Solid Minds Attended the GenMH 2025 Conference: Bridging Voices, Building Futures
On 6th September 2025, Solid Minds team attended the Generation Mental Health (GenMH) 2025 Conference, themed Bridging Voices, Building Futures: Youth Innovation in Mental Health. Solid Minds was represented by Nadiya Tucker, Senior Regional Manager of Strategy & Partnerships; Zara Bracegirdle, Mental Health Development Programs and Fundraising Activities Officer; and Cynthia Umugwaneza, Data Analyst Intern. Our team was invited to share its impact and research, present the concept of a Compassionate Campus, and showcase its Peer Support Programs, while also learning from other youth-led initiatives.
From the moment the Solid Minds team entered the space, the energy was palpable. Ideas, conversations, and people passionate about mental health filled the room. GenMH-an independent organization, which empowers young people with lived experience to lead research, programs, and advocacy, is changing how mental health is approached globally, and being in their space was truly inspiring.
Through the partnership between Solid Minds and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Solid Minds supports scholars in partner universities in Rwanda, across Africa and beyond in navigating the “unseen weights” of campus life ; isolation, financial pressures, identity struggles, and academic stress. Our Peer Support Program trains Mastercard Foundation scholars and students as Peer Coaches and Peer Counselors, fostering a culture of peer-to-peer care.
By building networks where scholars and students notice, feel, and respond with compassion, we bridge voices across campuses and create futures where young people lead and shape mental health solutions directly reflecting the conference’s theme of youth innovation in mental health.
At the conference, our team shared the Peer Support Program and the Compassionate Campus Poster, which highlights the pillars of Access, Communication/Connection, and Belonging. These pillars are grounded in noticing, feeling, and responding with compassion, forming the foundation of our approach to student wellbeing.
The event was also an opportunity to learn from initiatives like Nivishe, Shamiri, and Finding Me Community, which translate mental health concepts into local languages and ensure young people are central to decision-making. Panels, breakout sessions, and interactive workshops demonstrated how research, technology, and collaboration can create solutions that truly work.
Solid Minds team left energized, inspired, and full of new ideas. A key takeaway for others working in youth mental health is the importance of centering young people in program design, listening to their voices, building on peer networks, and creating initiatives that are culturally relevant and locally grounded. Connection, compassion, and collaboration make mental health initiatives more effective, sustainable, and meaningful.
A heartfelt thank you to GenMH, all presenters, and participants, for showing up, sharing openly, and absorbing every lesson. Together, we continue to bridge voices and build futures, one student, one club, one campus at a time.