MTV consolidates plans for Youth Mental Health Action Forum, including May White House event

The day after President Biden highlighted the nation’s unprecedented mental health crisis during his State of the Union address, MTV Entertainment Group is solidifying plans for its inaugural Youth Health Action Forum mental health, in coordination with the Biden-Harris administration.

The Forum will take place in DC in May and will feature an initial cohort of 30 young creators and mental health activists pitching their ideas at a White House event to an audience of media and tech professionals, from government officials and nonprofit executives to help inform future creators of mental health-related public health campaigns.

“Young people are going through a mental health crisis. We are in a position, given our platform, to have a meaningful impact on the mental health journeys of millions of Americans by raising the voices of young people who can understand and achieve the unique challenges facing their peers. in a way that really meets them where they are — on digital platforms,” says Vaughan Bagley, senior director of social impact for MTV Entertainment Group.

“The young people we hope to reach with the content of this Forum are the least likely to seek help and often have the fewest resources available to them.”

Senior officials from the Biden-Harris administration, including the Department of Health and Human Services, are expected to speak at the May event.

MTV Entertainment announced the first phase of its partnership with the administration last October. At the time, Chris McCarthy, chairman and CEO of Paramount Media Networks and MTV Entertainment Studios, highlighted the power of authentic storytelling to help end the stigma surrounding mental health.

“As the rise of mental health issues has created a second pandemic, particularly among young people, MTV Entertainment has assembled a coalition of entertainment leaders and mental health experts to harness the power of storytelling with the aim of end the stigma surrounding mental health,” McCarthy mentioned.

“In coordination with the Biden-Harris administration and an impressive coalition of leading mental health nonprofits, we are going further and empowering young people to use storytelling to share their powerful voices and their diverse experiences to help themselves and support others.”

Ahead of the May event, the creators – who were selected by MTV Entertainment Group’s social impact team from hundreds of entries – will take part in a six-week program hosted by MTVE to define a prevalent mental health issue. in their communities and develop a campaign. that will inspire action. Their insights will inform upcoming public service announcements, podcasts, digital art, and other activations focused on improving the mental health of historically marginalized communities.

“For ideas that suit our digital channels and our audience, MTVE creators will work alongside them to co-produce a campaign, and we will work as matchmakers with our peers from other media and entertainment brands who will help bring to life other ideas that work for them,” Bagley says.

“We hope that the concepts presented at the Forum will be continued and developed into a tangible creative campaign that can reach millions of young people across the country.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to give voice to young people working in the field, especially those who have been historically marginalized,” she adds. “The young people in this cohort have worked hard every day, and now is an opportunity for MTV to take our creative superpowers and our platform and offer those assets to these young leaders who can help us shape our next great campaign in ways we might never have thought of otherwise.

Previously announced non-profit partners in the initiative include AAKOMA Project, Active Minds, Asian Mental Health Collective, Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Born This Way Foundation, Bring Change to Mind, Jed Foundation, Mental Wealth Alliance , NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network, Poderistas, Rare Impact Fund by Rare Beauty, Student Veterans of America, Trans Lifeline, The Trevor Project, The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health, Vibrant Emotional Health and We R Native.

The Mental Health Youth Forum is MTV Entertainment’s latest initiative to raise awareness and action around mental health.

Last year, the newly renamed division of Paramount created the Mental Health Storytelling Coalition, made up of entertainment industry leaders, including Disney and WarnerMedia, and mental health experts. The Coalition has unveiled a mental health media guide, the first of its kind, which provides best practices and evidence-based recommendations to support content creators across all topics and genres.

MTV Entertainment also kicked off the Mental Health Day of Action last May, which brought together more than 1,400 businesses, nonprofits and government agencies to take the storyline from awareness to action. More than $300,000 has been raised for Day of Action for Mental Health charities on MTVE’s platform, and 287 fundraising campaigns have been created for Day of Action for Mental Health charities. Mental Health.

“Hundreds of elected officials, professional athletes, artists and public figures, including President Biden, Chelsea Clinton, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Lin, Jewel, Mike the Situation and Robin Roberts amplified the message, motivating millions people to take the steps they need to support their own mental health, or that of someone they know in need,” says Bagley.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support the day has received, which is why we’re bringing it back to May 19, 2022 and engaging more businesses and more audiences to drive change.”