Peer-to-peer sharing - a promotion and prevention tool

The young generations face constant flattening personal interactions in the digital area, accelerated during the pandemic. Other pressures include (cyber-)bullying, awareness of war, and the climate crisis. Complex problems need complex solutions. A scoping review published by the WHO Regional Office for Europe (Fancourt and Finn 2019) confirms that one of the most promising areas of cooperation for culture is that of health and well-being. As a group of artists, healthcare, and cultural professionals, some of whom have lived through experiences of mental health problems or have supported and worked in partnership with young people, we have collected our experiences and vision for the future.

We call on the European Commission to listen to the following recommendations for action, based on the cases we have studied, and we emphasize the value of empathy and connection when it comes to designing policy for mental health and young people.

We have organised the evidence into the categories of promotion, prevention, management, and treatment, to give an overview of how artistic and cultural approaches can be helpfully incorporated in all stages of dealing with mental illness.

We divide the cases into the following sections:

1. Peer-to-peer sharing - a promotion and prevention tool 2. Promoting identity and empowering cultural minorities 3. Art-based work - how the arts and culture can contribute 4. Cultural and Social Youth Work 5. New prescriptions - ways of building motivation and self-treatment

1. Peer-to-peer sharing - a promotion and prevention tool

The main purpose of preventive healthcare is to reduce one’s risk of diseases or limit the effects by giving to risk groups timely information. In Portugal, The Dream Teens Project creates platforms where young people share their experiences to motivate and inspire others. This creates a national network of consultants and collaborators in research to transform the results into efficient practices, supporting preventive healthcare workers. One of the organisations working on this field is the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association. Represented in 129 countries with national and local sub-associations, lectures promoting mental health and prevention are in their repertoire for young people.

Gaining first-person information is the purpose of the workshop of “Fighting Against Stigma”. Patients of Centro Asistencial San Juan de Dios Malaga share their stories and the social impact that involves them daily with local students.