Stand for Yourself and Your Mental Health Rights

Content

This activity empowers you to understand your mental health rights in school, work, and healthcare settings.﻿
It provides the tools and support you need to confidently advocate for yourself or others in situations where mental health needs aren’t being met. With flexible participation options like online workshops, role-playing scenarios, and personalised mentorship, this activity is designed to make learning about your rights accessible and practical.
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First, get inspired!Watch a TED talk by Hailey Hardcastle, a student and mental health advocate who offers creative solutions to mental challenges.
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Watch a video in which EachOther, a UK-focused charity, invited three incredible women to tell their personal stories about their struggles with mental health and what we can do to take back control.
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Watch a video where Carmen Valle-Trabadelo, co-chair of IASC RG on MHPSS in Emergency Settings, explains the link between mental health and human rights.
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Now, take action!By completing the following activities, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for your mental health rights while building confidence in your ability to advocate for yourself and others in various settings.
Rights awareness activity: Attend a live event or watch recorded webinars where mental health professionals and activists explain your legal rights and protections in school, work, and healthcare. You’ll learn about laws that ensure fair treatment and have the chance to ask questions anonymously, which helps create a more comfortable learning environment. Visit some dedicated websites, such as Mind Cymru, to obtain information about your rights to mental health.
Role-playing advocacy (at your comfort level): Practice advocating for yourself or others through role-playing scenarios. If you're not ready to participate directly, you can do this in small groups or as an observer. This exercise helps build confidence in real-life situations and prepares you to communicate your needs effectively.
One-on-one advocacy mentorship: For more personalized guidance, participate in a one-on-one mentorship session with an experienced advocate or peer mentor. This allows you to develop advocacy skills at your own pace in a safe and supportive environment tailored to your needs.
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Get your badge!Complete some activities from the list above and apply for a badge (=click the "Get this badge" button below) by submitting reflections or examples of how you’ve advocated for your mental health or the rights of others.
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Who is behind this activity?Cities of Learning Network partners invite you to learn and do something about the European Youth Goal #5, Mental Health and Wellbeing. We value your efforts and contributions and want to reward you with badge recognition.
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Contact us for more details about the Erasmus+ co-funded project "European Youth Goals for Cities of Learning."
System&G, Greece - the project lead partner
CODEC, Belgium
Badgecraft, Lithuania
System&G Finland
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Disclaimer: We are grateful for the ideas generated by youth leaders and youth workers during the international study visits. To create this activity, humans collaborated with AI using the Youth Goals Hub GPT custom-built version, informed and inspired by the best youth work practices.
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Get activity badge

Mental Health Rights Defender Get this badge

This badge is awarded for completing the Know Your Rights and Advocate for Yourself activity. By learning about your mental health rights and practising advocacy skills, you have demonstrated your ability to assert your mental health needs and support others in doing the same. This badge recognises your growth in advocacy, self-advocacy, and communication skills, enabling you to navigate mental health rights with confidence.
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Skills and experiences gained (aligned with the European LifeComp competence framework):
Advocacy (connected to LifeComp S1 Empathy): You’ve developed the skills to advocate for yourself and others, ensuring fair treatment in school, work, and healthcare settings by understanding and asserting mental health rights.
Self-advocacy (connected to LifeComp L2 Critical Thinking): You’ve taken responsibility for learning about your rights and are now equipped to speak up for yourself or others when needed.
Communication (LifeComp S2 Communication): You’ve learned to effectively communicate your mental health needs, ensuring your voice is heard.
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By completing badge tasks, you showed your readiness to advocate for your mental health rights and those of others. This badge acknowledges your growth in advocacy, communication, and knowledge of mental health protections, preparing you to contribute to the European Youth Goal #5 Mental Health and Wellbeing. Cities of Learning Network partners value badge earner's efforts and contributions and issue this badge after reviewing the provided evidence.

You have to finish 2 tasks to get the badge

Tasks

Task no.1

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Understand your rights:
Task: Participate in the rights awareness activities to learn about your mental health rights in school, work, and healthcare.
Evidence: Explain what you learned about your rights and how this knowledge can help you to advocate for yourself or others.

Task no.2

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Practice advocacy skills:
Task: Take part in a role-playing advocacy session where you practice advocating for yourself or others in a mental health-related situation.
Evidence: Share your experience with role-playing, describing what you learned and how it has improved your ability to advocate for your needs or the needs of others.

Task no.3

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Receive mentorship support:
Task: Engage in a one-on-one advocacy mentorship session where you receive personalised guidance on advocating for your mental health rights.
Evidence: Submit a summary of your mentorship session, including key insights you gained and how you plan to apply them in your daily life or future advocacy efforts.

Skills

LIFECOMP

#Empathy

LIFECOMP

#Critical thinking

Civic engagement

Added to playlist (1)

Organisers

Network of Cities and Regions of Learning

Used in playlists

Boost Your Well-being: Take Action for Mental Health

Network of Cities and Regions of Learning

Created on European Youth Goals

Badgecraft hosts this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact support@badgecraft.eu.