3rd Nordic MHPSS Conference
Oslo 3-4 June 2026 at Oslo Met
From response to resilience: Strengthening mental health and psychosocial wellbeing before, during and after emergencies
Hosts: The Nordic Network for MHPSS in Fragile and Humanitarian Settings, the Norwegian Network for Global Mental Health and OsloMet, supported by Norad/Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Kavli Foundation
Background
The Nordic Network for MHPSS in Fragile and Humanitarian Settings was founded in 2022 following the first Nordic Conference for MHPSS co-hosted by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish Red Cross and Save the Children Denmark. The second conference took place in 2024 in Malmö co-hosted by the Government of Sweden, Swedish Red Cross and War Child Sweden.
In June 2026, the Norwegian Network for Global Mental Health (NNGMH) and OsloMet, with support from Norad and the Kavli Foundation co-hosts the third Nordic Conference on MHPSS: From response to resilience: Strengthening mental health and psychosocial wellbeing before, during and after emergencies
NNGMH consists of NGOs, governmental institutions, professionals, and individuals. The network works to increase knowledge and practice in the field of global mental health through conferences and seminars in Norway. The Norwegian network is part of the wider Nordic Network for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Fragile and Humanitarian Settings founded in 2022.
The main conference is on 3 to 4 June and will be preceded by a youth conference, organised by the Mental Health Youth Alliance on 2 June 2026.
The 2026 conference will focus on integrating MHPSS across preparedness, response, recovery, development, and sustaining peace; encouraging continued prioritization and investment by government and private sector to strengthen systems; and promoting a holistic and rights-based approach that elevates youth and lived experience.
Across two days, the program will offer three tracks with linked sub-themes:
1) Children and education
2) Climate and nature
3) Innovation.
These tracks will explore learning environments and healing spaces, the role of caregivers and trusted adults, children’s voices and locally led action; evidence and collaboration for climate-responsive mental health and inclusive, community-led responses; and pathways to scale locally led innovations with participatory and decolonized monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
Conference Goals:
- Prioritize integration of MHPSS across all sectors and stages of humanitarian preparedness, response, recovery, development and sustaining peace to address mental health and psychosocial needs: Focusing on the three conference tracks.
- Promote the continued prioritization and investment by government agencies and private sector to integrate MHPSS to ensure resilience of national-and community-level health, education and social systems.
Promote a holistic, rights-based way of working that brings together international and local knowledge and leadership, with particular attention to youth and people with lived experience.