“I feel very privileged to be here, but I shouldn’t feel that way. I should be able to feel comfortable and this should not be a privilege. It should be a norm,” said Inês Mália Sarmento, a young mental health advocate from Portugal, in her speech to participants on the first day of Mental Health Week in Athens, Greece.
Mental Health Week, a joint initiative of WHO/Europe, through its Office for Quality of Care in Athens, and the Government of Greece, was a special 3-day series of events from 3-5 November , aimed at raising awareness about mental health. of children and young people in Greece and throughout the WHO European Region.
Inês was one of more than 200 young advocates and service users who joined experts and policymakers at the event to demand equal partnership in shaping mental health policy and services, and to create mental health systems that are inclusive. and free from stigma and discrimination.
An open platform to reform mental health services
Held at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Mental Health Week involved the mental health service users and their families from many European countries, together with Greek ministers, mental health experts and Greek Olympians, in a technical workshop, a high-level meeting and numerous artistic and cultural activities.
Expectations for the event were high. “The series of events will give us the opportunity to discuss the current situation of child and adolescent mental health and how we can ensure universal access to mental health services for young people in Europe,” said Zoe Rapti, Deputy Minister of Health at Greece.
Artistic and cultural activities included yoga classes, a sailing course, a market where Greek mental health service users sold food and handmade soap, and a concert with local musicians Monsieur Minimal and Andriana Babali and a disk jockey (DJ) from Pimienta Fm. The concert was opened by Olympic champion Nikolaos Kaklamanakis and Paralympic champion Dimitris Karypidis.
The goals of these events were to increase well-being and raise awareness about the stigma of mental health conditions, which has a substantial impact on many throughout the Region.
“I hid from society for 21 years out of shame at having a person with a mental health condition in my family. This had to change. No one, no family, should go into hiding because of mental illness,” said Katerina Nomidou, a mental health advocate from Greece.
Leaders increasingly recognize the need to improve mental health systems, especially in the face of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the cost-of-living crisis, which “continue to add pressure on the lives of people and their mental well-being,” said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who joined the live event on the second day.
Young people have been hit especially hard, with the global prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders nearly doubling since the pandemic began. There is a great need to improve the quality of mental health services for children and adolescents throughout the Region, making them not only more accessible but also better suited to the unique needs and preferences of this age group.
For that reason, Dr. Kluge added, Mental Health Week was timely and important. “In line with our Pan-European Mental Health Coalition and our European Work Programme, and building on the Mental Health Summit that we organized together with our Greek partners in July 2021, this event is part of an ongoing course of action that wants to create a world where young people can thrive,” he said. “For generations to come.”
Strengthening youth participation and the importance of lived experience
The first day of the events was dedicated to continuing the work of the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition, including a dedicated session for young people to discuss what good quality mental health services would look like in their particular contexts.
Young people weren’t shy about pointing out that they and people living with mental health issues are often left out of this conversation. While people with lived experience of mental health conditions are increasingly involved in shaping mental health services and policy, involvement is rarely prolonged and often uncompensated.
“The experiences lived must be at the center of all efforts. If it’s without us, then it’s not for us,” said Fatima Awil, Policy and Knowledge Officer at Mental Health Europe with experience in youth engagement.
“We are our own experts. we do a lot I think young people do a lot for their mental health, we are more aware than any other generation, but we can’t do it alone,” emphasized Anna Bailey, PhD researcher and member of the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition.
WHO/Europe is taking their words seriously, with the aim of increasing youth participation in all areas of health system reform and creating spaces for young people to make their voices heard, such as in the Forum Youth4Health in Tirana that took place last October.
The Pan-European Mental Health Coalition is another of these spaces, and the WHO/Europe encourages young people to join. Many young people who attended Mental Health Week have already done so, looking for a space where their voices have a real impact.
