From the Baltic to the Black Sea: lifelong education and mental health promotion

This three-year project uses lifelong learning with a focus on mental health to address challenges related to ageing and youth. The project focuses on cognitive development and maintenance, mental health promotion, healthy lifestyles, and reducing psychosocial stress. Funding is provided by the Swedish Institute.

The project also shows how regional partnerships and collaboration between international universities can contribute to addressing complex social and health-related challenges.

The project’s main objectives

• Assess local lifelong learning resources in Sweden, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, and use the experience of partner universities to develop mental health education for older adults with the involvement of young teachers.
• Develop an educational programme with teaching methods focused on mental health and cognitive health among older people. The programme also includes training young teachers in each participating region to support mental health during the learning process.
• Strengthen regional partnerships and share knowledge and experience gained through the project.

Partnership

The project partnership includes experts from universities and organisations in Sweden, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation:

• Prof. Danuta Wasserman, Professor of Psychiatry and Suicidology at NASP, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
• Prof. Lars Jacobsson, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
• Dr. Tatyana Reytarova, Human Ecological Health NGO (HEH)
• Prof. Vsevolod Rozanov, Institute of Post-Diploma Innovative Education, Odessa National Mechnikov University (IIPE)
• Prof. Andrey Lobanov, Independent Department of Theory and Methodology of Lifelong Learning, Pushkin Leningrad State University (LENGU)
• Svetlana Soldatova, Business Center of the Tavrida Vernadsky National University (BCTNU)