The core aim of JANUS was to build and validate Autobiographical Theatre (AT) as an innovative mental-wellbeing and social inclusion methodology for young people across Europe. Specific objectives were: 1. To co-develop and pilot a transnational Autobiographical Theatre methodology that supports youth mental health, self-expression and resilience. 2. To train educators, artists, youth workers and therapists to apply AT safely and sustainably in their communities. 3. To empower vulnerable young people to transform personal narratives into creative performances, strengthening emotional literacy and social connection. 4. To reduce stigma around mental health through public theatre and community dialogue. 5. To create open-access educational resources (handbook, videos, digital platform, multilingual e-booklet, newsletters) for long-term use. 6. To increase civic participation and visibility of youth voices through public performances and the JANUS Festival. 7. To build a supportive transnational ecosystem connecting youth, artists, NGOs, universities and cultural institutions.
The JANUS project was initiated in response to the urgent and growing mental health challenges faced by young people in Europe, intensified by the effects of the pandemic, social isolation, war-related displacement, anxiety, stigmatization, identity pressures, and limited access to non-clinical emotional support. Research and field consultations conducted by the consortium in 2022 showed that youth needed safe environments for expression, community belonging, and resilience-building, but lacked creative, stigma-free frameworks that combine emotional exploration with social inclusion. We applied for this project to fill this gap by developing an arts-based, non-clinical, scalable methodology that could: • support youth emotional wellbeing without pathologizing their experiences, • combat stigma around mental health, • create transformation through storytelling, embodiment, and shared creative processes, • foster inclusion, resilience, trust and civic participation. The needs addressed were: emotional expression, peer connection, mental health awareness, self-confidence, identity navigation, stigma reduction, community belonging.