Community Day Highlights Intersectoral Collaboration
Today, 12 September 2025, the third Community Day took place under the title Building Bridges Between Support Systems for Suicidal Behaviour. This year’s event, organised by the Slovene Centre for Suicide Research (UP IAM SCSR), focused on strengthening collaboration across sectors, bringing together professionals from education, healthcare, social services, and NGOs to improve coordination among support systems and strengthen responses to young people in distress.
The opening address by Assist. Prof. Nuša Zadravec Šedivy (UP IAM SCRS) was followed by a welcome from Prof. Dr. Ademir Hujdurović, Dean of UP FAMNIT, who emphasised the importance of cooperation among professionals working daily with children and adolescents struggling with mental health and suicidal behaviour.
The morning programme featured presentations from the Ker te štekam project, which aims to develop a sustainable network of professionals to improve early detection of mental health challenges among youth and prevent suicidal behaviour. The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Health, and Dr. Agata Zupančič from the Ministry’s Directorate of Health Care also attended the event.
Prof. Dr. Vita Poštuvan, UP IAM SCRS, moderated a roundtable discussion with “gatekeepers” who work directly with young people. A highlight of the day was the lecture Two Faces of Depression: Personal Experience and Professional Insight, delivered by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl (President of the European Alliance Against Depression, EAAD) and Erik Van der Eycken (Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks-Europe, GAMIAN-Europe), offering participants both expert knowledge and lived experience perspectives.
Presentations by Prof. Dr. Diego De Leo, Head of UP IAM SCSR, and Prof. Dr. Vita Poštuvan, Deputy Head, also addressed the pressing issue of loneliness among young people. The day concluded with a mindfulness workshop led by Dr. Meta Lavrič, equipping participants with tools for open dialogue and empathy.
Community Day once again confirmed that intersectoral collaboration is essential for providing effective support to those in distress. Joint efforts by experts from diverse fields lead to greater sensitivity, quicker responses, and more integrated pathways of care.
All were free of charge for participants, funded through donations raised with the Triple i Conference, co-funding from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, and the MentBox project (European Commission).