Representatives of the Servicio de Juventud of the City of Murcia took part on 6 and 7 October 2026 in Vilnius (Lithuania) in the third transnational meeting of the European project HARMONY and coordinated the professional exchange. The focus was on prevention, early detection and the transferability of successful approaches to promoting the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults.
The programme combined expert presentations, working groups and study visits. Delegations learned about municipal prevention work at the Vilnius Public Health Bureau and about treatment and counselling services for addiction disorders at the Republican Centre for Addictive Disorders as well as school measures to tackle bullying and build resilience at the Vilnius Antakalnis Junior High School . Discussions included how to address anxiety disorders, manage stress, prevent addiction and consider the influence of digital media on minors.
According to the Servicio de Juventud and the project coordination team in Spain, the findings will be systematically assessed so they can inform municipal prevention programmes and support networks. The focus is on tools suitable for schools, open youth work and counselling centres. Concrete implementation decisions for Murcia are to be prepared at upcoming Servicio de Juventud meetings.
HARMONY (Health and Resilience: Mental Empowerment for New Youth) is a cooperation project co-funded by Interreg Europe . It connects local authorities, educational institutions and specialist partners from several countries to improve policy approaches, reduce stigma and identify signs of psychological distress earlier. According to consistent statements from the participating organisations, the City of Murcia acts as lead partner within the consortium and coordinates the exchange of knowledge.
The current meeting in Vilnius forms part of a multi-year collaboration. The aim is to make experiences between municipalities comparable, identify robust standards and transfer them into the respective local structures. For Murcia, this means deepening international cooperation in youth work, alongside a commitment to adapting evidence-based measures and embedding them for the long term. The organisers say that further exchange formats are being planned as part of the project; results will be published after internal consultation.
The city administration emphasises that linking school-based, municipal and specialist services is crucial to making counselling easier to access and ensuring that support pathways are joined up. Comparing good practice across countries should also provide a basis for targeting future funding applications more effectively and strengthening links between healthcare, education and youth services.
Editor: Clara Simonichek (Article created with AI assistance).