Expression of Interest Hosting the 2019 International Youth Mental Health Conference The International Youth Mental Health Conference is held every two years in a major city. Previously the Conference has been held in Melbourne, Australia; Brighton, United Kingdom; Montreal, Canada and this year Dublin, Ireland. The IAYMH is now seeking expression of interests from groups hoping to host the 2019 Conference in your region or country. For individuals, organisations, cities and countries who are interested in hosting this Conference we have provided a guide for the range and depth of information that should be submitted in a bid to the IAYMH for consideration. All submitting groups are actively encouraged to seek the advice and assistance of their countries Conference or Convention and Visitor organisations. Most Governments on a national, regional and/or local level will have this type of service, which assists groups to prepare Conference bids. They are usually located within Departments of Tourism and/or Government Business Development units. This is a competitive process and a range of factors will be considered. These factors include the size and global accessibility of the City, the level of local experience by industry and business in undertaking Conferences of this size, the range of services and facilities available to delegates and options there are for adjunctive travel. Critical to the bid is the degree of youth mental health work occurring and the level of youth engagement in this issue in the proposed host city and country and the degree of support (including financial and in kind). The IAMYH secretariat will provide guidance to groups preparing a bid and will also assist you with the provision of additional information if you need it. The IAMYH has produced a Conference Hosting Information Kit that outlines the framework in which this Conference operates and the associated expectations of the successful bidder. This Kit can be obtained by emailing the IAYMH. Your bid document is essentially a sales pitch for why the IAYMH should select your region as the next locality for its conference. It will be important that you do all that you can to convince those reviewing it that you are the ideal group to be involved in hosting this conference in the best possible location.
The Bid Document This Document will be an amalgam of information, but it must also include information on the scale of work being undertaken in youth mental health across sectors. This event is not a traditional medical research conference and your bid should reflect your understanding of the focus of the event and it s inclusive approach. In particular you should demonstrate the degree of youth engagement and the scale of youth participation in mental health occurring in your city and country. You must also demonstrate an understanding of the international approach that is taken to the planning and development of the Conference and the key role of the IAYMH in the event. It would be wise to have at least attended one of the prior Conferences to assist you in understanding the event and preparing your bid. THE IAYMH will accept e-versions of your bid documents and they should be sent to: Mr Craig Hodges IAYMH Secretary Locked Bag 10 PARKVILLE VIC 3052 or Craig@iaymh.org IMPORTANT DATES The EOI process will open on the 15 st February 2017 at which time the Conference Kit will be available for interested bidders to review and can be accessed on our website at www.iaymh.org All Expression of Interest (EOI) bids for the 2019 International Youth Mental Health Conference are to be received by no later than 12 midnight AEDST on Friday 30th April 2017.. Please note the selection process is anticipated to take several months and we will advise you of the outcome as soon as possible after a decision is taken. THE IAYMH intends to announce the successful bid at the 2017 conference in Dublin and will commence working with the preferred site very soon after the Conference in Dublin particularly with regard to securing a date and a site. More formal activities and meetings will then commence in March 2018 with the formal Committees associated with the Conference likely to be convened in April / May 2018. BID INFORMATION It would be helpful if your bid included the following information: OFFICIAL INVITATION
This should be a letter from the Convenor of your Group who will remain actively involved in the process if you are successful. It would be usual for this letter to come from a Senior Clinician, Academic or Prominent person actively working in the area of youth mental health. It is probable that this person will be a Co Convenor of the meeting with the IAYMH. This is ultimately a decision of the IAYMH. LETTER OF SUPPORT Copies of letters of support from key individuals and groups will be helpful in giving the IAYMH a sense of the commitment there is to hosting the conference in your country. Letters from the head of your Academic units, the government representative for mental health, key peak bodies, any non-government agencies representing the interests of those with a mental illness, the head of your political system on each level of government and your Minister of Health and most importantly critical stakeholders Young People and Families. You may also like to seek support from the Head of the local Convention and Visitors Service. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A summary of all of the information contained in the document will assist in pointing the reader to the key sections within the body of the document and can serve to highlight important features. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW An overview of the youth mental health landscape as it relates to clinical care, cross sectorial work, health promotion, research, service development and youth engagement more broadly will assist the IAYMH to understand the current work being undertaken in your city and country. An overview of the scale of youth engagement and participation in youth mental health issues being undertaken in your city and country. In particular the IAYMH will be interested to know if your country has held any national events or conferences in this area and how networked the national youth mental health sector is. HOST CITY Try and include as much information as possible about your proposed location in this section. It s location from a global perspective, facts and figures on why it makes the ideal location for a Conference. Additional information on the diversity of the location, the resources it has available for conferences, the experience of the city and its businesses in catering to a Conference and its delegates and what attractions the city can provide. Other
general information on the climate, population, transport services, visa requirements, currency and banking and other social customs like tipping would be helpful. PROPOSED VENUES Information detailing the range of venues available that could accommodate the Conference and the services and facilities each can provide will be helpful. Please include indicative venue hire costs. However please do not under ANY circumstances put any venues on a tentative hold as this impacts negatively upon our capacity to negotiate the best price. Our Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) will ultimately be responsible for ALL negotiations with venues and suppliers. Please note that the IAYMH is particularly interested in venues with character and a degree of warmth! In addition to this your group s comments on the proposed venue and any experience you have of it could be added to this section. PROPOSED ACCOMMODATION Details on the range of accommodation options, what your local accommodation rating system is, an indication of price for different options and types would be informative. A map or chart showing the range and type of accommodation options located in close proximity to the proposed venue will be enormously useful. TRANSPORTATION What type of transportation system operates within the city and how delegates can utilise them will be important. It is a good idea to highlight the other transport benefits of your location stopover options, number of international airlines and flights flying into the city on a weekly basis. The flying time from different major ports and other transport systems information and availability both domestic and international. Please note that it is anticipated that a considerable number of delegates will be drawn from Australia and the UK. TOURING AND LEISURE PROGRAMS Please try and highlight the many and varied cultural and entertainment options available in your City, information on historical features, market and shopping opportunities, features like parks, gardens, beaches and lakes, sport, wineries, restaurants and cafes and any other important aspect that is part of the character of your city. You may wish to include information on unstructured activities that partners and families of delegates can participate in either by themselves or with a group during the Conference.
It is also important to highlight the range of onward holiday and recreation options available to delegates in your city, other parts of your Country or in neighbouring countries. SPONSORSHIP/CORPORATE ENAGEMENT Please highlight any information about actual opportunities the country or its location offers with regard to the above. Please note that the IAYMH will not accept pharmaceutical, alcohol or gaming industry support for this event and will vet all potential corporate sponsors to ensure their ethos aligns with the Association. We would welcome and encourage information on individuals, organisation and groups who have indicated an in principal agreement to sponsor the event. Please be aware that this conference requires a certain level of sponsorship and we would expect that a considerable amount of sponsorship is obtained within the host Country and your group would be expected to play a significant role in obtaining this funding. PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISER (PCO) Please provide information about a PCO who is experienced in working on this type of event. Whilst we welcome recommendations please note the IAYMH will be solely responsible for selecting and appointing the PCO and the PCO will be responsible for negotiating with Venues and other contractors. The IAYMH may chose to utilise a PCO outside of your jurisdiction. Currently the IAYMH uses a Dublin based Core PCO who have run our last three Conferences. TECHNOLOGY The IAYMH requires a strong emphasis of social media and so any details you can provide on locations and venues access to wi-fi and other technological aspects etc would be useful. Finally Good Luck with your bid and our thanks for your interest in IAYMH and youth mental health!