TheWorld Suicide Prevention Day Awareness Event Host Guide has been prepared by Roses in the Ocean and the Queensland Mental Health Commission to assist individuals and organisations plan and run safe and responsible community events and activities for World Suicide Prevention Day.

World Suicide Prevention Day is an initiative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is held on 10 September each year to draw public attention to one of the world’s largest causes of premature and unnecessary death — suicide.

In 2017, 10 September falls on a Sunday and, while many events will be held on this day, you may wish to arrange an activity during the week leading up to that day.

The theme for 2017 is Take a minute, change a life. Last year, IASP also introduced a universal suicide prevention ribbon featuring the colours yellow and orange. These two colours have been used around the world to signify suicide prevention and awareness to symbolise awareness and hope.

Roses in the Oceanalso encourages you to consider gifting a rose to someone as a symbol that you care, or placing a rose in a waterway (ocean, river, creek, lake or dam)to demonstrate your willingness to speak safely about suicide, to ask for help, offer support to someone in need, and to remember those we have lost to suicide.

Information on how to plan, organise and run an event can be found in the enclosed guide and accompanying online resources. Please pay close attention to the information provided to ensure that your activity is carefully and sensitively managed. For public events, we strongly recommend inclusion of suitably qualified counsellors.

Additional resources including a range of free, downloadable print resources can be found at The IASP website( also has global resources which may also be useful.

Thank you for helping to bring suicide out of the darkness and into the light.

Bronwen EdwardsDr Lesley van Schoubroeck
CEO andFounderQueensland Mental Health Commissioner
Roses in the Ocean

Roses in the Ocean is a grass-roots organisation focussed on building the capacity of people with a lived experience of suicide, and their communities to play an active role in suicide prevention. They also operate a national lived experience speaker’s hub, and hold advocacy and advisory roles. / The Queensland Mental Health Commission is a statutory body established by the Queensland Government to drive ongoing reform towards a more integrated, evidence-based, recovery-oriented mental health and substance misuse system.