Collaborative Systems for Solving Complex Social Challenges: Preventing Mental Illness in Chile

In-person: to register for this event, click here.

Event showcasing Worldwide Week: Harvard’s Chile Regional Office, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, part of the Mahindra series Pedagogies for Life.

Speakers: Claudia Bobadilla, Board Business Member, Founder Puente Social and Senior Fellow, Harvard ALI; Jorge Carey, President CNN Chile; Eduardo Chadwick, President Chadwick Winery; Roberto de Andraca, Board Director, CAP Group Company;  Fawwaz Habbal, Former Executive Dean for Education and Research, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Senior Lecturer on Applied Physics; Carolina Leitao, Major in Peñalolén, Chile; Benjamin Miller, Leader, Speaker, Advocate Empower Program; Doris Sommer, Ira and Jewell Williams Professor, Romance Languages & Literatures, African and African American Studies, Harvard University; Brian Trelstad, Faculty Chair, Advanced Leadership Initiative and Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and Joseph L. Rice, III Faculty Fellow, Harvard Business School; Susana Torres, President of the Board of the Chilean-Swiss Chamber of Commerce; Mario Valdivia, Former Dean and Professor, Medical School, Universidad de Concepción; Benjamín Villa, Master’s in Design Engineering, Harvard University, and co-instructor with Professor Habbal; Tomás Vodanovic, Mayor in Maipú, Chile

The Coalition represents a unified platform, bringing together diverse institutions with a shared goal: crafting sustainable, innovative solutions to bolster mental health in the Maipú and Peñalolén communities. Our particular emphasis lies in aiding women and children.

Addressing this layered and complex challenge demands collaboration from actors across society, academia, political local authorities, social leaders, the business sector, NGOs and professionals from various fields, including medicine and arts. Sharing a common purpose, driven by trust, knowledge, grassroots experience, and focus on solutions, we implement interventions that embrace preventive strategies by harnessing social technologies. These technologies extend beyond digital means, involving human intellect and creativity, all aimed at positively transforming social processes.

The pandemic's global reach has exposed our societal fragility, yet it has also revealed a profound resilience in Chile. Communities banded together, addressing urgent mental health concerns, especially among isolated children and women forced to uphold family structures. The Coalition's high-impact work has deepened our understanding of prevention and spurred innovation in crafting well-structured solutions for multifaceted mental health challenges.

Join us in Making a Difference.  We warmly invite you to learn firsthand about the interventions we've developed thus far in our continuous endeavor to drive genuine social impact in communities that truly need it.

Agenda

4:00 PM - 4:05 PM: Welcome and Event Overview. Speaker: Marcela Rentería, DRCLAS, Harvard University

4:05 PM - 4:10 PM: Introduction and Importance of Collaborative Systems. Speaker: Claudia Bobadilla, Harvard ALI

4:10 PM - 4:20 PM: Introduction to Complex Systems. Speaker: Fawwaz Habbal, Harvard University

4:20 PM - 4:30 PM: Chile Mental Health Data. Speaker: Benjamin Villa, Harvard University

4:30 PM - 4:50 PM: Community Public Policy. Discussion with two mayors of Municipalities in Santiago, Chile

●      Carolina Leitao, Mayor in Peñalolén, Chile-10 min

●      Tomás Vodanovic, Mayor in Maipú, Chile-10 min

Moderator: Claudia Bobadilla. 4:50 PM - 5:00 PM: Q&A for Public Policy Panel

5:00 PM - 5:10 PM: Coffee Break

5:10 PM - 5:35 PM: Private Sector Real Engagement. Discussion with leaders of companies that support the coalition

●      Susana Torres, President Board Chilean-Swiss Chamber of Commerce- 6 min

●      Eduardo Chadwick, President Chadwick Winery- 6 min

●      Roberto de Andraca, Board Director, CAP Group Company- 6 min

●      Jorge Carey, President, CNN Chile- 6 min

Moderator: Claudia Bobadilla. 5:35 PM - 5:45 PM: Q&A for Private Sector Panel

5:45 PM - 6:15 PM: Art and Medical-Based Interventions in Santiago, Chile. Presentations of ground-based pilot initiatives

●      Doris Sommer, Harvard University. Elaborating on Pre-texts, an art-based intervention that promotes literacy, innovation, and civic engagement- 10 min

●      Mario Valdivia, Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Introducing the program: Mente Sana, Vida Plena. A program addressing the rise in teenage suicidal ideation with specialized training at CESFAM in Maipú- 10 min

●      Benjamin Miller: Discussing Empower, a platform to train providers in evidence-based psychosocial treatments. The goal: training one million front-line workers in five years in the world- 10 min

Moderator: Claudia Bobadilla. 6:15 PM - 6:25 PM: Q&A for Interventions Panel

6:25 PM - 6:30 PM: Closing Remarks - Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Speaker: Brian Trelstad, Faculty Chair, Advanced Leadership Initiative and Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and Joseph L. Rice, III Faculty Fellow, Harvard Business School- 5 min

Presented in collaboration with:
The Mahindra Humanities Center
Cultural Agents
Puente Social
Viñedos Chadwick
Municipalidad de Maipú
Municipalidad de Peñalolén
Universidad de Concepción
Cámara Chileno Suiza de Comercio

CNN Chile