The annual Global Wellness Day will return this year for its 10th edition in Macao. This year’s theme focuses on “protecting our mental wellness”.
The one-day event focused on health and wellbeing will take place on 12 June at the Macau Tower’s ground level, from 10 am to 6 pm, with Manna for People president Cintia Martin as 2021 Global Wellness Day’s Macao Ambassador. As the organisers have highlighted, it is a day for families and all are free to join.
Organisers Manna for People – in collaboration with Mana Vida – with MR.J Sports and Entertainment and the Macau Tower introduced the event and the activities yesterday at Macau Tower’s Grand Hall 7-8.
Martins shared that “This year, Global Wellness Day has grown bigger, thanks to the collaboration between Mana Vida and Mr J Sports and Entertainment.”
“Manna for People is a local NGO related to Mana Vida, with the mission to improve sociability, physically and spiritually. Within the same mission, I’ve been given the responsibility to represent Global Wellness Day in Macao. As Macao Ambassador for the past four years, my goals have been driven by love towards the community of Macao. And this is why we put so much work together, a big gift from various professionals in Macao for the city.”
“Protecting our mental wellness was a motto the Global Wellness Day headquarters stipulated,” said Martins. “For Macao itself, we’ve seen that the suicide rate for young people is increasing. And it’s something that’s not just in Macao, but the whole world. According to studies, the 16-24-year-old group suffers most, either due to pressure from school or pressure from families. This event is a way for us to be able to give them relief, and maybe give some hope.”
MR.J Co-founder and Director of Programme & Events Jairo Calangi added to this, saying that “promoting this event is a very important message that we want to bring to the community because Global Wellness Day itself was originally in order to change, around the globe, how people feel about depression – bringing awareness.”
“Many people can be too shy or they’re too scared to actually come out and exercise and to tell people they struggle mentally,” he continued. “We want this event to encourage people to come out to experience something outdoors, to meet people and to exercise and have fun. We wish to change a little bit of the perceptions surrounding this illness.”
Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre Executive Director Francis Lam also thanked the organisers for choosing Macau Tower as the main venue of the event, saying: “We fully support this event as Macau Tower has always been a very great supporter for the community. Mental health is a very important and serious topic here, so Macau Tower hopes by using this event to help spread the message and we share how to take care of our own mental health and always remember [to lead a balanced life].”
Calangi shared that around 40 SMEs and NGOs will be part of the one-day event, with around 30 supporting entities, including the Macau Tower. The organisers will also be bringing wellness activities such as Aerial arts, Zumba, Pilates, dance, stretching and other new sports experiences. Spread throughout the events are workshops on aromatherapies and nutrition – making kombucha and nut milk – that will be conducted by local SMEs. There will also be free experiences like farming, massage and game zones for visitors to enjoy.
To attract event-goers, there will be a lucky draw with prizes coming from some of the sponsors. “For example, we have spas, we have stays in a hotel, we have good outfits from Lululemon… As for Life Project, they will have daypasses. Anytime Fitness, one of our biggest sponsors, will also be giving us seven-day passes for the first 100 people to arrive,” said Martins, who further explained that the lucky draw is the only part of the event people will have to pay for.
According to Calangi, the event follows the SSM pandemic prevention guidelines. “Everyone will have to wear a mask if they’re not exercising. If they’re exercising, they’ll be a meter apart. We’re actually limiting the event to 300 people and we’re hoping the event is more of a free-flow, where we’re floating around,” he explained. “I wouldn’t expect the whole 300 people to be stuck in one area. I think 300 is a great number for the area downstairs.”
A global non-profit project, Global Wellness Day was founded in 2012 by Belgin Aksoy – tourism industry expert and founder of Richmond Nua Wellness Spa, Turkey’s first destination spa – in Turkey and has grown throughout the world, following the motto: “One day, can change your whole life”. In 2020, it was celebrated in over 170 countries in 8,000 different locations.
