THEMATIC CONFERENCE: MENTAL HEALTH IN YOUTH AND EDUCATION

Stockholm. 29-30th September 2009

Together with the further four thematic conferences, this thematic conference will be a key element in the implementation of the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being. The event will be organised by DG SANCO and the Swedish Public Health Department (SE-PH), as an event under the Swedish Presidency.

The conference will pursue three objectives:

  1. To raise awareness about the importance of promoting mental health and well-being and of preventing mental disorders in youth and education
  2. To enable an exchange at EU-level on policy activities, good practices by stakeholders and research projects in Member States, supported by a Commission database;
  3. To endorse an implementation framework for the Mental Health Pact in the field of mental health in youth and education.

The conference will focus on five themes:

  1. Parents and the early years;
  2. Educational settings and learning;
  3. The community environment;
  4. The role of media, internet and new technologies;
  5. The role of health services in promotion and prevention.

A variety of presentations from different perspectives will be ensured. Invited presentations will cover policies in Member States and at EU-level; practical experiences from programmes or projects; research activities; and also the point of view of young people.

The preparatory process towards the conference:
- Consultative Advisory Committee
DG SANCO proposes an interactive preparatory process involving researchers, Member States and relevant stakeholder organisations. Both DG SANCO and the SE-PH will guide the preparations, with consultative support from an Advisory Committee, consisting of major EU-level actors for mental health in youth and education.

- Conference documentation: Background document in Youth and Education and Database of Good Practice:
The conference will build on the Consensus Paper "Mental health in Youth and Education" prepared for the 2008 high-level conference. On the basis of this paper, the Advisory Scientific Network will be asked to prepare a Background Document for the Conference, based on an agreed set of generic examples of good practice (as laid out in the consensus paper). This document should put together the major options for action, within the 5 focus areas of the conference, which can be taken to promote mental health in youth and education. This “framework” will complement the discussion of mental health in youth and education developed in the consensus paper by adding the implementation dimension.

The Background Document will be developed through the consultation of Member States and a maximum of stakeholders and research experts from all relevant sectors. This consultation will be carried out by DG SANCO in cooperation with the Gencat tender consortium and the Scientific Advisory Network.

Furthermore, a database of good practices, including policies and programmes, will be built up for the conference.

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This information has been prepared by a Technical Consortium, EC Mental Health Process, in charge of coordinating the Consensus Papers on
Mental Health and the consultation process for the European Commission, DG SANCO.
The Consortium is lead by the Department of Health, Government of Catalonia, and in collaboration with STAKES, the London School of Economics
and the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health.

e-mail: EC-MentalHealthProcess@gencat.cat | Telf: +34 93 551 3589 / 3590