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Students launch interactive R U OK? video resource

Sunday, 18 Aug 2024

In a first for R U OK?, primary school students across Australia will be able to choose their own journey in an interactive video resource - called Find the way to ask R U OK? - designed with input from students at Newcastle East Public School in NSW in collaboration with Life Ed Australia.

We value the ideas and experiences of young people, and their input is crucial to the design of our resources to ensure they are useful, engaging and relevant. This is how we’ve continued to evolve to meet the changing needs of young people and why our approach continues to make an impact 45 years on.

The free R U OK? video resource features Life Ed’s iconic Healthy Harold, joined by two new characters, the ‘Thoughts’, who contemplate the different approaches to various peer-to-peer situations that may arise in the school day.
Michelle Weisbaum, Education Program Development Coordinator at Life Ed Australia.

Find the way to ask R U OK? responds to recommendations for more student resources to build awareness and skills around how to talk about and respond to concerns about wellbeing and mental health.

The report from the University of Adelaide found nearly 1 in 3 primary school students experience high depression, anxiety, or both.

For students, learning how to support their peers and show interest in how a friend is traveling, through whatever life is throwing at them, is an important life skill.
Dr Hannah Brown, Education and Young People Manager at R U OK?

In Find the way to ask R U OK? students are invited to actively participate by selecting which action to take to support their friends.

Each situation and response featured as part of the interactive journey was inspired by experiences and ideas shared by students from Newcastle East Public School in a workshop facilitated by Life Ed and R U OK? earlier this year.

The students’ insights were transformed into a mix of live-action and animated scenarios for the video resource by creative agency, Pirate Size Productions using the interactive video technology provided by Vudoo.

Students involved in the development were able to experience the new resources for the first time at a special screening at their school on Thursday 15 August 2024. 

Find the way to ask R U OK? launches with just under a month to go until the R U OK? National Day of Action on 12 September 2024.

Educators are passionate about doing the very best for the young people in their care.

We have designed these resources to support educators and increase students’ capacity to look after their peers by having meaningful R U OK? conversations.

A lot can happen in a year, a month, a week. By having regular, meaningful conversations, we build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when students notice a friend is struggling, they know how to reach out.
Dr Hannah Brown, Education and Young People Manager at R U OK?

The suicide prevention charity is urging all Australians to think beyond one day and Ask R U OK? Any Day because life happens every day.

To explore the new interactive video resource:

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