·CyberHealthY launches with six partner organisations committed to transforming digital mental health in Europe
·From Brussels, a pan-European effort to train youth workers as frontline guardians of online wellbeing
·Open, free, and multilingual: all project outputs designed to reach as many young people as possible
Thursday, 28 May 2026. Brussels. CyberHealthY an Erasmus+ project training youth workers to protect young people's mental health in digital spaces, held its first in-person consortium meeting on Monday at Passa Porta Bookshop in Brussels, the International House of Literature in Brussels — a multilingual meeting place in the heart of the city and home to one of the largest literary festivals in Europe. A fitting venue for a project built around connection, community, and the power of bringing people together. The gathering brought together all six partner organisations for the official launch of the project: Volonteurope (Belgium, coordinator), DREAMY Association (Italy), Action Synergy SA (Greece), FINNOVA Foundation (Belgium), Fundacja Cooperacja (Poland), and Cerebro Corazón (Spain). The meeting marked the start of a 24-month collaboration built around a single conviction: digital wellbeing is not a technical problem — it is a human one.
A NEW APPROACH TO YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH IN EUROPE
Young people across Europe face growing mental health risks online: cyberbullying, isolation, digital overload, disinformation. Youth workers are best placed to help — but until now have lacked structured tools to do so in digital environments. CyberHealthY fills that gap.
Funded by the Erasmus+ programme with a budget of €250,000 over 24 months (January 2026 — December 2027), the project trains 30 youth workers as Cyberanimators: certified professionals who create and manage safe, supportive online communities. These Cyberanimators will establish five national cybercommunities on the CyberMentalHub, a free multilingual platform, engaging at least 75 young people — including 25 with fewer opportunities. All project outputs are open, free, and available in five European languages.
CyberHealthY builds on EDCyber, a validated predecessor project now being scaled. It is the only initiative in Europe specifically training youth workers in digital mental health facilitation through Cyberanimation.
THE BRUSSELS LAUNCH: TURNING A SHARED VISION INTO REALITY
The meeting began the evening before with a partners' dinner, an informal setting that allowed the six organisations to connect before the formal work began.
The following day opened with presentations from each partner organisation. DREAMY then led an in-depth introduction to the Cyberanimation methodology, the socio-educational framework at the heart of the project, followed by a full overview of CyberHealthY's structure, objectives, and expected outputs across all work packages.
The consortium also addressed the project's dissemination strategy, presenting the brand guidelines, logo, and rollup design that will give CyberHealthY a unified identity across all five countries, alongside a concrete communication plan covering podcasts, newsletters, social media content, awareness sessions, and short videos. All outputs will be released under open licence, free for any European organisation to reuse and adapt.
A significant part of the meeting was dedicated to WP1 — Project Management, led by Volonteurope. Partners established the governance structures, decision-making processes, financial management procedures, and reporting frameworks that will guide the consortium over the next 24 months. This included defining the roles and responsibilities of each organisation, setting up communication and coordination tools, and agreeing on quality assurance mechanisms to ensure the project delivers on its commitments to the Erasmus+ programme and to the young people it aims to serve.
Equally central to the day was WP2 — Field Research and Analysis, which set out the methodology partners will use to understand young people's digital mental health needs at national level. Each of the five participating countries will conduct both desk research — mapping existing studies, policies, and initiatives in the field — and field research involving youth workers, young people, and relevant stakeholders. The findings will be compiled into national reports and then synthesised into a shared European-level analysis, forming the evidence base that will directly shape the Cyberanimator training programme and the design of the national cybercommunities. The research phase positions CyberHealthY not only as a training project but as a genuine contribution to the knowledge on digital youth mental health across Europe.
The second day focused on timeline review, alignment on next steps, and a final evaluation before an informal farewell lunch.
WHAT MAKES CYBERHEALTHY DIFFERENT
The Cyberanimation methodology applies community animation principles to digital spaces. The Cyberanimator acts as facilitator, communication hub, and mediator within online communities, creating the conditions for young people to build genuine connections and wellbeing together. The approach focuses on awareness and prevention, not clinical intervention.
As Piotr, Secretary General of Volonteurope and project lead, stated during the meeting: "There is no health without mental health."
CyberHealthY (project number KA220-YOU-AE68DBA5) is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The consortium brings together six organisations: Volonteurope (Belgium, coordinator), DREAMY Association (Italy), Action Synergy SA (Greece), FINNOVA Foundation (Belgium), Fundacja Cooperacja (Poland), and Cerebro Corazón (Spain).
More information: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyberhealthy/posts/?feedView=all