UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Wendy Rodgers opened the fourth annual Global Mental Well-being and Substance (Mis)Use Conference at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre on Friday, July 31
Hosted by the New African Canadians organization, the conference took place from July 30 to August 4, covering the theme of Families. Communities. Futures.
Dr. Rodgers said that community building, well-being, wellness, and attention to health and well-being challenges such as substance abuse and mental health are critical to understanding and supporting people in communities.
“This is a time when there is a lot of unrest in the world. There are social, political, and economic pressures as well as the fast rise of technologies that are further influencing the nature and quality of information and misinformation that people have access to. There is increased polarization, forcing people to take sides on issues…This puts pressure on people and communities that they are not prepared to handle….”
Universities need to set a clear, supportive, and stable path to a sustainable future, support inclusiveness, and recognize that diversity is critical to the sustainability of communities and societies, she said
“Universities have to step up in this kind of environment at a time when people have lost trust in long-standing institutions, when information and distribution of information can be biased and manipulated to further polarize … at a time when we know more high-quality education is necessary to support the basics including equitable access to good quality information, and this is where universities have to fill that gap.”
UPEI is working hard to create a culture of trust, safety, and inclusiveness based on the pillars of its strategic plan, Making our world a better place: UPEI Strategic Plan, 2025–2030, and supported by its key values of academic freedom; accountability and integrity; pursuit of excellence; equity, diversity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging; and reconciliation
“We are making progress,” she said, noting that UPEI was recently recognized by Forbes Canada as a 2026 Best Employer for Company Culture. She added that conferences—like this one—that bring leaders from governments, community and not-for-profit organizations, and industry together to recognize and address the challenges and strengthen communities.
“UPEI is proud to be the provincial university,” she said, “supporting all these organizations and supporting and maintaining the educational attainment level of the province, supporting innovation in industry from agriculture to the fishery to aeronautics to public service and health, and working with the people of PEI, Canada, and the world to ensure our programming is relevant, accessible, and contributing to building the human and economic infrastructure to support thriving peoples and communities.”
On July 30, Dr. Rodgers met with His Excellency Allan Kajik, Ambassador of Uganda to Canada, who, along with Member of Parliament for Charlottetown Sean Casey, Health and Wellness Minister Cory Deagle, Mayor of Charlottetown Philip Brown, and other dignitaries, also spoke at the opening ceremony for the conference. Following the opening ceremony, delegates discussed building resilient families and healing communities, and held a community healing circle
