The aim of the YouMind launch day was to bring partners together to discuss the steps to be taken in a small partnership project aimed at raising awareness of the importance of mental health in sport and developing different strategies to prevent mental health problems in young athletes. 

The meeting took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the ideas that were discussed will be developed into a promotional video and a good practice guide for athletes and sports organisations.

The project will last for two years and will include various activities such as workshops, surveys and meetings. The meeting started with a short introduction of each participant. The participants represented four partner organisations: EUSA Institute, Slovenia; ENGSO Youth, Sweden; MEAFC, University of Miskolc, Hungary; and CUS Salerno, Italy. 

All participating organisations presented their areas of work and shared previous experiences in the field of mental health and sport that could be used during the project implementation.

The official part of the inaugural meeting was then opened by EUSA representatives. Hristina Hristova, EUSA Media Officer, gave a brief introduction to the theme of the YouMind project. Andrej Pisl, EUSA Communications and Projects Manager, introduced the EUSA Institute, its projects and work. He then moved on to project issues.

The meeting was a brainstorming session between the partners. Objectives were defined, timelines were set and a final evaluation was carried out. Further online meetings will take place. The partners will meet again face-to-face in Hungary in July to coincide with the European Universities Games 2024. 

YouMind is a two-year project funded by the European Union. It is coordinated by the EUSA Institute (Slovenia). The project partners are EUSA Institute Slovenia, ENGSO Youth Sweden, MEAFC University of Miskolc and CUS Salerno Italy.