Mental Health Europe (MHE) will mark World Mental Health Day (10 October 2018) by bringing together young people, politicians and experts to discuss mental health – the focus for this year’s World Mental Health Day
Speakers from a diverse range of organisations will come together this evening for the event Promoting positive mental health for the next generation, which is being hosted by Julie Ward MEP (S&D, United Kingdom), a member of MHE’s Coalition for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the European Parliament.
Patricia Reilly from the European Commission (Deputy Head of Cabinet for Education, Culture Youth and Sport) will speak about what the EU is doing to promote young people’s wellbeing, and Natalie Schurmann – founder of Badiliko, an MHE member organisation – will outline how to build resilience in young people from a practitioner’s perspective.
The event will finish with a panel discussion featuring three young people working in European youth organisations – Zuzana Vaneckova (European Youth Forum), Peter McManus (European Youth Parliament), and Sara Þöll Finnbogadóttir (OBESSU). The discussion will be chaired by MHE President Jan Bernsden.
Deputy Head of Cabinet at the European Commission, Patricia Reilly, said: “Good mental health is vital for individuals’ wellbeing, and for the economic growth and social development of Europe. Across the Commission, we are working hard with Member States, NGOs and other stakeholders to promote good mental health for everyone.
“The EU youth strategy is one way we are supporting young people’s wellbeing, providing empowering opportunities through the European Solidarity Corps and the Erasmus+ programme. We want to help young people connect as a European community and build the meaningful and long-lasting friendships that are essential for wellbeing.”
Robin Murphy from MHE said: “Ensuring positive mental health for next generation is an incredibly important issue that we need to get right. Research has found that most mental health difficulties in adults emerged during adolescence, so if we can get things right early on we can really benefit life-long mental health. By bringing together people in different fields, we hope tonight’s event will showcase different ways we can promote positive mental health for the next generation.”
The event will take place Wednesday 10 October 2018, 17:00-19:00 in Room A5G305, European Parliament, Brussels.
