009 for services in Sichuen earthquake and the Bronze Bauhinia Star Medal in 2012 in recognition of his achievement and contribution in the mental health services.

Professor Paul Yip is a Chair Professor of Population Health in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the Associate Dean for Knowledge Exchange and Development in the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong. He is recognized internationally for his expertise in suicide prevention, having conducted extensive research on the factors contributing to suicide and effective prevention strategies. He is a dedicated advocate for mental health awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness. His work aims to promote mental well-being and support individuals at risk of suicide. His research contributions have significantly advanced the understanding of suicide prevention and mental health promotion, leading to evidence-based interventions and policies to address these critical issues. Paul Yip has made a global impact in the field of suicide prevention, influencing policies and practices worldwide. His dedication, expertise, advocacy, research contributions, global impact, and community engagement make him a special and influential figure in the field of suicide prevention and mental health research.

Dr. Chan Kai-tai is a specialist in psychiatry and songwriter. Apart from his work in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he is the Associate Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention. He is also the Council Member, Honorary Treasurer as well as Spokesman of the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists. He has been the Member of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong since 1990. Recently, he was appointed as the Honorary Associate Professor of the School of Chinese of the University of Hong Kong. Moreover, he is currently the Honorary Consultant of New Territories East Cluster of the Hospital Authority.

Throughout the years, apart from clinical practice in Psychiatry, he has been involved in various pedagogical and educational activities, project and service development as well as research activities. In recent years, he has been advocating the development of Youth Mental Health in Hong Kong across different platforms, ranging from online platform to clinical service. He has also been advocating territory-wide campaigns and community projects for mental health education and anti-stigmatization in the community.

To promote well-being in the community, as a songwriter for more than three decades creating music and cultural works, he has been exploring the interplay of culture and mental health as well as advocating the use of music in promoting well-being through university and public talks, school project development, book publication, song production and media engagement.

His recent academic interest is on the exploration of the impact of the post-Millennial world to human mind, mental health and society with inter-disciplinary perspectives, especially about the potential impact of digitalilzation upon young people. He published a conceptual paper named “Emergence of ‘Digitalized Self” in the Age of Digitalization’ in 2022, which attempts to arouse attention and discussion about the profound impact of the global process of digitalization to humankind.

Mike is Professor of Mental Health Recovery and Social Inclusion at University of Nottingham. His main research interests are recovery-focused and outcome-focused mental health services, including Recovery Colleges, lived experience narratives, citizen science, wellbeing, needs assessment and developing measures, e.g. INSPIRE, Camberwell Assessment of Need, Threshold Assessment Grid. He has written over 400 academic articles and published 15 books, including Personal Recovery and Mental Illness (2009), Partnering for Recovery in Mental Health (2014), Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis (2017), Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health (2017) and Camberwell Assessment of Need, 2nd edition (2020). His free booklets include Making Recovery a Reality (2008), REFOCUS: Promoting recovery in community mental health services, 2nd edition (2011), 100 Ways to Support Recovery, 2nd edition (2013), The empirical evidence about recovery (2015), The Business Case for Recovery (2017), Coaching Conversations for Recovery, 2nd edition (2023) and The potential of citizen mental health science (2024), all downloadable at researchintorecovery.com.

Ning Ma, Associate Professor, Psychiatrist, MD, Master of Public Health, Director of Public Health Department in the Peking University Sixth Hospital/Peking University Institute of Mental Health; Executive Deputy Director of the National Mental Health Project Office, Deputy Director of the Mental Health Center of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Visiting Scholar of University of Western Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Rochester USA and Harvard Medical School.

She specializes in public mental health including mental illness rehabilitation and is committed to promoting the development of integrated mental health service models in hospital and communities. She led a pilot project of community-based peer support service for people with severe mental disorders that explores recovery patients with SMD could be a member of the mental health service team and delivery effective service for other patients.

Dr. Ma Ning is a dedicated mental health policy researcher and has undertaken research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation Youth Fund, Beijing Capital Health Development Research Programme, National Health Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and international cooperation research projects such as “Enhance mental health community service capability through peer support in China” with Johnson & Johnson Foundation and “International study of discrimination and stigma outcomes” with King’s College London.

Yu-Tao Xiang, MD, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Macau, China.

Professor Xiang obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Medicine from Capital Medical University in China, completed his PhD in the Department of Psychiatry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and subsequently undertook post-doctoral training at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the USA.

His research focuses on public mental health, psychiatric epidemiology, and evidence-based medicine. Professor Xiang has authored or co-authored over 700 papers in international (SCI/SSCI) journals, including The Lancet, Lancet Psychiatry, and JAMA Psychiatry. He has amassed a total citation count exceeding 38,000 and holds an H-index of 82. In recognition of his contributions, he has been honored with more than ten international research awards, including the Outstanding Young Psychiatrist Award in Developing Countries presented by the World Psychiatric Association (WPA).

Dr. Anthony Tong is a fellow of the Hong Kong Psychological Society. He is also an accredited clinical psychologist of the Hong Kong Institute of Clinical Psychologists. He is a licenced cognitive therapist of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and a certified teacher in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. Dr. Tong has been working in the Hospital Authority for more than 25 years and has extensive experiences in treating various mental disorders. He is an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong. He is also a clinical supervisor of the Clinical Psychology Program of both the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Dr. Tong is the founder of the United Centre for Emotional Health and Positive Living whose main mission is to promote Positive Psychology and mental health. He is also a renowned psychotherapy trainer in the local professional community. He has provided professional trainings to various organizations including Education Bureau, Hospital Authority, different NGOs and university counselling teams. In recent years, Dr. Tong is particularly dedicated to the practice and training of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He is the founding and present chairman of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Hong Kong Chapter whose mission is to promote ACT.

Dr. Tong is also a productive writer. His popular books include 《抑鬱自療》《焦慮自療》《走進360度的幸福》《喜樂工程》《誰偷走了我的快樂》《別跟內心怪獸拔河》and《重拾生活的力量》.

Mr. Yu Kin-sun, Dan, is a registered Social Worker and a certified Social Work Supervisor. Having worked in a mental health field of social service over 20 years, Mr. Yu now is a Chief Officer of the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong. He is devoted to promote the mental health message to raise public concern with his clinical and service experience as well as to cultivate the next generation of social workers working in mental health service.

In addition, he is the certified Master Instructor and Programme Coordinator for the Mental Health First Aid in Hong Kong. With his 17 years diversified teaching experience, he is responsible for developing the Mental Health First Aid Course in different versions and train the course instructor now. He also has conducted the MHFA course for a great variety of targets in Cantonese, English and Mandarin, such as the universities and training institutes, e.g.: The University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Mind HK etc, as well as various International Corporates, for instance: Marsh HK and China, Cathay Pacific, Bupa Insurance Company in Hong Kong, Lendlease in Shanghai, Craig Shipping Limited in Shang Hai Shang Hai Mental Health Centre ,and Duke KunShan University. etc.

Nicola is Professor & Chair in Psychiatry of Old Age in the Department of Psychiatry and Lead of the Wellbeing in Ageing Team (WiAT) (formerly known as Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age (AUPOA), a multidisciplinary research team of academics and students at The University of Melbourne (UoM). She is also a consultant old age psychiatrist at Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) where she conducts her clinical work in the RMH Memory Clinic. Additionally, she currently holds the senior leadership role of Deputy Dean People, Community & Partnerships in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences at UoM. Originally from Germany, Nicola undertook her medical training and doctoral research at the Technical University of Munich and her postdoctoral studies at Boston University before moving to Australia 24 years ago: first to work at the University of Western Australia in Perth to then subsequently transfer to UoM in 2008. Her research experience spans dementia risk reduction, cognitive impairment & dementia as well as aged mental health with involving diverse research methods such as clinical trials, observational studies, guidelines, surveys, systematic reviews and qualitative research: with a more recent focus on implementation science. She published to date more than 300 papers and has a career total of > AUS $ 50M research funding.

Professor Sally Chan is a global healthcare educator and researcher. Her careerinfluences the tripartite mission of research,education, and practice. She focuses on translating evidence to improve mental health services and healthcare outcomes, implementing teaching innovations, and mentoring new generations of healthcare professionals. Supported by more than 120 funded studies and more than 400 publications in international healthcare journals and international presentations, Sally has developed and sustained international inter-institutional partnerships. The results of her sustained scholarship have significantly impacted healthcare practice and education in the Region. She was the Deputy Director of the Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research from 2016-2020 at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and is now the Co-Director of the Translational Research Centre for Digital Mental Health at Tung Wah College, Hong Kong from 2023. She is on the list released by Stanford University of the World's top 2% of Scientists (2020) and the top 2% most-cited scientists in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 (Ranks 93rd in the world in the field of ‘nursing’, and the highest among nursing scholars in Hong Kong). She was named by the Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) as one of the top 10 Australian and New Zealand Professors with the highest education-focused citations (JAN 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13698). Sally has been honoured for her significant and sustained contribution to nursing. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing Fellows, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honours Society of Nursing awarded her the ‘International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.’ Examples of her extensive accolades include the Hong Kong Australian Consul-General’s Outstanding Alumni Award (2024), the Honorary Fellowship awarded by the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing (2022), and the Fellow Ad Eundem awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)(2022).

Dr. Ada Fung is an Associate Professor in the department of sport, physical education and health and is affiliated with the Smart Society Lab in the Hong Kong Baptist University, specializing in cognitive and mental health in old age research. She currently serves as the director of the Life Course Development Research Center of HKBU. Prior to HKBU, she was an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 2018-2022 and was appointed as the first recipient of Thetos Foundation Endowed Young Scholar in Social Services in 2022. She completed PhD degree and her postdoctoral fellowship in the department of psychiatry at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2017. Her major research focuses on early detection of cognitive impairments in older people and dementia risk reduction. She also serves as the vice president of the Chinese Dementia Research Association (CDRA) and a specialist consultant on old age services at the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications.

Professor Lum is the Henry G. Leong Professor in Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests focus on long-term care, productive aging, geriatric mental health, and social capital. He is currently a Commissioner of the Lancet Commission on Long-Term Care for Older Persons, a member of the WHO's Global Network of Long-Term Care, and the WHO's Consortium on Metrics and Evidence for Healthy Aging. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and Editor for Asia and Australasia of the Journal of Aging and Mental Health. He received the Career Leadership Award from the Association of Gerontology Education in Social Work in 2016 and the John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar in 2001. Before joining HKU in 2011, he was a tenured professor at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Lam is a specialist in paediatric and community medicine and is currently Chief Executive Officer of Haven of Hope Christian Service.

With his extensive knowledge of local public health policies and services, Dr Lam has sat on multiple statutory and advisory bodies. He is a non-official member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government. Prior to his current position as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, he served the Elderly Commission for almost 20 years, and he was once the Chairman of the Commission. He now also serves the Council for Carbon Neutrality & Sustainable Development, the Steering Committee on Review of Manpower for Healthcare Services in Residential Care Homes, the Healthcare & Wellness Training Board of the Vocational Training Council, the Industry Training Advisory Committee of Elderly Care Service and the Independent Commission Against Corruption Complaints Committee.

He is also a member of the Green Technology & Finance Development Committee, Advisory Panel on Silver Economy as well as Primary Healthcare Committee to provide advice to the government on various policies.

Dr Lam was honoured by the HKSAR Government with the Justice of Peace in 2003 and Silver Bauhinia Star in 2019. In 2018, apart from receiving Honorary Fellowship from Lingnan University, he also received the Ageing Asia Global Ageing Influencer Award (Special Recognitions) in recognition of his devotion to public services and his influence on policy-making for the global ageing trend.

Professor Marcus Yu-Lung Chiu is currently the Research Professor of Saint Francis University (Hong Kong) and the Visiting Professor to School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Bolton and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health and Society, Bangor University, Wales, UK. He has taught and researched in mental health and recovery and is widely known for his work with family caregivers in Asia. He received his postgraduate training from the School of Behavioural Sciences and Psychiatry, University of Manchester. He is the former editor of Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development (Sage) and the current Co-editor of Social Work and Social Sciences Review (Whiting & Birch).

Ms. Chan Chiu-ling, Ophelia, BBS is a senior member and current Honorary Adviser of The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong. She is also a Former Assistant Director of Social Welfare Department, Rehabilitation & Medical Social Services Branch. She has played a key role in developing and improving numerous services in the field of rehabilitation and medical social work, and setting strategies and standards to promote the development of rehabilitation services.

Chan Sau Kam is a member of the Mental Health Advisory Committee and a former assistant chief executive officer of Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service. She is also a registered social worker with over 30 years of experience in mental health services. Ms. Chan has supervised diversified community support services and developed innovative projects for people in recovery and their family members. She established the "Youth Mental Health Service" to provide early intervention for young people aged 13 to 25 facing mental or emotional distress. Ms Chan also played a key role in developing youth mental health and residential services for people with mental health challenges at Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service of Macau. In recent years, she has been committed to promoting the work of caregivers, including the Carer Platform and CARE College, which focus on promoting the needs of caregivers.

Dr. Chang obtained her doctoral degree in social work from the Catholic University of America between 1988 and 1990. During her tenure at Caritas Family Service from 1969 to 1984, she held various roles including Social Worker, Supervisor, and Coordinator for seven centres (1974 to 1984). From 1985 to 2005, she served as the Division Head of Social Work Services.

Dr. Chang's interest in mental health started during her social work master's degree training as she was placed in Toronto Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital ward, gaining exposure to all kinds of mental health patients. Upon returning to Hong Kong, she was assigned cases majority with mental health issues for the first 2 years. As she progressed to the role of Supervisor Head of Family Service, she initiated group treatment for individuals facing similar emotional problems. In the 1990s, she led a team of social workers from different services and expertise, and succeeded in bidding for the Lai King Rehabilitation Centre. From 2006 to 2018, she joined Shue Yan University as Faculty Head of Social Work Department in educating social workers.

Ms. Kimmy Ho is the former Director of The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong. She joined the Association in early 1983 and has helped the Association develop a diverse range of community rehabilitation services to cater for the needs of service users and their carers. Having worked in the mental health field for over 38 years, she was appointed as a member on various Government's boards and advisory committees, including Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Health and Medical Research Fund Grant Review Board, Working Group on Rehabilitation Programme Plan Review, Committee on Mental Health Promotion, just to name a few. She retired from service in early 2021 and is now enjoying carefree retirement life.

Past President of World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH)
Advisory Panel Member of Global Alliance for Mental Health Advocacy (GAMHA)
Former CEO of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (NLPRA) of Hong Kong

Ms. Wan is a registered social worker in Hong Kong and has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association for 28 years and retired in 2009. After retirement, she devoted her time and experience in promoting mental health globally and actively involved in World Federation for Mental Health and became the President from 2011-2013 and also in Global Alliance for Mental Health Advocacy as Advisory Panel Member representing Hong Kong since 2018. She has been the Vice-Chairperson of Workability Asia for 10 years and now serves as Advisor.

She is a dedicated person for promoting mental health and also pioneered services for persons with lived experience by setting up social enterprises since 1995 and created more than 20 social enterprises for NLPRA including kiosks in mental hospitals, restaurants and cafes in university campus etc as to create job opportunities for persons with lived experience. All these social enterprises still exist and flourish in Hong Kong. She has been awarded as Outstanding Women Entrepreneur in 2008.

She is passionate about promotion and prevention on mental health and stresses that mental well-being is essential for work-life balance. She is most willing to share her passion with the younger generation.