The queen, honorary chair of the MIND Us Foundation, visited the municipality of Tilburg on Tuesday afternoon, 3 February, as part of the Leading Locals network of MIND Us. Tilburg is one of the eleven frontrunner municipalities within this network.
During the visit, special attention was given to how Tilburg involved young people in drafting and implementing the action plan ‘Mental Health for All Youth 2023-2026’.
Leading Locals is a learning network of MIND Us in which municipalities can exchange good practices on addressing mental health issues among young people in their city or village. This way, municipalities can inspire each other and work towards an integrated approach to support young peoples mental well-being. One of the principles is that young people are part of policy-making and implementation. The network started in November 2023 during a meeting at Noordeinde Palace.
Youth Participation
The working visit took place in the Hall of Fame. A fitting location, as in 2023 the FCKD GEN FEST was organized here by young people. During this festival, young people talked about how they experience the theme of mental health and what ideas they have for improvement and innovation. This input led to the regional ManiFEST, which forms the basis of the local action plan.
Participation
It was an interactive afternoon focusing on youth participation. The afternoon was opened by Alderman Peter Kok and young person Ramatu Kanu. They explained why mental health of young people is so important and how young people are involved in the creation of the action plan and the importance of youth participation in policy formation. Alderman Kok: “As a municipality, we can only make good policy if young people themselves participate in discussions, thinking, and decision-making. Their experiences and ideas form the core of our action plan. Together we build a city where every young person feels seen and has the resilience to face lifes challenges.”
Panel Discussions
Then followed two great panel discussions with young people and youth workers: “Keep normalizing the conversation about mental health. It’s also okay to feel down for a day,” said Ramatu Kanu, chairperson of the MindUs working visit, From Insight to Impact (VITI), and Together with Youth. Queen Máxima then participated in a workshop by VITI, a safe community where young people can share their personal stories and develop into experiential experts. “I find it important that young people are involved in thinking along instead of being thought about,” said Jelle Gijsbers, VITI and Together with Youth.
Finally, the Queen spoke with various stakeholders from the municipality, young people from the youth community Together with Youth, and the Hart van Brabant region about how they work together with young people towards a mentally resilient region.
Call Me
The purple phone booth was part of the decor in the Hall of Fame. The phone booth is the eye-catcher of the ‘Call Me’ campaign. Call Me is a campaign for and by young people. The goal of the campaign is to make young people feel they are not alone and that there is always someone willing to talk to them, especially when they are not feeling well. The campaign will also be visible in the city in 2026. More information: mijwelbellen.nl.