Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day; in Bologna, the focus is on young people

In the first nine months of 2026, the number of mental health-related cases reported to Telefono Azzurro almost doubled, rising from 687 to 1,286 (+87.2 per cent). This figure forms the basis for the event which, to mark World Mental Health Day, on Friday 9 October from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm in the H-Belmeloro Lecture Theatre at the University of Bologna, places students at the centre of a dialogue with institutions and experts, with the aim of breaking down taboos surrounding psychological wellbeing and addressing the impact of digital technology. The initiative is organised by the S.O.S. Il Telefono Azzurro Foundation in partnership with the University of Bologna and the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences in Bologna.

The focus will be on the students of the Humanities Sixth Form at the IIS “Enrico Mattei” in San Lazzaro di Savena, who will present in the lecture theatre the reflections they have developed in class on anxiety, the use of and pressure from social media, cyberbullying and challenges linked to artificial intelligence, in dialogue with a multidisciplinary audience of teachers and professionals, including Ernesto Caffo, president of Telefono Azzurro.

According to figures from the 1.96.96 helpline, mental health is now the main reason behind more than one in three requests for help (35.7 per cent), compared with 30.1 per cent two years ago. Those contacting the service are mainly teenagers, with a median age of 15 and seven out of ten being girls, increasingly via chat or text messages. “The figures confirm that mental health is now a priority for teenagers and young people,” says Caffo. “For young people, digital life is an integral part of real life, and social pressures, isolation and rapid technological change can have a profound impact on their wellbeing. We want to put young people at the centre and demonstrate that schools, universities, institutions and civil society can join forces to develop concrete solutions.”