In an age where disaster headlines blur into daily noise—wildfires in one tab, conflict zones in another—the real question isn’t just how we react. It’s whether we’re building something better in the aftermath.
For far too long, youth mental health has been treated like a spare tire: only pulled out when something goes wrong. But what if resilience wasn’t the emergency brake? What if it was the engine?
That’s the bold proposition behind the CareLink project.
Spanning Türkiye, Poland, Portugal, North Macedonia, and beyond, CareLink brings together educators, youth workers, scientists, and tech designers to rewire how we think about recovery. Not as charity. Not as crisis management. But as a system we design. One that’s accessible, emotional, intelligent, and yes—powered by AI.
Designing for Disruption (Because It’s Not Optional Anymore)
Today’s young people are navigating disaster as a default setting: floods, war, forced migration, pandemic hangovers, and emotional burnout. The systems many young people rely on today were never designed with this level of overlapping crisis in mind. So CareLink is evolving them—expanding, adapting, and reinforcing what’s already there:
- A multilingual, AI-powered e-learning platform offering trauma-informed, culturally tuned support
- Toolkits that aren’t just PDFs—but practical, situation-ready guides for youth workers, teachers, and parents
- Trainings where young people don’t just “learn about resilience,” but build it into muscle memory
This isn’t about responding. It’s about rearchitecting.
Through the REDEFINE Lens: Smart Systems with Soul
As the digital innovation lead, REDEFINE asks a different kind of question: not just “What do we need now?” but “What future are we rehearsing?”
Our belief is simple:
- Integrated: Mental health should live in the curriculum, in civic planning, in digital design—not sit siloed in waiting rooms.
- Equitable: Recovery tools must speak every language, reflect every context, and assume nothing about privilege.
- Participatory: Youth don’t want a seat at the table. They want to co-design the blueprints.
From Emergency Response to Everyday Resilience
Picture this:
- Students learning emotional literacy like they learn fractions—early, often, and without shame
- Parents receiving real-time toolkits before the panic sets in
- Youth workers becoming digital-empathy hybrids, not just responders but designers of recovery
- Policymakers making decisions with real-time data and lived-experience inputs—not after the fact, but as part of the blueprint
This is the infrastructure we need. Not another hotline. A whole ecosystem.
Recovery That Doesn’t Snap Back—But Leaps Forward
We’re halfway through the CareLink journey. But we’re already asking: what if the point isn’t to “bounce back” to a flawed normal—but to springboard toward something wiser, softer, more just?
Recovery isn’t a return. It’s a redesign.
And REDEFINE is building with that in mind.
Join us at redefine.pt as we co-create the platforms, policies, and practices for a future where young people don’t just survive disaster—they lead us through it.
