ROLES – Art-Driven Capacity Building for Mental Health De-stigmatization

Name: Art-Driven Capacity Building for Mental Health De-stigmatization – ROLES

Timespan: 01/12/2025 – 30/11/2027

Donor: European Union

ERASMUS+ Lump Sum Grants

Call: ERASMUS-YOUTH-2025-CB (Capacity Building in the field of Youth)

Budget: 319.630,40 EUR

Applicant: United Societies of Balkans (U.S.B)(Greece);

Partners: LDA Mostar  (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Fundacja Sempre A Frente (Poland); Teatro Metaphora (Portugal);  HODINA H  (Czechia); Act Center (Albania); YIHR (Montenegro)

DESCRIPTION: Mental-health stigma arises from misinformation, fear, and negative societal attitudes, leading to discrimination and social exclusion. ROLES aims to equip youth workers, trainers, facilitators, mentors, and NFE professionals with practical art-based methodologies to tackle mental health stigma and strengthen youth workers’ resilience. The integration of expressive, creative, experiential techniques, including theatre, role-playing and somatic methods into non-formal education will capacitate youth professionals with tools to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions around mental health, thus fostering inclusive youth work practices and empathy. Through intensive capacity-building activities that delve deep into both theory and practice, youth professionals will gain hands-on experience in using the arts as a powerful tool for engagement, advocacy, and mental-health de-stigmatization in youth work, through practical implementation, locally and internationally. ROLES brings together EU and Western Balkan partners from different realities to exchange expertise and diverse perspectives on artbased techniques and methods, ensuring a cross-border transfer of knowledge and enhancing the skills of youth professionals across different cultural and social contexts. This approach will create a sustainable impact by expanding the network of trained professionals who can continue to integrate art-based methods into their work, breaking down stigma and promoting mental health awareness among young people. The project’s key objectives include increasing the pool of competent and resilient youth professionals that support youth communities, empowering young participants, including those with fewer opportunities, and creating sustainable resources for long-term impact. This holistic approach seeks to create a supportive network of youth workers, that extends beyond the project, fostering positive change in the attitudes of mental health within their local youth communities.

AIM OF THE PROJECT: the ‘ROLES’ project’s aim is to strengthen the capacity and resilience of youth workers and youth organisations to effectively address mental health stigma through art-based and expressive methodologies, while fostering inclusive, empathetic, and supportive youth work environments across Europe and the Western Balkans.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

SO1: To equip youth workers, trainers, facilitators, mentors, and non-formal education (NFE) professionals with practical artistic and expressive methodologies (such as theatre, role-play, somatic and creative techniques) to address mental health stigma, stereotypes, and misconceptions.

SO2: To strengthen the resilience, well-being, and professional development of youth workers through cross-border cooperation, peer learning, and the exchange of innovative art-based practices.

SO3: To promote social inclusion and combat discrimination related to mental health by creating safe, participatory spaces for dialogue and learning within youth work contexts.

SO4: To empower young people, including those with fewer opportunities, by increasing their access to inclusive, creative, and non-formal educational activities that encourage self-expression, empathy, and awareness of mental health.

SO5: To enhance transnational cooperation between EU and Western Balkan organisations, ensuring sustainable knowledge transfer and long-term integration of art-based approaches in youth work practice.

TARGET GROUPS:

Primary:

• Youth workers
• Trainers, facilitators, mentors, and non-formal education professionals
• Youth organisations and civil society organisations working with young people

Secondary:

• Young people aged 13–30, including:
  • Young people with fewer opportunities
  • Young people experiencing social exclusion or mental health stigma
• Local youth communities in partner countries
• Stakeholders in youth, education, and mental health sectors

RESULTS:

• Increased capacity of youth professionals to address mental health stigma using art-based and expressive methodologies in their daily work.
• Improved resilience, confidence, and well-being of youth workers, enabling them to better manage sensitive topics related to mental health.
• Greater awareness and openness among young people to discuss mental health through creative and participatory activities.
• Reduction of stigma, stereotypes, and discriminatory attitudes related to mental health within youth work environments and local communities.
• Development and implementation of sustainable art-based tools, methods, and practices that can be replicated beyond the project duration.
• Strengthened cross-border networks and cooperation among youth organisations in the EU and Western Balkans, contributing to long-term impact and policy alignment with European values.Promotion of the use of performative arts as an innovative NFE methodology to foster social and civic engagement of youth through global education practices by encouraging/fostering unprivileged art(ists) and its sustainability.

IMPLEMENTED ACTIVITIES