Peer Health Exchange brought its expertise on digital storytelling, youth identity, and mental health to the SNF Nostos Conference in Athens, Greece. Joining a wide range of international researchers, practitioners, and activists, the team traveled to Athens to present and participate in conversations centering youth mental health, focusing on topics such as loneliness, the arts, AI, technology, support systems, and more.
In a pre-conference session, Peer Health Exchange led a half-day Digital Storytellers Workshop.
The group explored creating digital mental health stories that are engaging, effective, and help to break down stigmas. The group:
- Learned the basics of digital storytelling for well-being
- Crafted their own stories
- Received personalized coaching and feedback on story ideas in small groups
- Learned video and audio recording best practices
- Showcased their mental health video testimonial on visual displays throughout the conference
Andrew Ramcharan, a Video Editor at PHE said, “The major highlight for me was co-facilitating the Digital Storytelling Workshop during the pre-conference. The young folks who participated were enthusiastic and expressed great interest in our work. Their engagement throughout the workshop increased my passion for the work that we do here at Peer Health Exchange and was a reminder of the impact that our work has on young folks even on an international scale.”
Our very own Director of Digital Well-Being Patricia joined young people on the conference pop up radio show to talk about elevating youth voice and selfsea. Check it out here! The interview starts at the 33:40 mark and ends at the 41:40 mark.
Peer Health Exchange also presented its video series, “Short Videos, Long-lasting Effects”. The videos were displayed on two LED screens for the duration of the conference, presenting some of Peer Health Exchange’s highest-quality, most impactful video testimonials from youth on mental health topics in the lobbies of the National Library of Greece (NLG) and the Greek National Opera (GNO).
President Barack Obama also took part in this year’s SNF Nostos Conference. He was in conversation with SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos on how to strengthen our democratic culture and the importance of investing in the next generation of leaders.
Peer Health Exchange was joined at the conference by Bring Change to Mind co-founder Glenn Close, Founder & CEO of The Goldie Hawn Foundation Goldie Hawn, March For Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, child psychiatrist and Child Mind Institute founding president Harold S. Koplewicz, and Columbia psychiatrist Sander Markx.
The SNF Nostos Conference, organized in collaboration with the journalism nonprofit iMEdD (incubator for Media Education and Development), is a free, interactive experience, and everyone is welcome to participate. A global SNF Nostos Youth Advisory Committee helps make sure perspectives from all ages are represented.