‘Global Voices’ is a global project developed by ACT2gether for young people aiming to allow people from various backgrounds and with different lived experiences to share their perspectives and talk about the issues that matter most to them.
Launched in September 2021 on an online LIVE discussion with guests from different parts of the world, Global Voices has expanded, allowing ACT2gether’s members to collaborate with diverse profiles of young people, organisations and professionals to explore various topics like climate change,mental health, among others.
Since the first activity, mental health has generated significant interest, which led to focusing 2022 on exploring this issue through various activities as part of a social media campaign from March to November 2022, in which other organisations collaborated to reflect on mental health well-being from diverse angles. For example, Gemma Perkins, from The Self Leadership Initiative, led a series of workshops focused on improving mindsets and resilience to achieve greater personal well-being; and members of Platform 4 Young People even took over ACT2gether’s Instagram account!
This campaign ran under the concept of “No fear of being real”, as one of its aims was to help eliminate the stigma around mental illness and create open and informed conversations. Various Instagram LIVE sessions discussed mental health from different points of view. In one of the sessions, Dr. Dave Williams, a child Psychiatrist with over 24 years of experience, shared his professional knowledge on mental well-being. In another session, members of Platform 4 Young People shared their personal experiences with the topic. The richness of opinions of people of different ages and backgrounds demonstrated how important these safe, informed, and open spaces are for both younger and older to share their thoughts and concerns.
Global Voices will continue in 2023 addressing the topic of mental health, and much more.
