The Lowdown is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 website developed by the New Zealand Ministry of Health

New Zealand Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health , formerly the Department of Health from 1903 to 1993, is a department of the New Zealand government. This is the channel through which the government channels its funding for health services, VOTE: Health.The ministry is overseen by the Minister of Health in the New Zealand...

's National Depression

Clinical depression

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...

 Initiative (NDI). The website launched on December 3, 2007.

Mission

The Lowdown aims to help young New Zealanders

New Zealanders

New Zealanders, colloquially known as Kiwis, are citizens of New Zealand. New Zealand is a multiethnic society, and home to people of many different national origins...

 understand and recover from depression. It does this through online support services and testimonials from New Zealand celebrities.

Navigators

The user can choose from one of four celebrity navigators who tell users how to use the website. There is also a "go alone" option.

Information and Help

The website has depression-related fact sheets and contact lists, as well as online self-tests.

Stories

The Lowdown has video of New Zealand celebrities and musicians talking about how they or someone they know made it through depression. Users can also add their own stories by submitting video or text.

Multimedia

Users can listen to streaming

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

 songs from contributing musicians.

Interface

The website uses flash

Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...

 built on ActionScript 3

ActionScript

ActionScript is an object-oriented language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. . It is a dialect of ECMAScript , and is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the Adobe Flash Player platform, used on Web pages in the form of...

. It uses the Sandy 3D engine.

Musicians

Name	Band
Boh Runga Boh Runga Boh Runga is a New Zealand recording artist and was the lead singer and guitarist in New Zealand rock band Stellar*. She comes from a musical family - both her sisters have been in bands...	Stellar*
P-Money P-Money -Albums:-Singles:-External links:* - News, video clips, downloads* - Information, photos, and video clips...	DJ
Scribe Scribe (rapper) Malo Luafutu better known by his stage name Scribe, is a New Zealand hip hop rapper and recording artist of Samoan descent...	Rapper
Dave Gibson	Elemeno P Elemeno P Elemeno P is a New Zealand rock band. The band's first album, Love & Disrespect was released on 4 July 2003, and reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart. Their second album, Trouble in Paradise was released on 24 November 2005 and includes the singles 11:57, Burn, One Left Standing and You Are...
Brad Carter	Steriogram Steriogram Steriogram is a rock band that formed in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1999. Their 2004 song "Walkie Talkie Man" was used in an advertisement for the iPod and a number of films and video games.-Formation and first album, 1999–2005:...
Young Sid	Rapper
Awa and Junior	Nesian Mystik Nesian Mystik Nesian Mystik was a New Zealand Hip-Hop/R&B group formed in 1999. Their cultural backgrounds unite a remarkable diversity of Polynesia by bringing together Cook Island, Tongan, Samoan and Maori ancestry...
Paul Roper	The Mint Chicks The Mint Chicks The Mint Chicks were an experimental noise rock/power pop group originally from Auckland, New Zealand, who relocated to Portland, Oregon, USA in 2007...
Joel Little	Goodnight Nurse Goodnight Nurse Goodnight Nurse was a pop punk band from New Zealand, formed in Auckland, in 2001. The group originally began as a trio, but later changed to a four-piece prior to the release of their second album...
Gareth Stake & Angelo Munro	The Bleeders
Jason Kerrison	Opshop Opshop Opshop is a New Zealand rock band formed in 2002. Their first album, You Are Here was released in 2004. Their second album, Second Hand Planet was released in 2007 and received Triple Platinum certification. It produced the successful single, One Day...
Julia Deans	Fur Patrol Fur Patrol Fur Patrol is a rock band, originally from Wellington, New Zealand, now based in Melbourne, Australia.Their debut EP, Starlifter, was released on the independent Wellington label Wishbone in 1998. Their debut album Pet was produced by David Long, guitarist of the Six Volts and the The Mutton Birds...
Tau Manukia	Spacifix Spacifix Spacifix is a New Zealand Funk/Soul/Blues/R&B and Reggae boy group from West Auckland, New Zealand. They formed in April 2003 with the view of entering the Smoke Free Pacifika Beats national competition. Aged between 13 and 18 years they won the competition first time up...
Tim Arnold	Pluto
Francis Kora	Kora Kora (band) Kora is a New Zealand five-piece music group, which consists of four brothers from the Kora family. The band, which originally began in Whakatane, New Zealand fuses elements of reggae, rock, dub, roots, funk, and more recently space funk and dub step elements.-Early years: 1991–2002:Kora brothers...
Sam & Jessie Smith	Streetwise Scarlet
Andrew Morrison	False Start
Jon Austin	48 May
Victoria Girling-Butcher	Lucid 3 Lucid 3 Lucid 3 is a rock, blues, folk, pop, jazz band from New Zealand.- Biography :Victoria Girling-Butcher , Marcus Lawson Derek Metivier — joined forces in Auckland in 1999...
Ben Read	8 Foot Sativa 8 Foot Sativa 8 Foot Sativa is a New Zealand-based metal band formed in 1998. Their most famous single is their self titled song, "8 Foot Sativa", which was number one on M2's top 12 list for 12 weeks, and stayed on the chart for seven months...
Savage Savage (rapper) - Studio albums :-Singles:-Featured singles:- External links :*****...	Deceptikonz Deceptikonz The Deceptikonz is a New Zealand Hip hop group formed in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa in 1996 and consists of Savage, Devolo, Alphrisk and Mareko. Their debut album was Elimination released in 2002.- History :...

TV and Radio

Name	Occupation
Aidee Walker	Outrageous Fortune Outrageous Fortune (TV series) Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures... Actress
Antonia Prebble Antonia Prebble Antonia Mary Prebble is a New Zealand actress most famous for her role as Loretta West in the hit television show Outrageous Fortune and as Trudy in The Tribe.-Career:...	Outrageous Fortune Outrageous Fortune (TV series) Outrageous Fortune was a New Zealand comedy/drama television series, which was created by James Griffin and Rachel Lang and was produced by South Pacific Pictures... Actress
Nisha Madhan	Shortland Street Shortland Street Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in... Actress
Lee Donoghue	Shortland Street Shortland Street Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in... Actor
Kimberley Crossman Kimberley Crossman Kimberley Frances Crossman is a New Zealand actress, dancer and cheerleader who is best known for her role as Sophie McKay on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street.-Early life:...	Shortland Street Shortland Street Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in... Actress
Jaquie Brown	Television Presenter
Sonia Gray	Television Presenter
Jane Yee	Television Presenter
Phil Bostwick	C4 Presenter
Dayna Vawdrey Dayna Vawdrey Dayna Christina Vawdrey is a New Zealand television presenter of Canadian and Samoan descent who has appeared on Juice TV. She co-hosted Studio 2 until the series ended on October 1, 2010.-References:...	Studio 2 Studio 2 (New Zealand) Studio 2 LIVE was a New Zealand children's television show. It was originally named Studio 2 up until 2010, when they renamed it to Studio 2 LIVE. It premiered on 22 March 2004 after WNTV was cancelled. It screened weekdays 3:30 - 4:30PM on TV2... Presenter
Tamati Coffey	Breakfast Presenter
Bill & Ben	Pulp Sport Pulp Sport Pulp Sport was a TV show filmed in New Zealand, that mixes sport with various styles of comedy. The hosts Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce act under their respective pseudonyms Bill and Ben, performing a half hour of various sports based skits... Presenters
Mike Puru Mike Puru Mike Puru is a Radio DJ/Presenter best known for working at The Edge. He also competed on the 2006 New Zealand reality show Sing Like a Superstar and in the early 2000's he was Co-host of Flipside....	The Edge The Edge (radio station) The Edge FM is a MediaWorks New Zealand New Zealand youth radio network, playing predominantly pop, rock and R&B. The network's flagship is The Morning Madhouse with Jay Jay Feeney, Mike Puru and Dom Harvey.... DJ

Other

Name	Occupation
Tofiga Fepulea'i Tofiga Fepulea'i Tofiga Fepulea'i is a New Zealand-based actor and comedian of Samoan descent best known as a member of the stand up comedy duo Laughing Samoans.-Biography:...	The Laughing Samoans Member
Ma'a Nonu	Ex All Black All Blacks The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
Lisa Li	Miss Chinese NZ
Adrian Hailwood	Fashion Designer

External links

• The Lowdown Website