At the Stockholm arena that bears his name, the foundation created in Avicii‘s memory helped organize a debate in which Sweden’s eight parliamentary parties participated together on the subject of youth mental health for the first time in the country’s history.Ad 0:00 Click for sound 0:00 / 0:00 The Avicii Arena, formerly known as the Stockholm Globe Arena and retitled in 2022 to honor the legendary DJ, became the backdrop for a conversation about the very struggles that shadowed its namesake.
The legendary DJ was open about his battle with depression before his tragic death by suicide in 2018, after which his parents established the Tim Bergling Foundation in his name to channel that painful legacy into advocacy and research around mental health and suicide prevention.The nonprofit co-hosted the landmark political debate on May 21st along with Ångestpodden, a mental health podcast that has been working to reduce stigma since 2015, and Sveriges Elevkårer, the Swedish Student Union, which represents students at upper secondary schools across the country.
Ångestpodden hosts Ida Höckerstrand and Sofie Hallberg moderated the debate, which marked the organization’s third consecutive election campaign in which it has sought to push these issues onto the national agenda, a reflection of growing public concern about psychological wellbeing among young Swedes.They facilitated discussions about a potential 15-year age limit on social media and the pursuit of equal care throughout Sweden regardless of zip code, among other timely topics.
The gathering was organized as part of the country’s largest coordinated initiative for youth mental health, a movement uniting 43 civil society organizations.The coalition operates under the banner of Sweden’s largest alliance for young people’s mental health, which also encompasses the ‘Upp Till Oss’ initiative, a platform inviting individuals a...