Fresh perspectives, bold ideas, and cross-sector approaches from Brazil to New York
New York, USA and Brasília, Brazil — The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute is mobilizing young advocates and cross-sector stakeholders for International Youth Day 2025. In celebration of this day, two high-impact forums designed to strengthen youth mental health care policy and systems will take place.
Under the theme Youth Advancing Multilateral Cooperation Through Technology and Partnerships, children and adolescents are not only joining conversations about mental health care, but also leading them. On August 9, the SNF Global Center is partnering with youth advocates, policymakers, diplomats, and innovators during the 30th annual AFS Youth Assembly panel, “Beyond the Surface: The Global Mental Health Crisis” in New York. The discussion will explore global youth mental health, with a particular spotlight on the impact of pandemics, armed conflicts, and climate change.
The flagship conference of the AFS Intercultural Programs will be held on August 8-10 and is expected to attract approximately 700 young leaders (ages 18-35) from over 100 countries. This includes those working in grassroots as well as international development towards sustainable transformation. The AFS Youth Assembly, a non-profit organization promoting global citizenship, youth engagement, and collaborative impact, has been supporting young leadership for more than 100 years.
“We are proud to take a leading role in this critical conversation to advance the improvement of culturally responsive and evidence-based solutions in resource-limited settings. Through the right platforms and support, young people continue to powerfully demonstrate that the future of mental health care is through inclusivity, technology-driven solutions, and international collaborations,” said Eduardo Vasconcelos, Youth Engagement director at the SNF Global Center.
On August 12, Vasconcelos will also co-lead two panel discussions in Brazil, focused on youth leadership, mental health, and public policy as part of an official congressional celebration. The event in Brasília will convene youth advocates, parliamentarians, government officials, and civil society organizations to exchange ideas, highlight best practices, and promote inclusive and science-based policymaking. This year’s call to action is to recognize mental health as a central pillar of youth development and a necessary focus of Brazil’s National Youth Policy.
This collaborative initiative is organized by the Brazilian Congressional Caucus on the Promotion of Mental Health, the Secretary for Infancy, Adolescence, and Youth of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Institute for Health Policy Studies (IEPS), in partnership with the SNF Global Center. The idea for the event was first proposed by the nonprofit Young Peacebuilders, an organization partnering with the SNF Global Center that works to prevent school-based violence and promote mental well-being among Brazilian youth.
The SNF Global Center has mobilized members of its Youth Council in Brazil, including Ana Beatriz Araujo, Júlio Ruan, and Daniel Nascimento, who will join as speakers and participants in the panels, while also engaging directly with legislators and sharing critical insights from their experiences at the local and national levels.
The first roundtable, “The National Youth Policy in Dialogue with Parliament,” will open the event to examine Brazil’s current youth legislation and the intersection of mental health, inclusion, and environmental sustainability. The final session titled, “Youth Mental Health in Perspective,”will feature youth advocates, health professionals, and grassroots leaders to discuss Brazil’s most pressing mental health challenges.
The event will also mark the launch of two major papers published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review Brasíl, both addressing the state of mental health for children and adolescents in school communities. One is produced by the IEPS and the second is co-authored by experts from the SNF Global Center, offering evidence-based insights into how children and adolescents’ mental health can be better supported in schools.
“What makes the events in Brazil and New York unique is the anticipated creation of concrete pathways from lived experience to system change through youth expertise, ensuring policies reflect actual needs,” said Joseph Elias, managing director, SNF Global Center. “We are also looking forward to previewing findings from two studies aimed at filling critical knowledge gaps and challenging how global youth mental health is understood.”
Mental health is a fundamental aspect of well-being, yet it remains one of the most overlooked global health challenges, especially in low and middle-income countries where 90 percent of the world’s children live. Both International Youth Day events provide an opportunity for generational bridge-building and a platform for youth to lead.
About the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute
The SNF Global Center brings together the Child Mind Institute’s expertise as a leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)’s deep commitment to supporting collaborative projects to improve access to quality health care worldwide. The center is building partnerships to drive advances in under-researched areas of children and adolescents’ mental health, and expand access to culturally appropriate training, resources, and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. This work is conducted by the Child Mind Institute with support from SNF through its Global Health Initiative (GHI).
About the Child Mind Institute
The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard, evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.
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