Horizon SMILE

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/

28/10/2025

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. 💬💙

💬 Families want balance and trust.

Parents see anxiety, social isolation, and eating disorders as top concerns for their children.
They welcome digital mental-health support , but only when it’s simple, private, and proven effective.
Half said they would use SMILE tools themselves if these conditions are met. Others remain cautious about overuse of screens.

🌱 Their insights push us to create trustworthy, balanced, and family-friendly digital solutions.

We 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/

27/10/2025

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. 💬💙

✨ What’s on young minds today?

Young people told us their biggest stressors are uncertainty about the future, academic pressure, and feeling misunderstood by adults. Most talk about mental health with friends, rarely with parents or teachers.

Youth appreciate digital tools for their accessibility. Almost half said they’d try the SMILE Tools, if they’re safe, affordable, and visually engaging.

🧩 Their voices remind us: digital tools must feel human, not replace it.

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/

09/10/2025

📍 SMILE Project at the ESRIi Conference 2025 in Vilnius!

We were proud to be represented by our partner Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg at the European Society for Research on Internet Interventions ( ) Conference, hosted by Vilniaus universitetas / Vilnius University.

Gwendolyn Mayer presented insights from the SMILE project, which explores AI-driven, gamified, and rights-based digital mental health interventions across Europe.

A warm thank you to the organisers for fostering such a stimulating exchange between research, technology, and healthcare innovation!

08/10/2025

🚨 Policymakers & stakeholders in youth mental health!

Your input is needed to improve the SMILE Open Knowledge Platform for Youth Mental Health (10–24 years).

Take 5 minutes to complete our survey and help shape evidence-based policies & digital tools.

📝 Complete the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdj2u2IBi3-tacronBhnP1fSUFMJAqvTGyqezljAh24Jz-uzw/viewform

Your expertise matters!