Recognising that mental health is a major societal challenge facing the EU, the European Commission has initiated the work towards a Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health. Contained in the Commission’s Work Programme for 2023, among the executive’s top priorities for this year, it will be drafted by the first semester. According to the Commission’s own calendar, the Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health is to be unveiled on 7 June, under the leadership of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas.
In view of the preparation of such a document, the Commission has just launched a public consultation, which will close on 15 February, aimed at gathering useful evidence. In particular, this initiative intends to set out:
1) How action at EU level can help promote good mental health and prevent, mitigate and respond to mental health challenges;
2) How mental health considerations should be factored into a wide variety of resilient EU and national policies for the benefit of people across the bloc.
Responding to the call for evidence launched by the Commission, CAE will submit the CultureForHealth key project’s outputs and invites citizens and stakeholders from the wider cultural ecosystem to make their voice heard in this respect.
You are invited to contribute to this public consultation too!
Culture is a powerful asset to support people’s mental health and improve both individual and societal well-being, as made evident by the ongoing CultureForHealth preparatory action, implemented by a consortium led by Culture Action Europe. The first results of the CultureForHealth project were gathered in “CultureForHealth Report. Culture’s contribution to health and well-being. A report on evidence and policy recommendations for Europe”, published in November 2022.
The new Council Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026 does also set Culture and Health as one of the actions under the priority “Culture for the people: enhancing cultural participation and the role of culture in society”, opening new doors for cooperation, peer-learning and also possibly for more research.
