INOVA+ recently shared the YoungMinds project’s success at the 20th annual International Technology, Education and Development Conference 2026 via a virtual poster presentation!

This appearance, which continued the project’s engagement with international digital platforms, highlighted how curated European cinema is being used to bolster mental health literacy and emotional resilience among teenagers in schools across Portugal, Croatia, Greece, and Lithuania.

A digital stage for Mental Health awareness

A virtual poster titled “Addressing Mental Health with Teenagers through European Movies” was presented, detailing the YoungMinds Framework, a learner-centred approach that moves away from passive instruction. The framework relies on four key pillars – critical thinking, philosophical inquiry, dialogical methods and filmmaking – to encourage students to actively construct knowledge and explore complex emotional narratives through film.

Comprehensive tools for the classroom

The virtual session provided an in-depth look at the project’s first-year results, specifically the development of the YoungMinds toolkit. This suite of resources includes:

  • “Lights, Camera, Mental Health” booklet: A collection of 20 European short films and documentaries categorised into emotional stories and educational clips.
  • YoungMinds handbook: A practical guide for teachers containing detailed lesson plans and instructions for conducting filmmaking workshops with students.
  • Empowering Mental Health in Education course: A 50-hour training programme for teachers consisting of four modules designed to enhance their confidence in facilitating sensitive classroom discussions.
  • Teachers’ Learning area: An online portal integrated into the project website that provides easy access to all training materials and worksheets.

Looking ahead: Implementation and impact

The outcome of the presentation was the successful dissemination of the project’s evidence-based design to an international audience.

The session concluded by outlining the next steps for the consortium, which include a testing and validation phase running from March 2026 to January 2027. This implementation will involve four consortium schools and four additional collaborating schools to gather feedback on the framework’s effectiveness.

By fostering open dialogue and community engagement through “Mental Health on Screen” events, YoungMinds aims to achieve lasting improvements in student well-being and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.

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