Pre-conference youth and expert consultation

Since 2018 the global MHPSS community has been developing a series of key recommendations for strengthening the quality and scale of child and family MHPSS .

Leading up to the conference, Save the Children Denmark and the MHPSS Collaborative created a platform to carry forward the torch for this crucial issue.

Fifty participants from 15 different countries, including 20 youth advocates explored priority areas for strengthening child, adolescent and family MHPSS.

The pre-conference workshop paid particular attention to the meaningful participation of children, adolescents and their families and communities in all processes and programs to design and strengthen contextualized, effective community-based solutions.

The pre-conference workshop was followed by a process of targeted consultations with adult and youth 'champions' to ensure clarity and consensus on targeted actions for each recommendation, to evaluate emerging challenges that require updated or new recommendations, and to secure the meaningful participation of children, youth, families and field practitioners with lived experience.

From this process emerged a new, fifth recommendation that we hope will shape the way forward in investing in the talents, knowledge, experience and power of authentic and meaningful youth participation:

Strengthen and provide greater avenues and opportunities for the meaningful engagement and participation of youth, to ensure they are deeply integrated into programs, policies and research in authentic ways.

Read more about the recommendations and how they were shaped in close collaboration with the youth representatives in the ACTIONS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY MHPSS.