EUREGHA highlights regional approaches to culture, arts and mental health at ERRIN meeting

On 30 June 2026, EUREGHA participated in the ERRIN Cultural Heritage and Tourism Working Group meeting “Culture, arts and mental health”, organised in collaboration with ERRIN’s Health Working Group in Brussels.

The event brought together European, national and regional perspectives to explore how cultural participation and artistic activities can support mental health and well-being, strengthen social connections and help address isolation and loneliness. It also provided an opportunity to discuss regional practices, relevant EU policy developments and opportunities for future EU-funded cooperation.

Representing EUREGHA, Policy and Projects Manager Marco Di Donato presented the activities of the Culture and Health project, focusing in particular on the main outcomes of the webinar “Scaling up Arts on Prescription Models: From Evidence to Regional Implementation,” organised by EUREGHA in May 2026.

EUREGHA highlighted several common messages emerging from the webinar:

• Numerous culture-and-health initiatives already exist across Europe, but they often remain fragmented, project-based or insufficiently connected to health and social care systems.
• Effective implementation requires cooperation between health, culture, social care, education, municipalities and community organisations.
• Regional authorities can provide structure and continuity by coordinating stakeholders, adapting evidence to local contexts and supporting the transition from isolated practices to more sustainable policy frameworks.
• Clear referral pathways are essential to connect healthcare and social professionals, participants and cultural organisations.
• Dedicated professionals, such as link workers, facilitators and cross-sector coordination teams, can play an important role in supporting implementation.
• Sustainable funding remains a common challenge, particularly where activities continue to depend on short-term project grants.
• Both robust evidence and effective communication are needed to demonstrate impact and strengthen political and public support.

The presentation highlighted examples from Greece, Flanders, Central Denmark, Italy and the Italian-Slovenian cross-border area, covering national policy development, cross-sector governance, regional coordination, mapping of existing initiatives and cross-border cooperation. Read more about these cases in our dedicated article [here].

The wider meeting included contributions from Thomas Isenberg on the evolving European policy context and Monica Urian from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Regional and local experiences were presented by the George Sand Hospital in Bourges, the Danish initiatives Sindssyg God Søndag and the MIND Museum, the Małopolska Institute of Culture, and representatives of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project Arts on Prescription. These contributions illustrated the diversity of approaches being developed across Europe and the growing interest in using culture and the arts as part of more inclusive, community-based approaches to mental health and well-being.