Mental health
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Leadership award recognises digital wellbeing tools

16 Nov 2021

Te Hiringa Hauora chief executive Tane Cassidy has received the Leadership Excellence International Award 2021 for New Zealand in recognition of the work Te Hiringa Hauora has done in implementing scalable digital wellbeing tools.

It was presented virtually at the annual awards ceremony and congress of eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC) last week. eMHIC is an international charity of global leaders and experts that facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing on eMental health and addiction. The network draws on expertise from Sweden. England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Tane says: “eMental Health campaigns are complex and, while good leadership is important, it takes a team to do it effectively. Each project being discussed at the congress has an extensive whakapapa and a huge number of people who have contributed to its success.”

This year Te Hiringa Hauora has developed Small Steps in partnership with Clearhead, a website with free digital tools designed to help people take one small step towards improving their wellbeing or supporting their whānau or friends.

Over 160,000 visitors have used Small Steps since it launched in April 2021. More tools are being developed for the site.

Small Steps and Depression.org.nz are both zero-rated websites, which means the public can access both via moble phones without incurring data use charges. Te Hiringa Hauora played a significant role in getting the zero-data initiative off the ground last year.