European Mental Health Week (EMHW) 2024 : BETTER TOGETHER: Co-Creating the Future of Mental Health

BETTER TOGETHER: Co-Creating the Future of Mental Health 

What is European Mental Health Week

The European Mental Health Week (EMHW) is a pan-European initiative to raise awareness about the importance of mental health in our lives. Set up and run by Europe’s largest independent mental health NGO, Mental Health Europe, the fifth edition of the European Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from 13 to 19 of May 2024.

This week-long in-person and online event is an opportunity for discuss mental health, highlight the need for action, improve understanding of the factors that shape mental health, and celebrate success in the policies and practices that promote positive mental health.

The theme of the 2024 edition is ‘BETTER TOGETHER: Co-Creating the Future of Mental Health.

Co-creation is A collaborative approach involving all actors in mental health working together on an equal basis to develop and implement policies, services, programmes, and communication that foster positive mental health according to a psychosocial model and human rights-based approach.

Should you get involved?

If you care about mental health, or are involved in health and social policy or practices, or if you have a role in the media, then yes!

This is an opportunity for you to share, learn, and educate, and to demonstrate your commitment to mental health.

The European Mental Health Week is also an opportunity to change the narrative surrounding mental health. Experiencing mental health issues is human, and shaped by the socio-economic-cultural context we live in.

By engaging in the EMHW, you become part of a European movement that wants to support reliable, fact-checked and accessible mental health information that supports individuals’ autonomy and promotes structural change to combat stigma and discrimination.

Types of activities

The level of involvement in the EMHW is up to you and your organisation. You can find below a non-exhaustive list of ideas and activities that you can carry out during the EMHW. If you would like to be featured on the official calendar of events, some guidelines apply.

• Events: in-person or online, roundtables, conversations, panel discussions, high-level or for the general public, etc.;
• Workshops: hands-in interactive events where your attendees learn something new.;
• Exhibitions with content and artworks about mental health;
• Multimedia content:  produce videos or podcasts to talk about mental health awareness, the importance of co-creation and including different voices and experiences when discussing mental health;
• Social media activity: share ad-hoc content you created or repost the content shared on Mental Health Europe’s channels. A social media kit will be available before the start of the week;
• News release: publish a news release about the EMHW and other events you are interested in on your website;
• Blog post: write and share a blog post on your website about mental health awareness and the importance of co-creation.

Events in the official calendar

Guidelines

Events, workshop and activities that meet the following criteria can be featured on the events’ calendar on the main EMHW page, and will be promoted on Mental Health Europe’s social media channels. Mental Health Europe does not offer support in organising these events.

Official European Mental Health Week events must:

• Be related to the EMHW’s theme: BETTER TOGETHER – Co-creating the Future of Mental Health;
• Be held during the week from the 13th to the 19th of May 2024;
• Display EMHW’s logo and visual identity (provided by Mental Health Europe) on promotional materials;
• Be aligned with the values of Mental Health Europe;
• Follow the language guidelines set out in Mental Health Europe’s Glossary.

Must not:

• Promote stigmatising and discriminatory language, including the use of terms such as “mental health disorders” and “mental illness” (consult our Glossary for more guidance);
• Promote a biomedical approach to mental health;
• Have a commercial focus, including funding by Pharmaceutical, tobacco, alcohol, or gambling industries.

Events or activity submission

To be featured on Mental Health Europe’s website and social media account, the events must pass a screening to ensure that the guidelines above are respected.

• Fill this form by the 26th April;
• You will receive feedback for confirmation, edit or rejection of the event or activity within 10 business days.

Social media content

We will provide a social media kit with the EMHW’s visual identity to brand your content.

Work with Mental Health Europe

Do you want to create content in collaboration with Mental Health Europe by involving our expertise? Contact info(a)mentalhealtheurope.org