Spotify and UNICEF: Turning Up the Volume on Youth Mental Health
Harnessing the power of audio to support young people’s mental health and well-being worldwide.
A global partnership for young minds
Since 2022, Spotify and UNICEF have joined forces to make trusted, engaging, and on-demand audio content available to support the mental health and well-being of young people everywhere.
Together with young people, and informed by UNICEF-led research, the partnership created the On My Mind podcast, designed to help adolescents navigate mental health challenges and strengthen their well-being.
Mental health is a vital part of every child’s development. Yet today, one in seven adolescents experiences a mental health condition, with half of all disorders beginning before age 14 and three-quarters by the mid-20s.
Recognizing the potential of audio to reach youth where they are, Spotify and UNICEF have combined their strengths: Spotify’s global platform and creative expertise with UNICEF’s evidence-based mental health programming and partnerships on the ground.
Audio that inspires and supports
"In an era marked by endless scrolling and overwhelming noise, Spotify is dedicated to enhancing well-being and fostering positive engagement. Through our collaboration with UNICEF and the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health, we've created the On My Mind podcast, tailored specifically to support the mental health and holistic wellness of Gen Z." Dina Gabriel, Head of Equity, Diversity & Impact at Spotify
“When we asked young people what helps them cope, one theme came through everywhere: connection. During the war in Ukraine, they told us they were turning to music to calm themselves – that music felt safer than words. That’s how our partnership with Spotify began. What started as a humanitarian response has grown into a model for prevention and promotion, showing how creativity and co-creation can open new doorways into mental health.” Zeinab Hijazi, Global Mental Health Lead, UNICEF
Each episode of the On My Mind podcast tackles themes that matter most to young people: breaking the stigma around mental health, managing anxiety, nurturing relationships, coping with stress, practicing self-care, and handling grief and loss.
Launched in Ukrainian, Polish and English in June 2023, the podcast was created in response to the urgent mental health needs of youth affected by the war in Ukraine. It was launched in eight countries in Latin America in 2024, and has since expanded to 11 languages across 31 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Czechia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Romania, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, to name a few. The English version is accessible worldwide.
For Meylan, a 21-year-old student in Mexico, the breathing exercises shared in the podcast have been life-changing. "I have anxiety and sometimes experience anxiety attacks. The breathing tools help me regain control of my feelings, especially when I’m at school or on the go. I just put on my headphones, listen, and it feels like a kind of first aid for my mental health."
Youth co-creation in action
In 2025, the partnership introduced the Youth Mental Health Audio Innovation Challenge in Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste and Zimbabwe.
Building on the success of On My Mind, this initiative empowers young people to adapt and localize the On My Mind podcast, as well as create new spoken word pieces, songs, poems, and mini-podcasts in their own languages and styles.
Youth engagement drives every stage of the process, from content creation to community sharing. By integrating this content into local UNICEF programmes and partner platforms, from community radio to youth networks, the initiative ensures mental health resources reach young people wherever they are.
By creating space for trusted, relatable voices, this initiative aims to spark meaningful conversations, reduce stigma, and bring mental health support closer to the young people that need it most.
A growing movement
Spotify has also joined UNICEF’s Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health, supported by the Z Zurich Foundation, which mobilizes public and private sector action to promote youth mental well-being.
Together, Spotify and UNICEF are demonstrating how innovation, creativity, and collaboration can make mental health support more inclusive, relatable, and accessible for young people across the world. The partnership continues to expand and scale, reaching new countries, languages and communities – ensuring that more young people can find comfort and connection through On My Mind.
Sofia, a 21-year-old Ukrainian student living in Slovakia, believes On My Mind is especially useful for Ukrainians living abroad, “Many young Ukrainians here come from cities that have been under shelling and strikes so of course they’re worried about their home towns and are struggling with that in addition to all the regular worries and anxieties young people face because of school and life in general. A lot of people, including myself, are worried about what they’re going to end up doing and where they’ll be. The podcast has episodes for all kinds of different situations, like grief from losing loved ones, stress caused by school, anger at work, homesickness. Once, I was really upset after something happened at work. That evening, I listened to an episode about how kindness can help in stressful situations. It changed my perspective.”
About Spotify
Since its launch in 2008, Spotify has revolutionised music listening. Our move into podcasting brought innovation and a new generation of listeners to the medium. In 2022, we took the next leap, entering the fast-growing audiobook market, continuing to shape the future of audio.
Today, more listeners than ever can discover, manage and enjoy over 100 million tracks, nearly 7 million podcast titles, and 350,000 audiobooks a la carte on Spotify. We are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with more than 696 million users, including 276 million subscribers in more than 180 markets.
References:
WHO - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
Last updated December 2025
