UNICEF and the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation are marking International Day of Happiness by providing teachers and other professionals working with children with resources to organize activities based on the World's Largest Lesson model

Bucharest, 19 March 2025. UNICEF and the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation are marking International Day of Happiness, celebrated annually on March 20, with an initiative to promote children's mental health and emotional balance.

The partners provide 10 easy-to-implement activities, based on the World's Largest Lesson model, which can be used by teachers, school counselors and youth workers to support students' emotional development and balance. The activities can be carried out from March 20 to April 20, 2025 and are available for free on the dedicated online platform.

The initiative comes in response to the challenges of managing emotions and stress among young people, but also to feedback from teachers and professionals working with young people who do not have sufficient resources to support them.

"The initiative launched today reaffirms UNICEF's commitment to bring to the forefront the crucial importance of mental health and emotional balance among children and young people in Romania, while providing practical tools to integrate the emotional balance of students in educational institutions. By carrying out the proposed activities, children, under the guidance of professionals, have the opportunity to learn together important aspects about how to manage their emotions, how to cope with stress and how to build healthy relationships," said UNICEF Representative in Romania, Anna Riatti.

Over 400 teachers and school counselors have already responded positively

In Bucharest, teaching staff who participated in a training program on emotional well-being of students, conducted between November 2024 and March 2025, have already responded positively to the initiative, announcing that they will implement the activities in schools in the capital.

The partners invite other teachers, school counselors and youth workers from across the country to join in and help create an educational environment where students' emotions are understood and supported.

To facilitate the implementation of the activities, running up to 60 minutes, educational resources are freely available online: https://www.elearning.raa.ro/ro/courses/starea-de-bine-emotionala-pentru-elevi-si-tineri-aplicatie-practica/ .

Activities can be organized for pupils and young people aged 10-18, both in schools and in other places such as youth centres, NGO spaces or public institutions popular with young people. The topics covered range from identifying and understanding emotions and emotional self-regulation techniques, to the use of an early identification tool for mental health risks, adapted for pre-adolescents and adolescents.

The initiative is part of the project "Creating a functional model of intervention for mental health and psychosocial support for children and adolescents", carried out in partnership by the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation and UNICEF Representation in Romania, and supported by the Fondation Botnar.