Skip to main content

Newsroom

REPSSI Alliance Week

Stepping Up for Child and Youth Mental Health

Switzerland · 27, 28 and 29 October 2026

Over three days this October, REPSSI Alliance Week brings REPSSI's experience, and the people who carry it, into direct conversation with Swiss and other European partners. Across two cities and one online gathering, government, foundations, academia, the private sector and African-led organisations come together around a single question: how to step up for the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, in Africa and in partnership with Europe. The week is hosted by REPSSI Alliance, with Initiative Afrique at the University of Bern and the African Students Association of Zurich.

  • Bern's old town seen from the Rosengarten: red roofs and the minster's spire above the River Aare, among autumn trees

    Old town of Bern from the Rosengarten. Photo: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Zurich's old town from the Quaibrücke: boats on the River Limmat below the spires of the Fraumünster and St Peter and the twin towers of the Grossmünster

    Old town of Zürich from the Quaibrücke. Photo: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Two cities, one conversation. REPSSI Alliance Week in Bern and Zürich, 27 to 29 October 2026.

  1. 27 October · Bern

    17:30 to 20:30 · University of Bern

    Youth Wellbeing: A Switzerland–Africa Perspective

    The week opens with a roundtable at the University of Bern, in collaboration with Initiative Afrique. It brings together government, foundations, NGOs and academia to explore youth wellbeing and mental health, and the part Switzerland can play in supporting collaboration and locally led work across Africa. Moderated by Dr Stefan Germann, President of the REPSSI Alliance Board. Invited speakers include H.E. Fouzia Abass, Ambassador of Kenya to Switzerland.

  2. 28 October · Online

    20 Years of Regional Leadership in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Sub-Saharan Africa

    An online session marking two decades of REPSSI's work across the region, open to a wider audience beyond Switzerland.

  3. 29 October · Zurich

    17:30 to 20:30 · Zurich

    Investing in Africa's Youth: Why Mental Health Matters

    The week closes with a roundtable in Zurich, in collaboration with the African Students Association of Zurich. It asks what it means to invest in Africa's young generation, and how mental health and psychosocial wellbeing can be woven into broader approaches to youth development, with perspectives from philanthropy, development, the private sector and African-led organisations, and partnership at the centre. Moderated by Nathalie Jean Baptiste, Board Member of REPSSI Alliance. Invited panellists include Alessandra Pellegrini of Swisscontact, and Letizia Mantoan from Z Zürich Foundation. The panel is followed by an African-inspired apéro and informal networking.

Join the conversations

To take part in REPSSI Alliance Week, write to Daniel Otero at daniel.otero@repssi.org.