Lynn Fiellin, Director of the play2PREVENT Lab and member of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) faculty was invited to present and lead a workshop at the Games and SDG Summit on October 29, 2024, at the United Nations (UN) in New York City. This Summit was an invite-only event with approximately 200 participants representing stakeholders from the games industry, UN Programmes, and other social impact organizations.
As a member of the Global Mental Health Task Force and in partnership with the Games for Change organization and the Deepak Chopra Foundation, Dr. Fiellin is working to help promote and support mental wellness globally, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN is focused on 17 SDGs, four of which: Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, and Reduced Inequalities were featured as part of the Summit. Given her work focused on developing and evaluating digital health games for young people with a focus on mental health, Dr. Fiellin was invited to participate as a panelist in a “Fireside Chat: Launching a Global Mental Health Task Force” and led an all-afternoon workshop with participants entitled “Workshop on Mental Health and Games.”
The objectives and outcomes of this Summit include identifying best practices and collaborations to further advance the UN SDGs, developing commitments and strategies from key stakeholders to move forward the mission, and the dissemination of a post-event report with specific calls for action. This work is closely aligned and augments the work Dr. Fiellin is conducting to examine how digital games potentially can help to close the gap on the youth global mental health crisis.