The Being Initiative Learning and Support Network in 2026
Orygen Global and The Being Initiative Learning and Support Network in 2026
Orygen Global is a proud partner of the Being Initiative. Being is an international youth mental health initiative hosted by Grand Challenges Canada, in partnership with Global Affairs Canada, Fondation Botnar, United for Global Mental Health, Science for Africa and the United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care.
Orygen Global manages the Being Learning and Support Network, which provides learning and support to Being-funded global mental health innovations. To ensure culturally appropriate support is delivered, Orygen Global has partnered with eight prominent organisations and individuals to create regional hubs that will oversee project support in their region.
Over the past two years, the Network has been providing tailored technical support to innovators through case clinics, peer-learning sessions, and targeted workshops. These activities bring together teams working on similar approaches or facing comparable challenges, creating space to exchange experiences, troubleshoot obstacles, and share practical insights. All of this reflects the core mission of the Network: To strengthen capability, foster meaningful peer learning and connect youth mental health innovators across continents.
YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH INNOVATORS GATHER IN PHILLIPINES
One of the great pleasures and strengths of the Network has been the convening of gatherings of youth mental health innovators across countries and regions to learn from one another and build lasting relationships – and even partnerships.
The most recent gathering was held in February 2026 and brought together close to 90 program staff from seven countries across Asia and Latin America. Held in Iloilo City in the Philippines, the gathering followed the three-day Global Mental Health Action Network Forum. It delivered 15 sessions providing learnings on scaling, advocacy, new strategies for fundraising and financing, youth and family engagement and other topics of relevance.
The gathering created spaces for constructive conversations and provided a vibrant community of practice where innovators, young people, researchers, ecosystem partners and governments exchanged ideas, problem-solved together and felt part of a wider global movement.
Innovators consistently highlighted the value of connecting with peers who understood the realities of implementation, scaling and systems change. Evaluation feedback showed that 70 per cent of participants described that learning from and connecting with peer innovators across the Network was a core highlight of the gathering. Participants noted the value of cross-learning to avoid redundancy, their plans to form in-country partnerships emerging from the gathering, the necessity of dialogue for systemic change and the spirit of peer support among attendees.
STRENGTHENING MENTAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS 2025-26
The Network continues to play a key role in connecting and strengthening the global youth mental health ecosystem. In the past six months it has delivered nearly 300 occasions of support to program staff in 12 priority countries. This includes individual mentoring, regional workshops, learning days, case clinics and gatherings. Across all activities, 92 per cent of innovators said the support was valuable to their innovation and tailored to their needs. From monitoring and evaluation to scaling, leadership, governance, fundraising and government engagement, the Network supports innovators at every stage to strengthen their impact and sustainability.
Across countries and regions, the Network is also working with youth mental health innovators to stimulate partnerships, policy engagement, and long-term sustainability planning.
In India, the Network supported innovators to respond to growing national concern around youth suicide by strengthening policy engagement and government partnerships. In Latin America, program staff have begun working together on regional advocacy and public policy initiatives connected to youth mental health. While in South Asia, programs incorporating family engagement and referral pathways started sharing approaches and problem-solving implementation challenges.
Across Africa, innovators have exchanged strategies for working in conflict-affected settings, school systems and community-based programs, while several collaborations emerged around joint funding opportunities, workforce development and adapting successful intervention models for new cultural contexts. These connections have helped reduce siloed working and strengthened a sense of collective momentum across the Being Initiative’s ecosystem.
Romania has emerged as a strong example of the Network’s ecosystem-building approach in action. Following ecosystem discussions during the November 2025 Cape Town gathering, the Network supported a series of collaborations between innovators, Ecosystem Catalyst Grantees, young people and national stakeholders. This included youth mental health roundtables in the Romanian Parliament and gatherings in Bucharest and Cluj, and strengthened partnerships with organisations such as the Romanian National Institute of Mental Health.
Young people were actively involved across these meetings, helping shape discussions on bullying, cyberbullying, advocacy and school-based mental health support. Together, these activities have helped move the Romanian ecosystem from early conversations toward more coordinated action, stronger partnerships and a growing sense of shared momentum around youth mental health.