Can anyone participate in this programme?
To apply for this programme, you must be:
1. Within the age range of 18 to 25 years old, and
2. Malaysian who is also currently residing in Malaysia

Only team applications are accepted, in which each team must consist of 4-5 members. 

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Do I need to have a certain level of knowledge about policies to be eligible to participate in MHPCC?
No. In fact, an interest in mental health policymaking is all you need to apply - just as long as you are aged between 18 and 25 and are a Malaysian who currently lives in Malaysia.

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Would food and logistics for participants be covered in MHPCC? 

Yes! Food/refreshments, accommodations (for out-of-state participants) and travel allowances will be provided during all in-person events/sessions.

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Is there a participant quota for the programme?
To ensure the quality of the programme is maintained, we only accept 40 participants (in teams of 4 to 5 members).

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Are there other factors that you look at when selecting participants?
Interest in mental health policymaking is one. Other factors include the applicant’s current state of residence, gender and ethnicity, and these are to ensure that there is diverse representation among our MHPCC participants.

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What would the in-person workshop and webinars cover?
Mental health topic areas received by participants in case prompts will be covered, as well as fundamental knowledge and skills on policymaking. 

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Is mentorship mandatory for participants?
Yes, it is. Each team will be assigned to a mentor for 3 months, with language of communication preferences (English or Malay) taken into consideration. The mentorship component is, in fact, the most sought after by past MHPCC participants. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from past participants on the instrumental role that mentors have played in enhancing their knowledge of policymaking and understanding of the thematic issues that they were developing policy solutions for. 

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Who will be a part of the judge panel for the policy case competition? 
We consistently strive to ensure that the composition of the judge panel is as multisectoral as possible, with at least one member from the Ministry of Health/National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health, and at least one member from civil society. For MHPCC 2023, we were honoured to have a member of Parliament YB Dr. Kelvin Yii - who was also then special adviser to the Health Minister - a part of the judge panel. 

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Can you provide more information on the online engagements between finalist teams and thematic experts? 
The finalist teams will meet with experts relevant to the thematic areas of their case prompts. In these engagement sessions, the experts will provide constructive feedback to their policy solutions, which the finalist teams would take on board as they refine their policy solutions. 

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Can you elaborate further on the online capacity-building sessions that finalist teams will receive?
The exact areas will only be confirmed sometime in October/November, as we will also account for the needs of the finalist teams. Nevertheless, among the anticipated areas include how to develop a policy brief, and experience-sharing by parties with policy advocacy experience such as civil society representatives.

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How impactful is MHPCC in bringing about change in mental health policymaking in Malaysia?
Through policy presentations in the competition and post-competition engagements, MHPCC provides key mental health policymakers crucial glimpses into what Malaysian youth think about national mental health challenges and most importantly, the solutions that work and do not work. These can form the basis for further policies and action plans developed by the government. 

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Equally importantly, MHPCC challenges negative preconceptions that policymakers may have on the capacity of youth in contributing to the mental health policymaking process. This is a crucial step towards establishing the norm of including the voices of youth in all levels of the policymaking process in the long-term.

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How do I apply for MHPCC?
The team captain would need to fill in the application form before 17 May 2024.

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As a part of the application, each team will also have to submit a 300-word response addressing these two questions:
1. What made your team interested in joining MHPCC?
2. How does your team envision applying the knowledge and skills gained from this competition in your professional and personal lives?

The response must be attached as a document upon submitting the application form. 

 

What if I have more questions?
Email zulaikha@nyawamy.org or message us on Instagram.