Global Action Plan joins the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
Global Action Plan is proud to have become a member of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health coalition. Together with our partners, we are committed to ensuring young people grow up in a world which prioritises and protects their mental health and wellbeing.
Three ways we are currently working to support young people’s mental health at Global Action Plan are:
1. Through our Good Life Schools programme
We're working with young people in sixty secondary schools across England and Wales as part of our Good Life Schools programme, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, to help them become more resilient to consumerist pressures.
Decades of research shows that pursuing materialistic goals has detrimental impact on our mental health. Despite this, young people are exposed to unprecedented amounts of advertising encouraging them to seek happiness and success through buying more. Click here to find out how Good Life Schools are taking action to improve the wellbeing of young people and our shared planet.
2. The Safer Socials Campaign
Our Safer Socials campaign is channelling public pressure towards regulators to force tech platforms to make their products safe by design for young people – and for us all.
We do this by exposing the array of harms to young people – through research and powerful communications, from our work with Dove to show the impact of toxic beauty content on girls, to our award-winning campaign film with Vodafone - 'The Rise of the Aggrorithm' - to expose how boys are being targeted with harmful and misogynistic content.
We also harness public concern and channel it towards regulators and political decision makers - like our petition to compel social media companies to make their products safe by design.
3. Our research on hope and environmental action
Our work with the University of Bath - on hope and environmental action - explores how we can disrupt misperceptions, hopelessness and inaction to re-engage young people in environmental action. This research builds on previous studies showing that making people aware of the values they share with others can create a sense of connectedness and hope about the future.
As a new member of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, we’ll be sharing evidence and insights from our programmes, campaigns and research, and working alongside 300 organisations to ensure that there is effective government policy that supports children and young people’s mental health.
At Global Action Plan, we believe that change happens when we work collectively with others. We look forward to working alongside our new partners to create a world in which all young people can flourish.
If you’re interested in joining us in our work to support young people live happier, healthier lives, check out our Good Life Schools programme or sign our petition for the Safer Socials campaign.