RFK Spain sparks a conversation in Asturias on mental health, education and human dignity

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Spain Foundation promoted in Gijón an agenda focused on mental health, emotional well-being and education, with the participation of Mariel Hemingway, actress, writer and international speaker, who shared her personal experience and her public reflection on emotional care, "information overload" and the need to reclaim spaces for calm, listening and connection.

The initiative aimed to open a necessary conversation in Asturias and in Spain about mental health as a collective challenge. At RFK Spain, we understand that this debate cannot be limited solely to the healthcare field or reduced to individual responses. Mental health is also about human dignity, education, community, prevention and a society's ability to listen better to those going through difficult times.

Mariel Hemingway's presence made it possible to bring this reflection closer to different audiences from a personal and relatable perspective. Her remarks did not seek to offer definitive answers or replace the work of mental health professionals, but rather to help make visible an issue that affects families, schools, institutions, companies and young people. Her testimony and her public career served as a starting point to talk about issues that are of growing concern today, such as social pressure, constant exposure to screens, information overload, loneliness, self-esteem and the importance of asking for, and of feeling that we can ask for, help in time.

The first event took place within the framework of the RSG Business Club, at El Molinón, thanks to the collaboration and hospitality of our great partners at Real Sporting de Gijón and the Fundación Real Sporting, Marea Rojiblanca. For RFK Spain, this collaboration represents an important example of how sport can become a space for encounter, awareness-raising and social commitment. A sports club is not only an institution linked to competition. It can also be a community capable of generating conversation, supporting its surroundings and helping to bring to the table issues that often remain unspoken, and that is how it is with Sporting.

One of the most significant moments of the agenda was the meeting with students of the Real Instituto Jovellanos in Gijón. The conversation with secondary and high school students made it possible to address mental health from an educational standpoint, which is one of RFK Spain's main lines of work. Talking with young people about self-esteem, emotional well-being, responsible use of technology, listening and mutual support is essential to building safer and more humane environments.

RFK Spain also wishes to thank Gijón City Council and, especially, Carlos Llaca Vallina, Director of the Youth and Educational Projects Area, for his support and sensitivity toward an initiative that connects directly with young people, education and emotional well-being. His collaboration was especially valuable in bringing this conversation into the educational sphere and reinforcing the importance of listening to young people. We very much look forward to continuing to collaborate with the City Council and are deeply grateful for its involvement and commitment.

This visit also reinforces our commitment at RFK Spain to human rights education and to the creation of spaces for dialogue on the great challenges of our time. Mental health is not a secondary issue. It is part of a dignified life, of personal development and of the real possibility of participating fully in society.

We especially want to thank Real Sporting de Gijón, the Fundación Real Sporting, Marea Rojiblanca, Gijón City Council, the Real Instituto Jovellanos community and everyone who made this initiative possible.

We will continue working so that mental health is discussed with more naturalness, more responsibility and more humanity. Caring for our society is defending human rights.