Nightline France’s Volunteers Took Part in Mental Health in Youth Work: The Inspirational Event

Mental Health in Youth Work is a long-term initiative of the Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps National Agencies.

The event, hosted in Seville (Spain), was co-organised by the Spanish National Agency (Injuve) and the Finnish National Agency (EDUFI), with support from other Erasmus+ agencies.

At the heart of the event were the voices of young people. Earlier this year, during a Co-Creation Lab in Ostend (Belgium), they shared their perspectives and designed the event’s structure alongside youth workers and facilitators.

Throughout the week, participants joined one of five creative workshops led by Co-Creation Crews, groups composed of young people, their youth worker, and a facilitator:

• Racism’s Impact on Mental Health (Finland)

• Sensory Hangover (Czechia)

• How Does a Feeling Sound? (Lithuania)

• The Road (Norway)

• Find Your Umbrella (France, Nightline France)

Nightline France volunteers designed an Escape Game to introduce the RAIN method, a mindfulness technique for dealing with negative emotions such as stress, sadness, or anger.

• Recognise your feelings

• Allow the experience to be

• Investigate with kindness

• Nurture through non-identification (emotions do not define who we are)

Participants explored the concepts of mental health, emotions, stereotypes, communication, and selfcare. At the end of the session, they received a printed leaflet summarising the key insights and practical tools for everyday wellbeing.

Over three days, youth workers and young people had the opportunity to exchange experiences and develop practical skills to support wellbeing in their communities. It was also a valuable moment to reflect on their roles in promoting mental health.

The programme included a variety of skill-building sessions, such as:

• Creating a Happy Organisation: PERMA as a Tool to Increase Well-Being

• Psychological First Aid in Youth Work

• Mastering Stress: How to Turn Pressure into Power and Release the Excess

• Year Abroad and Mental Health

Innovative and creative activities also encouraged reflection, including an Aroma Journey: Understanding Your Emotions, a poetry jam, juggling exercises, and a second edition of Sensory Hangover.

Nightline France’s team came home with new tools, ideas, and, most importantly, a strong desire to maintain European connections in youth mental health work.