The COVID pandemic has had a large impact on our whole society. But from a mental health perspective, particularly youngsters and children were affected. Universities and schools were closed, as well as clubs, sports facilities and other places where they could meet each other. On top of that, a lot of people suffered from unemployment and thereby loss of income. Their world became nothing more than their homes which made them feel isolated. Data shows that mental health in the Netherlands deteriorated in the last years, especially amongst adolescents and young adults.
All over the world, young people are struggling, and it has become a new crisis. In response to this crisis some people created new initiatives and made impact, right during difficult times. In this meeting several creative initiators will pitch their projects and inspire us. They reflect on the questions: what are the assumptions when the initiative was created? What do you offer? And how do you work together with youth? What can we learn from these times and what can we take from this for future projects and initiatives?
It will be an inspiring evening for professionals and young people interested in mental health, initiatives and innovation and the consequences of covid.
The best practices are divided into three rounds:
- Regular prevention for mental health in day-to-day life
- Youngsters are interested and want to know more/connect with other
- Seeking actively for help for their mental health problems.
Some of the best practices that will be pitched: We Spark the World, Uptalk, Join Us, Transformers Community, Frisse Gedachtes, student civil servant of Amsterdam and more.
There will be an intermezzo performance of the dance crew Royals in Spé. These royals come from different cultures and parts of the country. They mix their own flavors and sauces into a bomb full of diversity. They have now been together for 1 year. Their motto is: “You’re never too old to grow into being a royal. You’re always gonna be a royal in the making.”
Do you want to know what the impact was of Covid and how organizations handled during this time? Are you interested in the prevention of mental health issues and the strengthening of resilience. Do you want to be inspired by some great projects and learn what makes them best practices? In why it’s important to act now? Join us Live on October 10th! Click on the reserve-button on top of this page to get your free spot!
You can join the meeting live at Pakhuis de Zwijger or via the livestream.
About the project
Thrive Amsterdam Mentaal Gezond and MIND Us are working alongside to strengthen the mental health of young adults and adolescents. Together we are creating a movement that puts mental health of young adults on top of the minds of the people from Amsterdam and the Netherlands!
From October 10th to October 16th the Amsterdam Week of Mental Health is being held. The theme is: together we are Amsterdam. We need each other for a flourishing live. Kindness can affect your life positively. In this week various activities will take place that supports kindness. From Zumba in the Noorderpark to the closing festival ‘Gedeelde Smart’. For more (Dutch) info see www.thriveamsterdam.nl/samen020
MIND Us
MIND Us is an independent national foundation that wants young people to get a grip on their mental health, develop resilience and find help when needed. MIND Us focuses on promoting mental health and the prevention of mental problems in young people aged 12-27 years and the availability of early support when symptoms start. MIND Us joins forces, stimulates (innovative) initiatives, and ensures that the mental problems of young people receive the proper attention. They are achieving this in collaboration with young people, policymakers, municipalities, and entrepreneurs.
Thrive Amsterdam
Thrive is a social movement that wants to improve the mental health of the citizens of Amsterdam.
Research is an important element of our work. Therefore, we are participating in the RE-ACT research. This is a collaboration between Thrive Amsterdam, GGD Amsterdam and seven European cities. It aims to stimulate reflections on the immediate effects that COVID 19 has had at a local level in the life of the city and for the younger generations, on the (possible) consequences that have been there in the field of wellness and mental health. The project is subsidized by the European Commission and falls under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values grant program (CERV). If you have any questions, please email them to [email protected]
