Down with the mask

Two representatives from the Hafnarfjörður Youth Council, Lára Rós
Friðriksdóttir and Katrín Rós Þrastardóttir attended the Youth Council conference.
of the Young Men's Association of Iceland from 16th to 18th March. The conference was held at the Hotel
Selfossi and the title of this year's conference was: Down with the mask – mental health
youth in Iceland. This is the seventh time that the Icelandic Youth Federation has held
for the conference, Young People and Democracy with the aim of supporting
democratic participation of young people. 

The status was reported at the conference.
mental health services in Iceland, including a good presentation from the Anxiety Treatment Centre. Main
However, emphasis was placed on the work of young people in the various workshops held on both days. Conference participants had the opportunity to take part in the following workshops: 

• Emotional Workshop
• Boys' self-portrait
• Girls' self-image
• Prejudice and
  diversity
• The influence of social media
• The Mental Care Box

Also, there were in
organised workshops where the aim was to find ten useful and helpful tips from the young people themselves that are of good use in times of distress. A seminar on young people and
The community was then well-placed to summarise the work that had taken place in the workshops, as well as to facilitate a good conversation about mental health in secondary schools, where the group sought
to come up with ideas on how a mental health policy for secondary school students would be desirable.  

UMH representatives took an active part in the conference and went home to Hafnarfjörður with new
Tools to use in their work with young people, both in play and in work. 

Photos and further coverage of the conference can be found here.