Highway to Wellbeing: Improving Mental Health and Physical Activity of Youth through Human Rights
The study session “Highway to Wellbeing: Improving Mental Health and Physical Activity of Youth through Human Rights” brought together two youth organisations from two distinct, but overlapping sectors: ENGSO Youth (Sport) and International Youth Health Organisation (Health).
As part of the Council of Europe Youth for Democracy programme, the two organisations developed a four-day study session in cooperation with the Council of Europe, which took place from 9-12 September 2024 in Budapest, Hungary, in the European Youth Centre Budapest, and counted 20 young participants from all over Europe.
ENGSO Youth (EY) Project and Policy Manager Tiago Guilherme coordinated the study session as the course director with support from our Young Delegate David Adesanya, who participated in the programme as a facilitator. The team of trainers also counted with the experience and knowledge of Ines Likar, Antonio Pujol de Castro, and Dino Žujic, who completed the team from the International Youth Health Organisations’ side.
ENGSO Youth Young Delegate Ariadna Moya Guillen and EY Alumni Club member Anna Martirosyan joined the event as participants.
The programme of the event included a series of sessions based on non-formal education and training methodologies destined to discuss the topics of health, mental health and wellbeing, sport and physical activity, and help the participants to develop a better understanding of the intersections between these areas whilst thinking of physical and mental health and wellbeing holistically and from a Human Rights perspective.
During the first day, the participants were introduced to the main concepts of mental health, physical activity, and Human Rights, and how they are interconnected.
The second day was dedicated to exploring the benefits of sport and physical activity, and understanding how to preserve one’s well-being. The participants were also able to experience the barriers to accessing quality physical activity and mental health care, and how to implement Human Rights Education through Sport in a fun, engaging and educational manner.
The third and fourth days of the study session were dedicated to exploring how various forms of social identities and structural inequalities intersect to impact individuals and groups in complex ways, and what can be done to safeguard youth health.
Lastly, during the last sessions, the participants created a series of inclusive wellbeing challenges destined to promote mental health and wellbeing ahead of the European Week of Sport.
After the session, our two participants share their experiences.
Anna highlighted how informative the session was in terms of raising awareness about the current challenges, related to well-being, young people are facing: “This study session was really intersectional. We touched upon many topics from mental and physical health to human rights and current problems faced by young people. It is inspiring to see an increasing interest in addressing problems that didn’t have the necessary attention in the past and that were worsened by the different crises and challenges humanity has been facing. From my point of view as a healthcare professional, I think this session was just on time and actual. We could understand that despite coming from different countries and realities, we all might face, to different degrees, similar issues connected to human wellbeing. I would not specify mental or physical health, but rather focus on the importance of overall well being because it depicts a holistic perspective to health.”
Ariadna added that her most memorable part of the session was the realisation of how a healthy mind leads to a healthy body, and the importance of connecting this concept to human rights: “The study session was a great opportunity to learn more in-depth about topics related to mental health, general health, and physical activity. One of the concepts that I believe sums it up is something not new, but often forgotten: “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). This concept, with such deep meaning, emphasises the importance of a balanced mind and body. Moreover, when we connect it to human rights, it becomes clear that everyone deserves to attain this level of well-being, but unfortunately, this is not the reality for everyone.”
The main goal of the study session was to empower the youth to take action and actively participate in decision making and policy processes at the local, national and international levels towards health and physical activity. Overall, the participants had the opportunity to:
– Address health, mental wellbeing and physical activity in a comprehensive way through the lens of human rights;
– Learn about the importance of organised youth in both personal and professional capacity for healthier and more resilient communities;
– To critically analyse the access to health as a human rights issue, and equally, seeing sport and leisure as not only individual self-care, but as a social question concerning children and young people;
– To acquire knowledge of the best practices and recommendations in mental health and physical activity, such as the most efficient methods for coping with challenges and collaborating with others, including the Council of Europe charters and other documents;
– To co-design with the participants initiatives to follow up on the study session and drive future impact in local communities.
What’s next?
The main outcomes of the programme are four well-being challenges, which will be shared during the upcoming European Week of Sport (23-30 September 2024).
ENGSO Youth will continue to explore cross-sector partnerships to further develop a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, one that looks at physical and mental health in a comprehensive manner and takes full advantage of the benefits of sport and physical activity for healthier communities.
Check the current developments on the topic and the data we have been developing through our HOORAY project.