The project aimed to address mental health issues among secondary school students by raising awareness, promoting help-seeking behaviours, and enhancing teachers’ ability to identify and manage mental health disorders. As such, it aligned with the priorities and objectives of the Erasmus+ program and sought to better integrate students facing health challenges. Additionally, the project aimed to enhance international cooperation among partners and strengthen institutional capacity for international projects.The project's objective was to establish an intervention area dedicated to developing institutional infrastructure for addressing mental health issues. The specific objectives were as follows: 1. Raise awareness about the importance of students’ mental health among 70 teachers and 150 students over 24 months. 2. Develop help-seeking behaviours and emotional well-being practices to cultivate emotional competencies among 150 school students within 24 months. 3. Develop preventive interventions to enhance the social and emotional outcomes of 150 students. The project was designed for sustainability, with at least two activities planned to continue after the grant period ended: the mental health room and the curriculum.
The project addressed the mental health of secondary school students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to raise awareness of mental health issues among secondary school children and enhance teachers’ capabilities to identify and address mental health disorders. The project's concept was grounded in the research conducted by the partners, revealing that more than half of school students were directly impacted by social distancing and isolation during the pandemic, with a third experiencing severe effects such as dropouts, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal attempts. This aligned with the main topic of the project, which was relevant for the new Erasmus+ program, addressing a significant barrier recognised by the Commission: health problems. Both partners had been concerned about related topics and issues since the previous year when mental health issues among school students emerged. Depression, suicidal behaviour, anxiety, and other disorders were reported by parents and teachers and observed by school psychologists, leading to the establishment of a partnership between the Romanian Finnish School in Bucharest and Kepez Mehmet Akif Ersoy Ortaokulu in Canakkale to raise awareness of mental health problems.