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Dubai: Why we needed Mentl Awards 2024

The awards ceremony was held on November 22 at Expo City Dubai

Published: Tue 26 Nov 2024, 2:33 PM

Updated: Tue 26 Nov 2024, 2:34 PM

  • By
  • Dr Justin Thomas

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"And the award for outstanding mental health initiative from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia goes to.."

The Master of Ceremonies (MC) pauses to amplify the suspense. I catch myself holding my breath. My colleagues, too, are on the knife-edge of euphoria and disappointment. Ramping up the volume and excitement in his voice, the MC casts a glance at our table before finishing his sentence with the words we came to hear: "…the Sync digital wellbeing programme". We are winners.

This was the Mentl Awards 2024, held on November 22 at the Connect Conference Center, Expo City in Dubai. Mentl, now in its second year, is essentially the region's Met Gala for mental health. There are numerous award categories, from workplace wellbeing initiatives to community mental health impact. The shortlisted finalists are invited to "dress to impress", and they do. The venue, too, is well turned out, sporting all the trimmings we have come to associate with prestigious gala events – red carpets, media walls, and mood lighting.

Awards and award ceremonies have become increasingly common, spanning all aspects of life, including sports (The Ballon d'Or) and arts (Booker Prize), business (CEO of the Year) and influence (Time's Person of the Year). Less prestigiously, within individual organisations of all kinds, we also find a myriad of awards, from employee of the month to prom queen, along with participation awards such as "most improved student".

Scott Armstrong, Founder of Mentl

Scott Armstrong, Founder of Mentl

We generally give awards for things we, as a society, value highly – skill, intellect, talent, effort, beauty and more. The existence of an award ceremony honouring those who promote psychological well-being and mental health signals the importance we now place on such initiatives across the region. There was a time not too long ago when mental health was, at best, not even mentioned. This sentiment was eloquently explored by Adel AlFalasi, winner of Mentl's 2023 Mental Health Hero award. Adel ended his opening address by reminding the audience that "there is no wealth without health and no health without mental health".

Award ceremonies, in general, bring together people who share common goals, be it making movies, writing stories or promoting public mental health. Awards and award ceremonies can help create or enhance a sense of belonging to a valued social group – finding one's tribe/qabeela. For those who win well-merited awards, the accolade provides external validation that their work is valued by their peers and perceived as having worth and impact.

For some of us, awards can boost our esteem and might also shape our identities or at least our public personas. For instance, the writer becomes an award-winning author, and the professor becomes a Nobel laureate. Awards can enhance status and reputation, and they frequently attract publicity. What's good for the individual can be even better for the team; when an organisation wins an award, it's typically credibility-enhancing and profile-raising. When the humble eatery becomes a Michelin-starred restaurant, the business booms.

The Mentl event was flawless, and speaking of Michelin stars the food was gorgeous too. However, the one element missing from the evening were the acceptance speeches. At the Mentl event, awardees did not get to make impromptu or carefully rehearsed thank you speeches. For me, this is half the fun of such events. I understand why this element isn't always included. Acceptance speeches can get messy, with people misusing the platform and rambling on forever, virtue signalling, or taking thinly (or not so thinly) veiled shots at rivals.

The team behind the Sync digital wellbeing programme . Photo by Anisa Alkunshalie

The team behind the Sync digital wellbeing programme . Photo by Anisa Alkunshalie

One of my all-time favourite acceptance speech moments was by the late Doris Lessing, a celebrated author with a long list of accolades. In 2007 – at age 88 – Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature - the oldest person ever to receive the award. She was informed about her win just as she was arriving home in a taxicab with her grocery shopping. Ignoring the media circus on her doorstep, she prioritised paying the driver and getting her groceries out of the cab. She then turned to an annoyingly insistent reporter and said, "I've won all the prizes in Europe, every one; I'm delighted to win them all, OK, it's a Royal Flush, OK", before shuffling off indoors with her groceries.

Our team was delighted to win a Mentl award. If we ever win again, we hope to make an acceptance speech. Expressing gratitude benefits mental health and is well in keeping with the award's theme. I want to thank everybody involved in making the Mentl Awards 2024 a success.

Dr. Justin Thomas is a chartered psychologist and senior researcher in the Digital Wellbeing Program (Sync) at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra).

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