The Russian Red Cross (RRC), the oldest humanitarian organization in Russia, held a session on “Well–being and Mental Health” within the framework of the Kazan Global Youth Summit. The session discussed issues of psychological health of young people, their well-being in time of socio-cultural transformations of modern society, and preservation of mental health.
The Kazan Global Youth Summit was held from August 27 to August 30 within the framework of the program “Kazan – the youth capital of the Islamic Cooperation Organization – 2022” and brought together officials of youth and sports affairs, heads of youth departments, leaders of youth associations, representatives of international organizations, responsible for youth activities. There were 50 delegates from OIC, Central Asia and BRICS countries.
The Russian Red Cross session featured the following speakers: the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) expert, psychologist in the Belarusian Red Cross Society “Open House” center Irina Myalik, head of the Department of Psychosocial Support (PSS) in natural disasters and emergencies, PSS coordinator of the Turkish Red Crescent Ayshe Celik, head of the IFRC delegation from the South Caucasus Davron Mukhamadiev, coordinator of the Hungarian Red Cross IFRC Resource Center for PSS Balazs Beda. The RRC session was moderated by Anastasia Zvyagina, the Russian Red Cross hotline federal coordinator for PSS. The session was also attended by representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan National Red Crescent Societies, as well as the Central Office and the Ingush Regional Branch of the Russian Red Cross.
The session participants discussed issues of mental health and psychosocial support, including assistance to people to protect or strengthen their mental health and psychosocial well-being. According to Balazs Beda, coordinator of the Hungarian Red Cross IFRC Resource Center for PSS, “skills of providing psychological first aid include ability to assess the situation; familiarity with common models of crisis response; ability to approach a person in trouble, as calm him down, if necessary, provide emotional support and practical assistance”.
The Russian Red Cross session participants exchanged experiences and talked about programs of psychosocial support implemented in their countries. For example, in order to protect well-being of Turkish Red Crescent employees and raise awareness about stress management, the organization is implementing an “Employee Support Project”. In addition, the Turkish Red Crescent, with the UNICEF support, has been implementing children's psychosocial support programs since 2013.
Ayshe Celik, head of the Department of psychosocial support in natural disasters and emergencies, coordinator of the Turkish Red Crescent said the following: “We are implementing a program of psychosocial support, child protection, social cohesion, youth empowerment and education support in order to create protective and preventive measures, as well as awareness–raising for children from 4 to 18 years,”. “The program purpose is to minimize problems of adapting children exposed to migration, help them overcome trauma, raise awareness of being exposed to different cultures, support their personal development and access to education”.
The RRC session noted that main components of psychosocial support are treatment and prevention of mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. “During the session we examined methods of psychological first aid for employees and volunteers of the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, whenever psychological first aid was needed. It was a great occasion to review various programs and activities, offering safety for people. We exchanged views and acquired new strategies, helpful in increasing personal resilience in stressful times”, said Dr. Mohamed Amin Tahri, a participant of the RRC session from Morocco.
Participants also exchanged ideas on how to perceive mental health and well-being at the global level, between organizations, within organizations and at the individual level. During the summit, President of the Russian Red Cross Pavel Savchuk noted that the International Movement of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies conducts various programs on psychosocial support and mental health both in time of peace and during emergencies.
“Interaction of young people and building multilateral contacts between different countries is an important factor in strengthening international cooperation. Within the framework of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, we are creating various platforms to effectively involve young people in implementation of projects to respond to emergencies, provide psychosocial support, conduct medical and social programs, prevent diseases, popularize blood donation,” Pavel Savchuk said at the session “Image of the Future through the eyes of youth”, – the RRC President noted that young people with their fresh ideas are able to bring positive changes in society, including being involved in volunteer activities.
“It is important not only to provide platforms for self–realization, but also to take care of professional growth, well-being and mental health of young people and volunteers”, concluded the President of the Russian Red Cross.
