Engage
How to get involved in our Community of Practice
This page offers opportunities to engage with a global community of practitioners, caregivers, and adolescents working on adolescent mental health. Through capacity-building initiatives, events, and curated opportunities for engagement, we foster multi sectoral collaboration, peer to peer learning and cross-regional knowledge exchange. By bringing together diverse voices, from policy makers to youth advocates, we create a space for co-creation, collaboration, innovation and collective action to drive meaningful change in adolescent mental health.
Explore ways to get involved—starting with signing up for our newsletter to stay informed and be part of this growing movement.
What does the Community of Practice offer?
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Resources
Access curated, evidence-based resources and materials around preventive and promotive adolescent mental health.
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Community events
Join webinars, workshops, and learning exchanges designed to connect members, share experiences, and build collective capacity across sectors.
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Engagement and communications
Stay connected through regular newsletters, updates, and member spotlights that keep the community informed, inspired, and involved.
Capacity Building
Capacity building
What: This interactive, two-day online training is designed to empower young changemakers with the knowledge, skills, and tools to protect and promote their mental health and psychosocial well-being. Through a series of engaging activities, this training covers key topics such as emotional awareness, stress management, healthy habit formation, boundary setting, problem-solving, and effective communication. Participants will learn how to create their own tailored resource list to support their well-being and leave with a resilience building toolkit as they continue their impactful work.
This training is only open to young changemakers between 15-25 years old.
When: Check back in for more dates!
Learn key facilitation skills and activities to promote resilience and wellbeing of distressed children, families, and caregivers.
This special 6-hour online training was developed by Save the Children and sector experts in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).
This course is for practitioners working on programmes for and with adolescents and their caregivers affected by the war in Ukraine. It may also be useful programme managers to develop and deliver programmes of high quality. By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe some challenges and risks adolescents and caregivers face in conflict settings.
2. Identify appropriate methods of supporting adolescents and caregivers.
3. Recognise practical tools on how to support adolescents and caregivers in conflict settings.
This online course, hosted by the MHPSS Collaborative, is designed to equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and its critical role in humanitarian and development contexts.
Events
Events
You are warmly invited to join an upcoming Hub community event:
Voices from the field: The role of schools in promoting and protecting the mental health of learners and educators
Date: Wednesday, April 15
Time: 8:30 AM (New York) | 3:30 PM (Nairobi) | 7:30 PM (Bangkok)
Schools are a vital part of the ecosystem supporting the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of children and young people. As central institutions in their lives, they provide structured and supportive environments where mental health can be promoted, stigma reduced, and challenges identified and addressed early.
Schools and other learning spaces have the potential to foster positive peer and teacher relationships, strengthen mental health literacy, and create safe, inclusive environments that help mitigate stress and challenges experienced by children and adolescents.
This webinar will bring together voices from the field to share practical experiences and insights on how education systems are advancing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). It will highlight promising approaches, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen school-based programming.
Speakers include:
• Urmila Sarkar, Senior Adviser, Education, UNICEF
• Kelly Rose-Clarke, University College London (Lancet Commission on School-based Mental Health)
• Tara O’Connell (TBC), Chief of Education, UNICEF Vietnam
• Hanna Yoshimoto, Chief of Education, UNICEF South Africa
• Dr Zeinab Hijazi, Senior Adviser & Global Mental Health Lead, UNICEF HQ
Moderator: Rafa Souza, Youth Advisor from Brazil
Bold Ideas for Brighter Futures 2026, the 2nd Global Conference on Child and Adolescent Mental Health, will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, in May 2026, convening over 300 leading experts and stakeholders from around the world. This scientific conference will serve as a dynamic platform to share bold ideas, cutting-edge research, and practical innovations aimed at improving the mental health of children and adolescents—especially in low- and middle-income countries. Participants will include researchers, mental health practitioners, policymakers, youth advocates, civil society leaders, the private sector, and international organizations, all working together to shape global responses to child and adolescent mental health challenges.
Shape the future of child and adolescent mental health by submitting your proposal for IACAPAP 2026. Whether you're planning a symposium or submitting a poster or oral presentation, this is your opportunity to contribute to the global conversation in child and adolescent mental health.
We strongly encourage submissions across the full spectrum of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In particular, we welcome contributions that explore:
- Developmental pathways of risk and resilience
- Digital Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Mental Health in Global Crises
- Rethinking Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – paradigms, theories, and practice
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services – Innovation, Inclusion, and Implementation
- Prevention, Early Intervention, and Mental Health Promotion
The length of your on-site presentation depends on the type of submission.
- Standard symposia length is 90 minutes and typically includes 4–5 speakers.
- Oral presentations will have 10 minutes for the talk, followed by 3 minutes for discussion/questions.
- Posters will be presented within 5 minutes with an additional 3 minutes for discussion/questions during the Poster Session.
Submission periods:
- Symposia: July 2025 – 30 October 2025
- Poster & Oral Presentations: July 2025 – 20 January 2026
Reviewing periods:
- Symposia: 5 November 2025 – 20 November 2025
- Poster & Oral Presentations: 26 January 2026 – 16 February 2026
Opportunities
Opportunities
Running until March 2026, Being Online is a digital gallery by DTH-Lab in collaboration with the Global Mental Health Action Network’s Child & Youth Working Group. It will bring together creative expressions from young people about what it’s like to grow up and connect in digital environments and how it shapes their well-being.
By showcasing a range of online experiences and encouraging conversations between generations, this space will enable young people to contribute their stories and create a shared visual narrative of life online.
Submit your art to win prizes and be featured in the gallery!
⏰ Submissions close
31 March 2026 23:59 CEST
🌍 Listening to Young People: Access, Gaps, and Experiences in Mental Health Services 🌍
Your voice counts! Take our quick global survey on youth mental health to be presented as a Youth Manifesto at the Bold Ideas for Brighter Futures 2026 conference, co-hosted by Stellenbosch University, Karolinska Institutet, & UNICEF.
Share your honest views on wellbeing supports, gaps, and global differences. Fully anonymous. Help build brighter futures! 🙌 #YouthMentalHealth
Researchers in the University of Sydney is conducting a research study to bring together experts in mental health and health promotion to develop a systems map of priority areas for implementing digital mental health promotion initiatives for adolescents. Using a collaborative and participatory approach, the study and systems map will potentially shape pathways for the future development and implementation of digital mental health promotion initiatives for adolescents.
The researchers are seeking multidisciplinary stakeholders who are involved in the health system and have a strong interest in adolescent digital mental health initiatives or health promotion. This may include but is not limited to government (local, state, federal), health (local health districts, primary care networks), education (teachers and wellbeing staff), industry, nongovernment organisations (headspace), youth services and community groups.
As part of a global effort to elevate youth voices and action in the field of mental health and well-being, the UN Youth Office is mapping youth-led initiatives from around the world. Whether you're leading a local project, running a national campaign, or sparking global change — your work matters.
This form is a space to share your story, highlight your impact, and become part of a global community of young changemakers working to transform mental health systems from the ground up.
If your initiative is youth-led and focuses on mental health and well-being — in any form, anywhere in the world — we invite you to fill out this form and help us build this collective movement!
The Being Initiative, in partnership with Grand Challenges Canada, has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) to fund innovative, youth-led projects that promote and prevent mental health challenges among underserved young people aged 10–24. Focusing on 12 priority countries—Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Vietnam—the initiative seeks culturally sensitive, community-driven solutions that address the social, environmental, and systemic factors affecting youth mental well-being, particularly in urban and peri-urban settings.
Two funding streams are available:
- Proof-of-Concept (POC): Up to $250,000 CAD for early-stage projects aimed at testing and refining innovative approaches.
- Transition-to-Scale (TTS): Between $300,000 and $1.5 million CAD for scaling proven interventions with demonstrated impact.
Preference is given to youth-led organizations based in the priority countries, and all proposals must involve meaningful participation from young people, including those with lived experience of mental health challenges. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through a two-stage process via the Grand Challenges Canada Fluxx Portal.
BMC Public Health called for submissions to our collection on mental health of adolescents. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage marked by significant physical and emotional changes, with mental health being heavily influenced by societal pressures, academic demands, and technology. Rising rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders among adolescents pose a global concern, affecting both immediate quality of life and long-term well-being. Addressing these issues is essential for fostering healthy development and preventing future psychosocial challenges.
This Collection sought submissions that explore factors influencing adolescent mental health, such as trends in mental health disorders, risk and protective factors, the impact of digital platforms, school environments, family relationships, barriers to accessing mental health services, and effective intervention strategies.