“Mental health and mental well-being are fundamental to the quality of life and productivity of individuals, families, communities and nations, enabling people to experience life as meaningful and to be creative and active citizens. We believe that the primary aim of mental health activity is to enhance people’s well-being and functioning by focusing on their strengths and resources, reinforcing resilience and enhancing protective external factors.”

(WHO Europe Mental Health Declaration 2005)

This document introduces issues such as:

• The acknowledgement of mental health as key factor for overall health and prosperity, the consequences and burden of ill health, and the increasing priority of mental health within EU and other international agenda’s (e.g. WHO)
• The importance of taking on a broad perspective, hence looking at mental well-being and mental ill health;
• The concerted efforts to find good indicators for mental health, and particularly to achieve a better balance between indicators for ill health and indicators for positive mental health
• The increasing evidence on effectiveness of preventive approaches, as well as
• The amount of work that has been done to map national policies across the European region.