07 October 2024
Mental health and addiction prevention: EM Normandie Business School gets involved and takes action
Student's life
From 14 to 18 October, EM Normandie Business School is organising ‘Wellbeing and Prevention Week’ at its campuses in Caen, Le Havre and Paris-Clichy. The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness among students and staff of the issues surrounding mental health and addiction prevention through a series of workshops and activities.
Mental health and addictive behaviour: a worrying issue
With 26% of students showing signs of psychological distress, according to a survey carried out in 2023 by the Observatoire national de la Vie Etudiante (OVE), the Barnier government wants to make mental health a ‘ major national cause ’ by 2025. In the run-up to World Mental Health Day on 10 October, the subject is of growing concern, particularly for students: ‘ A deterioration in mental health can also lead to addictive behaviour. The stress caused by studying and the conditions of student life (difficulties with accommodation, financial insecurity, distance from family, etc.) is likely to increase young people's consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances. In this context, it is vital to provide students with a safe and reassuring study environment that promotes their well-being and their mental and physical health, in particular by implementing preventive measures to combat addiction, ’ explains Alice Duval, Deputy Head of Student Life at EM Normandie Business School.
A week dedicated to well-being and prevention
With this in mind, EM Normandie Business School is placing mental, as well as physical, health at the heart of its priorities for the start of the 2024 academic year and is organising the ‘ well-being and prevention week ’ for the 2nd year running, from 14 to 18 October 2024 at its three French campuses in Caen, Le Havre and Paris campuses. The week is dedicated to raising awareness of physical health, addiction prevention and mental health issues, through a series of workshops and activities open to students and employees of the school.
Students will have the opportunity to meet the national Nightline association, which specialises in student well-being and offers a confidential and anonymous counselling department for young people experiencing stress, anxiety or personal difficulties. They will be able to talk directly to representatives of the association, find out about the departments on offer and find out how to benefit from this support.
Screening tests for sexually transmitted infections, carried out in partnership with the CeGIDD (Centre Gratuit d'Information de Dépistage et de Diagnostic), will be introduced on the Caen and Paris-Clichy campuses, and later on the Le Havre campuses.
Fun workshops are also being organised over the five days:
- An escape game to raise awareness of addictive behaviour on the Le Havre campuses;
- A film debate on the film Drunk, followed by a presentation by Nautilia, an organisation providing support and care for people affected by addiction, and a pizza party on the Le Havre campuses;
- A screening of the film Drunk on the Caen campuses, followed by an alcohol-free mixology workshop;
- A performance by the company Entrées - ‘Jusqu'à plus soif’ - onstudent alcoholism on the Paris-Clichy campuses;
- Smoke-free coffee break’ quizzes on the three campuses, to raise awareness of the harmful effects of smoking in a recreational way.
Throughout the Semester, students and staff from the three campuses can also sign up for free sophrology sessions, by meeting.
The aim of these activities is to provide a space for listening, dialogue and support for students and staff, and to create an environment conducive to raising awareness of health issues and adopting responsible behaviour.
A ‘School for Good’ approach
This initiative follows recognition of EM Normandie Business School's commitment by the government, which won the call for expressions of interest (AMI) launched by the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (MILDECA).
This project, led by the EM Normandie Business School Wellness Centre, will be submitted in June 2023 and officially launched at the start of the new academic year in September 2023. It is part of a programme to prevent addiction in higher education, in conjunction with the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles. It aims to protect the physical integrity and health of all members of EM Normandie Business School, students and staff alike, through prevention, awareness-raising, detection and referral to professionals in the event of addictive behaviour. Over a three-year period, the school aims to significantly reduce addictive behaviour within its community, in line with its ‘School for Good’ philosophy and its commitment to having a positive impact on society and the environment by 2030.
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