Movember Youth Action Council attends WHO Commission on Social Connection Forum in Geneva

Late last year, Movember Youth Action Council member, Rhys Heinrich, travelled from regional South Australia to Switzerland, to attend the World Health Organisation’s Commission on Social Connection Forum. Held at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, the forum brought together more than 400 young delegates from over 60 countries to collaborate on solutions to some of the biggest health challenges facing young people today.

For Rhys, a 17-year-old from Maitland on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, the WHO forum was both surreal and empowering. Growing up on a farm, Rhys was given the opportunity by Movember because of his knowledge of social isolation living in a rural area.

Rhys is one of ten young men from across Australia who made up Movember’s inaugural Youth Action Council, a diverse group spanning regions from Far North Queensland to Tasmania (with parralel pilots occurring in Canada and the UK). The council was established to ensure young men are actively involved in shaping Movember’s work — not just as participants, but as decision-makers, as part of the Movember Institute of Men’s Health. “A lot of what we’re doing within Movember’s Youth Action Council is destigmatising men’s mental health,” Rhys said, “In the past, our voice may not have been heard. Now, we have a council dedicated to young men’s health and men’s health more broadly.”

Throughout the year, the Youth Action Council has contributed to a wide range of initiatives, including work on digital health and artificial intelligence with the University of Melbourne, input into Movember’s clinical governance framework, and discussions around the emerging use of AI in therapy. The group even informed characters in a theatre show, about what it means to be a man in contemporary Australia, being developed by Victorian playwright Nick Parr.

A key focus has also been addressing harmful narratives around masculinity, contributing to Movember’s groundbreaking Young Men's Mental Health in a Digital World Report. “There’s a lot of research showing that young men are becoming increasingly drawn towards toxic traits,” Rhys explained, “a lot of our work has been identifying why that’s happening and what can be done about it.”

As Isaac Pudney from Movember’s Youth Action Council Australia puts it, “It is critical that young men’s voices are heard loud and clear and have a seat at the table to ensure proactive policy and effective consultation and co-design.” Central to this approach is providing insight from a youth perspective on how Movember operates and delivers impact.

That youth-led, solutions-focused approach aligned closely with the purpose of the WHO forum, which was inspired by the launch of the Commission on Social Connection. The Commission recognises social health as a critical pillar of wellbeing — alongside physical and mental health — and highlights the growing impact of loneliness and disconnection on young people worldwide. Committees at the forum explored topics including mental health, migration, digital health and vaccine hesitancy, all with a strong focus on real-world impact.

Outside the formal sessions, the forum also created space for connection and cultural exchange — including an Australian stall that featured Tim Tams, Fruit Chocs and Vegemite. “Seeing people’s reactions was pretty interesting, especially with the Vegemite” Rhys laughed, highlighting how small moments of connection can build understanding across cultures.

For Rhys, the biggest takeaway from Geneva was clear. “Health is universal,” he said, “Regardless of where you come from or where you are, we all deserve the same access to healthcare and services.” Returning home, he’s motivated to continue contributing to Movember’s mission — bringing what he learned on the global stage back into local and national action, championing the health needs of young men and young people writ large across Australia. Because when young men are part of the solution, the impact reaches far beyond the room.