Horizon SMILE

24/12/2025

On 11 December 2025, the Mestna občina Maribor hosted a SMILE workshop on stress, anxiety and burnout in the workplace, bringing together 48 employees.

The session raised awareness about early warning signs of mental exhaustion, workplace anxiety, and burnout, while creating a safe space for reflection and exchange.

At SMILE, we are proud of our partners who actively promote healthier, more sustainable working environments.

23/12/2025

🧠Supporting mental health in schools starts with empowered professionals🧠

On 8 December 2025, the Mestna občina Maribor organised a professional meeting for school psychologists focused on anxiety and depression in young people.

Nearly 40 counsellors strengthened their skills in early recognition of mental distress, trust-building, and timely referral to professional support, key elements for creating safe and supportive school environments.

At SMILE, we believe that empowering school professionals is essential to protecting young people’s mental well-being.

22/12/2025

This , we celebrate connection, kindness, and care 💛

Horizon SMILE is about people, support, and creating spaces where mental health matters.

Wishing everyone a filled with warmth, love, and meaningful moments 🎄✨
Let’s keep smiling together 😊

17/12/2025

27/11/2025

🎉 New Scientific Publication from the SMILE Project! 🎉

We are delighted to share that a new peer-reviewed article has been published: Validation of the Slovenian versions of Child and Youth Resilience Measure-12 and Brief Resilience Scale among youth.

🖋 Authors: Urška Smrke, Ana Rehberger, Sara Močnik, Tanja Špes, Izidor Mlakar, and Nejc Plohl.

🔍 This study fills an important gap in mental-health research by validating two resilience measures — CYRM-12 and BRS — among Slovenian young adults (18–24 years).

Key findings:
✔️ Strong one-factor structure for both scales
✔️ High internal consistency and psychometric robustness
✔️ Positive links with adaptive coping & quality of life
✔️ Negative links with anxiety, depression & maladaptive coping
✔️ CYRM-12 shows slightly higher predictive power for quality of lifee

📱 Scan the QR code to access the publication, or visit: www.horizonsmile.eu/scientific-publications/

👏 Congratulations to all the authors from Univerza v Mariboru for this important contribution!

24/11/2025

🔙 Throwback to Mental Health Dialogues Webinar #5!

On October 07, 2025, Horizon SMILE joined 6 other European projects for the fifth webinar of our joint Mental Health Dialogues Series: “Breaking Barriers: Tackling Mental Health Stigma Through E-Inclusion.”

The discussion brought together researchers, practitioners, and community advocates for a rich conversation on how digital tools can help rewrite the narrative around mental health, and ensure no one is left behind

🎥 Missed it? Access the full replay & report via the QR code.
Or click here: https://www.horizonsmile.eu/network/

🙏 Special thanks to the 7 projects, Horizon SMILE, , Advance Mental Health, , , Net&Me Bootstrap, and ; And to all organising partners across the 7 projects, including RDIUP for Horizon SMILE, for making this webinar possible.

24/11/2025

03/11/2025

Your Voice Matters: Insights from the SMILE Stakeholder Surveys

Throughout the SMILE project, we listened to young people, families, educators, mental health professionals, and partners. Their voices shape how we design inclusive, evidence-based digital tools for mental well-being. 💬💙

🌎 Mental health is universal, but culture shapes how we talk about it.

From Indonesia to Greece, India, the USA, and the UK, young people show growing openness to discuss mental health, but cultural sensitivity is key.

Participants called for inclusive communities, stronger support networks, and integration of mental health into public-health initiatives.

SMILE listens to these global voices to design tools that are culturally sensitive, inclusive, and community-driven.💙

SMILE will continue to expand survey outreach, ensuring a richer and more representative understanding of stakeholder perspectives. For more details check SMILE Stakeholders Open Space: https://www.horizonsmile.eu/join-smile-community/

31/10/2025

Your Voice Matters: Insights from the SMILE Stakeholder Surveys

Throughout the SMILE project, we listened to young people, families, educators, mental health professionals, and partners. Their voices shape how we design inclusive, evidence-based digital tools for mental well-being. 💬💙

💬 Inside SMILE: teamwork that makes a difference.

Across Europe, our consortium partners combine expertise, creativity, and dedication to improve youth mental health.

They highlight the project’s strong impact potential, its collaborative spirit, and the power of co-creation between research, clinical, and technical teams.

🤍 Together, we’re transforming ideas into evidence-based tools that make mental health support more accessible, inclusive, and engaging for young people.

SMILE will continue to expand survey outreach, ensuring a richer and more representative understanding of stakeholder perspectives. For more details check SMILE Stakeholders Open Space: https://www.horizonsmile.eu/join-smile-community/

31/10/2025

30/10/2025

Your Voice Matters: Insights from the SMILE Stakeholder Surveys

Throughout the SMILE project, we listened to young people, families, educators, mental health professionals, and partners. Their voices shape how we design inclusive, evidence-based digital tools for mental well-being. 💬💙

🎓 Teachers see schools as key to mental health.

Teachers and educators identify uncertainty about the future as a main stressor for students and call for mental-health topics to be part of the school curriculum, tailored by age group.

📘 Policy suggestions: more psychoeducation for students, targeted training for teachers, and national-level integration of mental-health education.

They see digital tools as useful for awareness and psychoeducation, but should complement, not replace, human connection.

Teachers value tools that are inclusive, visually appealing, cost-effective, and privacy-secure, especially for students with special needs.

🧠 Their message: is clear: “Equip us with training and resources, and we’ll make mental health education real.”

SMILE will continue to expand survey outreach, ensuring a richer and more representative understanding of stakeholder perspectives. For more details check SMILE Stakeholders Open Space: https://www.horizonsmile.eu/join-smile-community/

29/10/2025

Your Voice Matter: Insights from the SMILE Stakeholder Surveys

Throughout the SMILE project, we listened to young people, families, educators, mental health professionals, and partners. Their voices shape how we design inclusive, evidence-based digital tools for mental well-being. 💬💙

💡 Experts on the front line of youth well-being.

Professionals say the top challenges for young people are anxiety and bullying .They appreciate the potential of digital tools to support and complements therapy, not replace it.

They value security, affordability, and customisable features, while questioning how digital interventions translate to real-life outcomes.

Their insights ensure SMILE remains scientifically sound, safe, and ethically grounded. SMILE will continue to expand survey outreach, ensuring a richer and more representative understanding of stakeholder perspectives.

For more details check our Stakeholders Open Space: https://www.horizonsmile.eu/join-smile-community/