LettersFor better mental health, help students connect and build inclusive empathy

As International Youth Day is marked on August 12, tackling Hong Kong’s youth mental health crisis must start with prevention – and ensuring every student feels a sense of belonging on campus. As classrooms grow increasingly diverse, with ethnically diverse students, cross-border pupils and neurodiverse learners, we must rethink where we look for solutions. The most powerful agents of change are already in our classrooms: our students themselves.

While technological tools dominate discussions on modern education, relational intelligence – the ability to connect and build empathy across differences – is not just a skill to be learned, but an essential foundation for human thriving. True mental health begins with human connection; learning to navigate differences is what allows young people to flourish both inside the classroom and beyond. True youth empowerment means trusting students to co-create inclusive campuses, rather than treating them merely as passive beneficiaries of care.