Université de Montréal
Tout le monde a des bas: What if empathy became an integral part of campus culture?
Opportunity
Just because we’re talking more and more about mental health doesn’t mean that it’s any less taboo. If this statement is true for our entire society, it’s just as true for the student community at Université de Montréal (UdeM), which was having trouble accessing and understanding the psychology services available on campus. Through an awareness campaign, we needed to find a way to mobilize the university community to destigmatize and build collective empathy around this topic.
Creation
We sometimes think there are two groups – people who are well and people with issues – but the truth is that no one is safe from going through difficult times. No matter how hard we try, nothing can prevent us from experiencing ups and downs. Conclusion? Our campaign had to reflect this concept in an encouraging way, to help the student community take a big step towards collective well-being. From this premise was born “Tout le monde a des bas”, a campaign to raise awareness about psychological health in the UdeM community. First and foremost, it’s an inclusive communications platform that de-stigmatizes the subject with a simple, unifying message. It’s also a play on words and a light-hearted symbol: a pair of socks in the movement’s colors that gives all wearers the chance to show their empathy and solidarity without even saying a word.
Impact
How to spread a culture of caring on a campus that brings together thousands of people? First, we had to raise the community’s awareness about the causes of a fluctuating mental health, educate them about risk factors and warning signs, and finally, guide them towards solutions. We addressed both people who were fully informed on the subject and those who were just beginning to open up to it, and found a way to validate temporary difficulties without putting them on the same footing as profound distress. How so? With a landing page that includes educational content on mental health, as well as a ton of external resources for immediate, short-, medium- and long-term support.
« Everyone has socks and everyone experiences lows. Our goal, with this (French) play on words, is to normalize a fluctuating mental health, without of course trivializing people’s problems. The importance we place on the mental well-being of our students was very well understood by Republik, and we believe this collaboration will have a positive and long-term impact on our community. »
