9.1 From Heritage to Healing: Youth Mental Health Advocacy Through a Cultural Lens

⭐ _Theme 9 :Cultural Narratives_ ⭐ *From Heritage to Healing: Youth Mental-Health Advocacy through a Cultural Lens* _A special live podcast event, recorded on Sunday, 28 June 2026_ What happens when three organisations, two continents, and one big conversation about mental health collide? In this milestone episode (marking _R U O'Cake?_'s one-year anniversary) hosts May and Ebony team up with friends from the Philippine-Australian Arts, Culture and Innovation Centre (PAACI), alongside special guests from the Philippine Mental Health Association Palawan Chapter (PMHA), for a live cross-cultural podcast event unlike any other. Panelists Raine, Cait, Josh, and Dave open up about growing up between cultures (and continents), the sting of stigma -from being called _"_ * _praning_ * _"_ or _"_ * _baliw_ * _"_ (crazy) - and how healing shows up in unexpected places; a beauty-queen upbringing in Cebu, karaoke as vagus-nerve therapy, and cooking _rellenong bangus_ as a cure for loneliness. Along the way, listeners will hear: * How *Bayanihan* (community spirit) and *Pakikisama* (togetherness) shape Filipino approaches to well-being. * Why mental health conversations in the Philippines are still tangled up with superstition, spirituality, and generational silence - and how grassroots workers in Palawan are slowly breaking that stigma, one conversation at a time. * How *art, food, music, and storytelling* become tools of advocacy, connection, and self-expression when clinical language feels too heavy or too foreign. * A live collaborative art workshop, _"Arts in Advocacy,"_ led by artist Chantelle Cortez Maglalang, where listeners turn shared vulnerability into a visual art piece of collective healing. _Come for the heartfelt stories, stay for the reminder that through art, we carry our culture forward - and in sharing it, we create connection and healing across generations and borders_ *Panelists*: * Raine Baljak (https://www.instagram.com/rainebaljak/) * Cait Salonga (https://www.instagram.com/caitlinsalonga/) * Joshua Emmanuel Bacuel Alutaya (https://www.facebook.com/joshua.alutaya.9) * Daven Rocaberte (https://www.instagram.com/riemueldaven/) *Partner Organisations* * Philippine-Australian Arts, Culture and Innovation Centre (https://www.facebook.com/narracoopltd) * Philippine Mental Health Association Palawan Chapter (https://www.facebook.com/pmhapalawan) 💬 If you enjoyed this episode, please support us by subscribing and leaving a review on your podcast platform! 📲 Connect with us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ruocake.pod) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@ruocake.pod) Have a great day! 💛 💗