METROPOLIS Wraps Up Year I
A recap of the completion of the first year of the METROPOLIS programme - milestones, achievements, goals and more!
Admin
The METROPOLIS began in January 2024 and it's been a year with a tapestry of milestones, each shaped by the contributions of our incredible community.
Working closely with 19 co-design participants, we conducted a series of workshops to refine and adapt our intervention materials. Each session brought new insights, fueling our commitment to ensuring that every step forward is grounded in the voices of those who matter most to make this programme as impactful as possible.
We’re also thrilled to share that we reached 23,752 students for the questionnaires study and saw a fantastic turnout, with responses from 265 students from our 7 partner colleges collected by November 8th. This data is currently being analyzed by King’s College London and will provide essential insights to further strengthen our programme.
On World Mental Health Day, we partnered with the Youth for Mental Health Foundation (YMHF) to host “Confab,” a vibrant youth mental health festival in New Delhi. The event welcomed over 500 students and featured an art exhibition showcasing the mental health stories of 10 university students. These powerful artworks resonated deeply, sparking conversations and connections.
We were also honored to take this exhibition to Mannotsava, the national mental health festival hosted by NIMHANS in Bangalore, where it reached an even wider audience. These events underscored the importance of creating spaces that celebrate and amplify voices, stories, and experiences related to mental health.
With the start of a new year, we embark on the next phase of the METROPOLIS programme, starting with adapting intervention materials informed by feedback from the co-design and YPAG workshops. February 2025 marks an exciting milestone as we begin peer supporter recruitment, officially launching the trial phase of our journey. We aim to conduct training peer supporters in June followed by beginning recruitment for the trial in August 2025.
Looking ahead, we’re also focused on expanding our reach to students by building on the triumphs and lessons learned from our previous college drives to encourage participation in our programme. We are working towards growing our portfolio of partner colleges and connecting with a broader, more diverse audience.
Through It’s Ok To Talk, the public engagement arm of METROPOLIS, we plan to amplify the voices of marginalized communities by collaborating with organizations working in this space. Stay updated and read new stories or share your story with us through our website. Together, we hope to spark meaningful conversations and drive change through the power of storytelling.