Country partners and Consortium members of the project EMIP (Implementation of mental health promotion and prevention policies and strategies in EU member states and applicant countries) met in Tallinn on 22 and 23 September to discuss the results of the project.
The meeting was hosted by the Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute and started with a session dedicated to sharing experiences from Consortium members.
It was highlighted that mental health promotion is beyond health care and that it touches on many sectors in society.One of the key messages was that involving non-governmental organisations in action at every level is essential. Moreover, the need to create coalitions of interests and to have a holistic approach for mental health promotion was also highlighted. Finally, it was agreed that communicating positively is essential for taking forward the expertise gathered and for creating a momentum for change.
The 12 national reports on mental health promotion implementation offered an encouraging picture. It was demonstrated that the EMIP project acted as a catalyst for strengthening mental health promotion in countries. Several examples were given:
– EMIP helped to establish a mental health team in the Health Promotion Department in Austria;
-in Finland, it was agreed to organise up to 2 workshops per year following the EMIP tradition. The WHO Collaborating Center for Mental Health Promotion was established in Helsinki.
-in other countries EMIP has been an opportunity for new trainings or new policy debates or has been helpful in improving the collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education.
Finally, participants discussed EMIP matrix on determinants of effective implementation and debated over challenges, opportunities, implementation and legislation aspects in three key areas: (1) mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention, (2)public education and awareness, (3) and partnerships and capacity building.
Carried out under the coordination of the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (FIOSH), the project has brought together eight European networks and twelve national partners committed to sharing models of good practice on mental health promotion and prevention of mental ill-health.
For further information: EMIP website