Abstract

The rise of acute and burning problems affecting young people, even at a very early age, such as coping with bullying and cyber-bullying, PTSD, concerns over the environmental crisis, increase in suicides, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts, and self-harm, calls for immediate coordinated and intense action from an early age, throughout all stages of education. Worldwide and in the EU, cultural and creative projects address young people’s mental health and well-being, in terms of promotion, prevention, treatment, and management. Research on how the arts and culture sectors have the potential to contribute to the mental health of young people, particularly for young people in marginalised situations is growing worldwide. At the core of the 2022 Voices of Culture call on Youth, mental health and culture, is the awareness that it is time to move from a fragmented approach to young people’s mental health to a system-wide approach. The call aimed to engage with civil society to understand the potential contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to this subject.