Ioanna Xenophontos, a PhD student of the international Ph.D. programme in "Applied Psychology: Adaptation and change in contemporary societies", participated in the 44th and 45th sessions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, as a youth delegate through the Rejuvenating Politics Initiative at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Through the Rejuvenating Politics Initiative, Ioanna had the unique opportunity to express her opinions and actively participate in debates with members of the Congress. During the sessions, the FEP PhD student intervened on the topic of mental health, advocating its crucial importance for an inclusive and participatory approach to local and regional governance across Europe.
Ioanna's initiative to highlight mental health as a central pillar of community well-being underlines the need for governance that recognises and responds to mental health issues with the urgency and seriousness they deserve, and to include the issue on local and regional policy agendas.
"This participation provided an invaluable platform for cross-cultural exchange and collaboration, allowing me to learn from and contribute to a diverse pool of ideas and practices from across Europe," says the FEP PhD student.
About the "Rejuvenating Politics" initiative
The Rejuvenating Politics initiative was launched by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in 2014 as part of its commitment to promoting young people's participation in public life and decision-making at local and regional level.
The "Youth Delegates" project is a part of this initiative. “It gives young people, from the 46 Council of Europe member states, a unique opportunity to sit (without voting rights) in a European assembly alongside local and regional elected representatives”, says the Congress website.
