Building a Better Future for Students in Europe: Highlights from the 3rd Nightline Europe Annual Conference

Volunteering with a Nightline means providing anonymous, peer-to-peer emotional support to fellow students through phone calls, online chats, or emails. This commitment exists in every Nightline, regardless of the country.

According to a 2022 report by the European University Association, 40% of higher education students in the EU report experiencing mental health or well-being challenges, with 1 in 5 facing a mental disorder. Our latest publication, Student Mental Health in Europe: Learning the Lessons, sheds light on why students turn to Nightlines, revealing significant differences based on cultural norms, national policies, and support systems.

In response to these challenges, Nightlines across Europe came together in 2023 to form the Nightline Europe network, working jointly on advocacy, resource development, and expanding access to student mental health support.

With the support of the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ), Nightline France welcomed participants to the heart of Paris, representing 33 of the 36 Nightlines in the network. Notably, this year marked the inclusion of Nightline Lucerne, bringing Switzerland into the fold.

The Annual Conference gave volunteers the opportunity to:

• 🔄 Exchange tools and best practices to improve the accessibility, quality, and availability of services across countries
   
• 🧭 Advance strategic planning for the future impact and sustainability of Nightline Europe
   
• 🧰 Finalize the “Starter Kit”, a new toolkit to help students launch Nightlines in additional European countries
   
• 📢 Celebrate the launch of our report
   
• 🎶 Enjoy a cultural moment together during Paris’ annual Fête de la Musique

Throughout the weekend, volunteer-led workshops tackled both day-to-day and long-term topics crucial to Nightline’s impact:

• Volunteer and coordinator well-being
   
• Volunteer training and retention strategies
   
• Long-term sustainability of Nightline services
   
• Cross-country collaboration on data collection
   
• Planning for the next European Mental Health Report
   
• Managing abusive or distressing calls to protect volunteers
   
• Strengthening cohesion between the 1,100+ volunteers active in the network
   

A plenary session led by the Nightline Europe Executive Board presented the network’s achievements from the past year, future projects, and a set of seven key recommendations drawn from the Learning the Lessons report:

1. Define what student mental health means
    
2. Collect relevant, comparable data
    
3. Design responses informed by student experiences
    
4. Improve mental health literacy and empowerment
    
5. Invest in coordinated prevention strategies
    
6. Reinforce investment in diagnosis and care
    
7. Support the supporters
    

These insights provide a shared roadmap for advocacy and action, helping each member Nightline respond to students' mental health needs more effectively and with greater unity.

The Nightline Europe network is more than a group of peer-support lines: it's a collective force for change. By uniting local initiatives across borders, the network amplifies student voices and identifies shared issues and solutions to mental health challenges at the European level.

Member Nightlines remain committed to supporting students at scale while tailoring their approaches to local needs. As the network grows, so does our ability to ensure no student feels alone, wherever they study in Europe.

📖 Read the full report Students’ Mental Health in Europe: Learning the Lessons