Under the slogan “Safe in an Unsafe World”, the recently held 11th Mental Health Festival brought together many citizens in Novi Sad, Subotica, Sombor, Pančevo, Zrenjanin and Pirot. The festival offered more than classic lectures. It created open spaces where every person, regardless of age, background or life circumstances, has the chance and the right to be heard, accepted and respected.
One of the most striking impressions of this year’s edition is the move away from outdated formats in which experts speak and the audience listens in silence. Through participatory workshops such as Open Space meetings, secondary school students, experts and older fellow citizens sat at the same table and shared experiences as equals, says Dragica Jovišević, one of the festival’s organisers.
“Everyone said in the end that the perspective of young people was very important to them, that it opened their horizons, because young people really took part as absolute equals. It seems to us that panels where someone speaks for most of the time and the audience gets only a little space at the end are slowly becoming outdated. We need to organise formats with greater participation of everyone present and a lively exchange of opinions. That is how we give power and strength to citizens and actively involve them”.
By speaking openly about topics that are still burdened by stigma, from anxiety and suicide prevention to mental health in schools and workplaces, the festival created a safe space for an honest conversation.
“We try to send the message that mental health matters, that it is okay not to be okay and to ask for support. But on the other hand, we never put the focus on the individual alone, but on the society and community that bear responsibility for how an individual feels”, stresses Jovišević.
Workshop participants often pointed out that the liberating feeling comes from a simple fact: someone truly hears you without judgement. The exchange of different life stories showed that personal crises do not have to mean isolation, and that shared support brings back a sense of safety. The festival programme included workshops and exhibitions dedicated to persons with disabilities, women from vulnerable groups, LGBTQ+ young people and persons with chronic health challenges.
The Mental Health Festival was organised in cooperation with the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, the “Karika” network and numerous partners, with the support of Europe House Novi Sad and city and provincial institutions. This event showed in practice what a community based on solidarity, equal opportunities and mutual respect looks like.