The 10-Day Mental Health Festival 2026: what the theme "Being Well Surrounded" means
19 September 2026
From 1 to 10 October 2026, the 10-day Mental Health Campaign takes place — the largest annual campaign on mental health in Flanders, with this year's theme "Being well surrounded." The final day coincides with the international World Mental Health Day. Why exactly this theme, what does it mean in practice, and how do you bring it to yourself, your team and your neighbourhood? That's what this blog post explains step by step.
What is the 10-day Mental Health Campaign?
The campaign is organised every year in early October and puts mental health on the agenda for ten days: in congresses, at schools, with employers, in municipalities and in the media. In 2026, the campaign runs from 1 to 10 October. On the tenth day is the World Mental Health Day of the WHO — the moment when in the Netherlands too, the sector organises its own week around this period. Anyone searching for mental health around these days will land right in the same national conversation.
What does the theme "Being well surrounded" mean?
The theme turns the question around. Not: "how do you solve your mental health issues?" but: "who is around you — and who can you surround?" The campaign revolves around three sides of the same network:
1. Being surrounded: allowing help in
Asking for help from yourself is a skill, not a weakness. Being well surrounded begins with making space for the people who are already there: the friend who asks deeper questions, the colleague who notices, the family member who listens.
3. Surrounding: asking deeper questions
Someone in your circle is slowly but surely fading away. What do you do then? The answer is usually not specialisation but deeper questioning: "how are you really?" Research on social support is unequivocal: people with a solid network recover faster and are less likely to get worse.
3. The environment that promotes health
Being well surrounded is also a question for organisations and communities: are there places where the conversation can be open? Is the work pressure enough to perform, but not so much that people come to a standstill?
Why this theme is spot on right now
Two developments make "Being well surrounded" in 2026 more relevant than ever:
Help is far away. The discussion about mental health waiting times is back on the political agenda, with a lawsuit that confirms the pressure and a minister who opens the conversation. Where professional help waits, the everyday network is literally the first line.
Work pressure pushes people out of their jobs. Statistics show the link: higher work pressure goes hand in hand with a greater chance that people leave. Being surrounded — at work, not also at home — is therefore not just a term from the campaign, but a retention and recovery tool.
5 ways to be (or become) "well surrounded" today
Choose one person, one question. Not "is everything okay?" but "how are you really?" One deeper question per day.
Schedule your network as an agenda item. Surrounding well is a maintenance issue: a walk, a phone call, a shared meal that has a fixed place.
Ask your team the question the other way around. Instead of "how are you doing?": "where was the last time you really spoke up this past week?" The question makes surrounding discussable, not through the tone of pressure.
Make listening a skill. No advice, no solution, no "you need to do something about that": listening without solving is the heart of asking deeper questions.
Know where professional help is. Surrounding does not replace professional help; it is the bridge. Know your GP, the occupational social worker, the helpline.
Who to hear from: the voices that open up the conversation
Speaking about mental health is the core of the theme. Three voices that each open a door of the same conversation — the most requested profiles at Smidswater on this subject:
Wouter de Jong, bestselling author of the Mindgym series — on mental fitness, attention and resilience: the scientific door, with handles you can use the same day. → Wouter de Jong's profile
Bianca Best (Speaker of the Year 2025) — on performance pressure, burnout and recovery: the door to the work floor, the exact translation of "being well surrounded" to work. → Bianca Best's profile
Stephan Bouwman, known from Qmusic — his personal, unfiltered story about depression, including the taboo-breaking video moment: the door that makes lecture halls fall silent. → Stephan Bouwman's profile
Want to read more? All speakers on mental health, speakers on burn-out & stress and resilience theme.
This conversation is also on the stages: events during the 10-day campaign
Congress | Date | Where | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
NPPZ II Congress 2026 | 01-10 | Papendal, Arnhem | Public health & prevention |
Mental Health Congress: Knowledge in Motion 2026 | 01-10 | NL | ZonMw-wide mental health agenda |
18th Annual Congress V&VN VS | 01-10 | NBC, Nieuwegein | The front line of mental health |
The Sustainable Care Congress 2026 | 09-10 | Gooiland, Hilversum | Sustainable care = healthy employees (VWS + Green Deal) |
FAQ
What is the 10-day Mental Health Campaign 2026?
The annual Flemish campaign on mental health, in 2026 from 1 to 10 October. The final day is the international World Mental Health Day.
What does "Being well surrounded" mean?
The 2026 theme: it's about the network around a person — being surrounded, surrounding and the environment that opens up the conversation.
When is World Mental Health Day 2026?
On 10 October, the final day of the 10-day campaign. In the Netherlands, the mental health sector organises its own week during the same period.
How do you support someone with mental health issues?
Start by asking deeper questions without solving, maintain contact with fixed moments, and bridge to professional help (GP, occupational social work, helpline).
Want to open this conversation on your stage?
During the 10-day campaign, on World Mental Health Day or at any other time in autumn: a tailor-made proposal within 24 hours
