Aditya Birla World Academy (ABWA), Mumbai, recently hosted The Happy Place, India’s first student-led mental health festival supported by Mpower, bringing together students to explore and express different dimensions of mental health and emotional well-being through creative expression.
Bringing together over 19 schools and engaging over 290 student participants from Grades 7 to 12, the festival used creative and engaging formats including Slam Poetry, AD Film Making, Stand-Up Comedy, Drama and Dance, giving students different platforms to explore and express their experiences of navigating life’s uncertainties.
The competitions were judged on their relevance to the theme ‘The Messy Middle’, creativity and originality, and how effectively the entries captured and communicated the emotions, experiences and perspectives associated with navigating life’s uncertainties and setbacks. The festival reached out to over 1,000 students through its wider engagement. ‘The Messy Middle’, recognised that life does not always unfold as imagined and that uncertainty, setbacks, and self-doubt are natural parts of the human experience.
The Chief Guest at the event, Ms. Mansi Zaveri, Founder, Kidsstoppress, left students with valuable lessons on resilience and perseverance, encouraging them to keep showing up and embrace setbacks as part of the journey.
She also introduced students to the ‘Odyssey Plan’, encouraging them to keep a Plan A, B and C in life, so that when setbacks arise, there is always another path forward rather than allowing one setback to bring their journey to a halt. Drawing on the idea of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, she also emphasised the importance of building a strong foundation of well-being and self-awareness, and of living with the belief that life is always rigged in our favour; we just need to show up.
‘The Happy Place’ demonstrated how creative expression can make conversations around mental health more open and accessible to young people. By giving students different ways to explore emotions, challenges and perspectives, the festival has helped bring conversations that can often be difficult to articulate into forms that feel authentic, relatable and engaging.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Shalini John, Principal, Aditya Birla World Academy, said, “Mental health education needs to begin early because emotional well-being does not suddenly become relevant in adulthood. The school years are a critical phase when young people navigate significant developmental changes alongside growing academic, social and environmental pressures.
She further added ‘These formative years provide an important opportunity to equip students with preventive coping strategies, help them understand themselves and their emotions, build healthy relationships, and, most importantly, feel safe and confident in seeking help when they need it.”
In an age of social media comparison, constant digital stimulation, and growing pressures around academic performance, friendships, and identity, young people are navigating increasingly complex emotional challenges. According to the National Mental Health Survey of India, nearly 1 in 7 adolescents aged 13–17 years’ experience mental health issues, yet fewer than 10% receive adequate support.
