26isfam030 10.3205/26isfam030 urn:nbn:de:0183-26isfam0305 Meeting Abstract Willmersdorf Steffen Willmersdorf Steffen Mariana M

People's Palace Projects, Queen Mary University of London

author F Martins F Martins Bruna B

University of Leeds People's Palace Projects

author Flores Flores Sumiko S

CRONICAS Centre of Excellence in Chronic Diseases Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia,

author Priebe Priebe Stefan S

Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)

author Bird Bird Victoria V

University of Essex

author Heritage Heritage Paul P

People's Palace Projects Queen Mary University of London

author German Medical Science GMS Publishing House

Düsseldorf

610 20260612 engl This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). M0652 030 International Society for Arts and Medicine The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine Presentation Abstracts Berlin 20260618 20260620 26isfam030 TextBackground: Youth mental health challenges in Latin America require approaches that meaningfully engage young people and extend research impact beyond academic settings. Participatory arts offer particular promise, enabling creative communication and supporting young audiences to build collective meaning. With three Latin American arts organisations, we co-developed the Young Ambassadors Programme (YAsP), involving nine young artists from Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Lima in translating findings from a five-year youth mental health study (REF from OLA). Objectives: This study reflected on the YAsP by exploring the effects of participatory arts activities addressing mental health and how these facilitated conversations among young people. Methods: We describe the activities across the three sites and present findings from a qualitative evaluation with fourteen audience members. Transcripts from semi-structured and group interviews were analysed using template analysis. Results: In Bogotá, ambassadors developed Sonidos para el Alma, a concert integrating orchestral music with spoken reflections on mental health. In Buenos Aires, they delivered Ola, ¿cómo va tu vida?, a workshop combining games, theatre and guided discussion. In Lima, they created Gris, a forty-five-minute play portraying a young girl’s emotional and urban journey, followed by structured conversations. Three themes emerged: perceptions of the activities, reflections on the message and intentions to share the experience with others. Conclusion: Participatory arts enabled meaningful, culturally grounded engagement with youth mental health research and supported dialogue in community settings. The YAsP illustrates the potential of youth-led creative dissemination to broaden the reach and impact of mental health research in low-resource contexts. 0 0 0 0