Spanish Youth Present Innovative Projects to Enhance Adolescent Mental Health
UNICEF Lab Junior in Spain saw 100 adolescents develop innovative projects to support mental health, emphasizing youth empowerment and creative solutions.
- • Approximately 100 adolescents presented mental health innovation projects through UNICEF Lab Junior.
- • Ten groups from various Spanish cities developed apps and digital spaces for emotional expression and conflict reduction.
- • Projects addressed challenges like social media well-being and creating supportive mental health spaces.
- • UNICEF representative Luis López Catalán praised the youth-led creative solutions and their impact.
Key details
Around 100 young Spaniards aged 13 to 17 have unveiled creative projects aimed at improving adolescent mental health, as part of the inaugural UNICEF Lab Junior program in Spain. This initiative brought together ten groups from cities including Gijón, Madrid, and Marbella, who worked alongside mentors to develop solutions addressing emotional expression, social media well-being, and creating safe mental health spaces.
Noteworthy projects include 'Xuntos_Ovi: Punto Amarillo', an app that encourages reflective decision-making through a game format; 'Masivo – Asociación MASI: Kindr', offering emotional support via games and motivational messages; and 'Fuenlatronas: Nube', a digital platform providing an emotional diary and relaxation resources for overwhelmed youth.
Luis López Catalán of UNICEF highlighted the practical and creative nature of the proposals, emphasizing the crucial role of empowering young people as agents of change in tackling mental health issues.
These projects focus on three main challenges: managing well-being on social media, facilitating the expression of difficult emotions, and creating supportive environments for mental wellness. The initiative underscores youth participation as vital in addressing adolescent mental health challenges.
This article was translated and synthesized from Spanish sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
