Stand Up For Your Mind

To promote a supportive and caring culture of talking about mental health, mental health cafés, amateur improv comedy groups, and stand-up shows are initiated. Both professionals and local people will be sharing their mental health stories on stage. Together, invisible concerns and solutions are made audible and visible.

Mental health is an integral part of our lives. However, mental health concerns often go unnoticed and are stigmatised. People often experience shame and do not dare to admit the existence of a problem, let alone ask for help.

The goal of the project Stand Up For Your Mind is to promote a supportive and caring for open dialogue about mental health in Estonia.

We will start the journey with Mental Health Cafés. It is a simple and warm initiative to show that talking about mental health is the most natural thing, something that can be done on a bus, while standing in a shopping queue, on the street or even in a café. This initiative allows you to have meaningful conversations on mental health topics over a cup of tea, with acquaintances and strangers alike; exactly the way that feels most comfortable to you. If you feel that some playfulness in your life would support your mental health, we encourage you to join an amateur improvisation theatre group, focusing on mental health. It’s an applied theatre format that provides both fun and substance. It’s a way for young and old alike to open up. Together, we will make invisible concerns and solutions audible and visible.

But inspiration and supportive joking can also be learnt from Kinoteater, first in a joke-writing course and then, with their support, on smaller stages in Southern Estonia. Don’t worry! You will not be the only one sharing your mental health stories through humour, professional stand-up comedians from both Estonia and abroad will do the same. After all, mental health concerns us all.

Contributors to the project Stand Up For Your Mind:
NPO Kinoteater
Ruutu10
Active Citizens Fund, facilitated by the Open Estonia Foundation in collaboration with the Association of NGOs
British Council

The project “Stand up for your mind!” is part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024.

If you want to grab a bite or need a place to stay, see what the Tartu 2024 hospitality network offers in the area: https://tartu2024.ee/recommendations-tartucity