[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”835.3px” custom_margin=”||-88px|||” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fondation-usdt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Visuel-UT2025-scaled.jpg” alt=”Visuel UT2025″ title_text=”Visuel UT2025″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”648.3px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” custom_margin=”|||-31px||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
The Universit\u00e9 de la terre is a unique European gathering dedicated to reflection, sharing, and debate to inspire action. Over the course of two days, it offers discoveries and exchanges open to all, addressing the major challenges we face for our planet, the living world, and social cohesion. The 2022 edition brought together 10,000 participants.<\/p>\n
On March 14 and 15, 2025, the University celebrated its 20th anniversary under the theme \u201cNATURE = FUTURE,\u201d underlining what may seem obvious: the vital need for humanity to reconnect with nature, on which its very survival depends.<\/p>\n
The \u201cOne Sustainable Health for All\u201d Foundation co-organized four sessions focused on health:<\/p>\n
Moderated by journalist and facilitator Edwige Coupez, this event brought together experts from a variety of fields: Cynthia Fleury<\/strong>, philosopher and psychoanalyst, Professor and Chair of “Humanities and Health” at the Conservatoire national des arts et m\u00e9tiers (Cnam); Tim Greacen<\/strong>, outgoing Director and founder of the Research Laboratory on Mental Health, Humanities and Social Sciences at GHU Paris Psychiatry & Neurosciences; Lil\u00e2 Le Bas<\/strong>, Director of Societal Engagement at Macif; Ang\u00e8le Malatre-Lansac<\/strong>, Executive Director of the Alliance for Mental Health; and Maxime Perez Zitvogel<\/strong>, co-founder of La Maison Perch\u00e9e.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”10px||||false|false” custom_padding=”2px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”768.1px” custom_margin=”|auto|-205px|auto||” custom_padding=”35px||26px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”20px||20px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n With one in five French citizens affected by a mental health disorder and 40% of students showing symptoms of depression, mental health has become a major public health issue. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Universit\u00e9 de la Terre, a conference held at UNESCO brought together researchers, philosophers, psychiatrists, and representatives from civil society and mutual health organizations. Their ambition: to collectively promote a more global, inclusive, and systemic vision of mental health. A silent emergency that has become a collective outcry.<\/p>\n A symptom of a society under strain<\/strong><\/p>\n The Covid-19 pandemic revealed the depth of a structural malaise. Repeated lockdowns exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, deepened inequalities, and strained both the healthcare system and social bonds.<\/p>\n For Cynthia Fleury, professor at GHU Paris Psychiatry & Neurosciences: She points to a worrying rise in anxiety disorders, eco-anxiety, distress among young people and healthcare workers, and an increased vulnerability to what she calls \u201cpolitical anxiety\u201d: a pervasive sense of global collapse.<\/p>\n Moving beyond a purely medical approach<\/strong><\/p>\n All the speakers agreed: mental health cannot be reduced to pathology. It is a subjective and evolving state of well-being, shaped by multiple factors\u2014housing, employment, education, environment, social relationships, and diet.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no health without mental health,\u201d reminds Ang\u00e8le Mal\u00e2tre-Lansac, Executive Director of the Alliance for Mental Health. Tim Greacen, mental health researcher, advocates for a paradigm shift: A System in Breakdown<\/strong><\/p>\n On the ground, the figures speak for themselves. Maxime Perez Zitvogel, co-founder of La Maison Perch\u00e9e, paints a sobering picture: Three Priority Areas to Rethink Our Response 2. Prevent through cross-sectoral action<\/strong> 3. Destigmatize to include<\/strong> Concrete Initiatives Already in Motion<\/strong> La Maison Perch\u00e9e offers a welcoming, non-medical space for peer support and personal reconstruction. Macif, through Lil\u00e2 Le Bas, supports the Mental Health Ambassadors program: young people trained to speak to other young people about mental health, fostering peer-based prevention.<\/p>\n The Philosophy in Hospitals Chair (led by Cynthia Fleury) is experimenting with co-designed care practices: self-regulation workshops, caregiver training, \u201cnature and health\u201d protocols, and care designed with patients themselves. Could the 2025 \u201cGrande Cause\u201d Be a Catalyst for Change?<\/strong><\/p>\n Naming mental health as France\u2019s National Cause for 2025 is a powerful symbolic step. For Ang\u00e8le Mal\u00e2tre-Lansac, it must be more than a signal \u2014 it must be a catalyst: Conclusion: Toward an Ecology of Connection<\/strong> As Cynthia Fleury puts it: Educate. Connect. Heal. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Universit\u00e9 de la terre is a unique European gathering dedicated to reflection, sharing, and debate to inspire action. Over the course of two days, it offers discoveries and exchanges open to all, addressing the major challenges facing our planet, the living world, and social cohesion. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"ville":[],"class_list":["post-5587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classifiee"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
And yet, it remains largely neglected: absurdly long waiting times, overwhelmed facilities, struggling professionals, and persistent stigma.<\/p>\n
\u201cMental health is a barometer of our collective capacity to care. A civilization that does not care is nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt concerns 100% of the population.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must move from a disease-based policy to a health-based policy. And that starts at school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years of waiting for child psychiatry in Paris. Three to nine months in community organizations. We receive distress calls every day, from everywhere.\u201d
What makes this situation even more alarming is that mental health professionals themselves are in great distress, suffering from burnout and lack of recognition.
\u201cCare needs to be reinvented \u2014 including for those who provide it,\u201d emphasizes Cynthia Fleury.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>
1. Educate from an early age \u2014 and throughout life<\/strong>
Tim Greacen insists:
\u201cMental health is learned the same way we learn how to live. To dream, imagine, feel, be moved, love, sleep, cry, laugh, regret, hope, grieve, marvel. And not just alone, but together. And we are all different. Embracing those differences from a young age is part of learning to live.\u201d
Integrating psychological and social skills into school curricula is essential \u2014 and still underdeveloped in France. But it\u2019s not just about school. It starts at home. At work. On vacation. In maternity wards. In neighborhoods. In elder care homes. Even at cemeteries. It\u2019s lifelong. And France has a wealth of cultural assets to support this approach.<\/p>\n
According to Ang\u00e8le Mal\u00e2tre-Lansac:
\u201cA true mental health policy means addressing all of its determinants: poverty, housing, sleep, diet, mobility.\u201d
The goal is to build protective environments \u2014 in schools, companies, and universities \u2014 and embed mental health prevention in a lasting way.<\/p>\n
Maxime Perez puts it plainly:
\u201cThe real battle is educating those who aren\u2019t affected yet. We can\u2019t remain in our own bubble.\u201d
Breaking down stigma, valuing lived experience, and making the invisible visible are powerful tools to normalize conversations around mental health.<\/p>\n
Faced with institutional inertia, some are taking action:<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes what heals is a look. A bond. A moment of listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe knowledge of the vulnerable is a lever for innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInform, prevent, destigmatize, facilitate access to care \u2014 these are the four pillars we must act on together.\u201d
But expectations are high: the challenge is to move from isolated actions to systemic change \u2014 training all professionals (including teachers, social workers, HR staff), supporting research, reforming governance, funding alternatives, and recognizing mental health as a core pillar of the social contract.<\/p>\n
Mental health is more than a health crisis \u2014 it reveals a crisis of connection, meaning, and community.
Rethinking care means rethinking how we live, dwell, work, educate, age, and love.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time to imagine new ways of relating to oneself \u2014 and to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mental health is everyone\u2019s concern, and it reveals a deeper challenge: our collective ability to build a society that cares.<\/p>\n