Aga Khan University invites students to global mental health art competition

KARACHI: Students and postgraduate medical education (PGME) trainees across four cities, including Karachi, have been invited to turn their experiences and perspectives on mental health into art as part of a Global Art Competition for World Mental Health Day 2026 being promoted by Aga Khan University and its Student Affairs office.

The competition is open to students and PGME trainees in Karachi, Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam, giving participants an opportunity to communicate ideas about mental health through visual art rather than words alone.

The competition is being held around the 2026 World Mental Health Day theme, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.” The World Health Organization has designated October 10 as World Mental Health Day and says this year's campaign focuses on ensuring that people with lived experience of mental health conditions have a meaningful role in shaping policies, services and decisions affecting their lives.

Students invited to turn lived experiences into art

Participants can express the theme through painting, drawing or digital artwork, according to the competition announcement shared by AKU Student Affairs.

The initiative provides students and medical trainees with a creative platform to explore how mental health is experienced, understood and discussed within their communities and educational environments.

Rather than limiting participation to a particular artistic style, the call invites participants to use visual expression to communicate their own perspective on the theme.

The competition is particularly relevant to medical and health-professional trainees, who encounter mental health issues both in their education and through interactions with patients, families and communities.

Global competition brings four cities together

The competition connects participants across Karachi in Pakistan, Nairobi and Kampala in East Africa, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

The international format gives students an opportunity to share perspectives from different cultural and healthcare settings while focusing on a common global public-health concern.

Mental health remains a major global health priority, and WHO's 2026 World Mental Health Day campaign specifically emphasizes that lived experience represents a form of expertise that cannot be replaced by professional training or research alone.

WHO says people with lived experience can identify barriers that others may overlook and can contribute to the design, delivery and evaluation of mental health services. Its 2026 campaign therefore calls for mental health systems to be developed with people with lived experience, rather than simply for them.

Prizes add another incentive for participants

The competition also offers global and campus-level prizes, according to the AKU Student Affairs announcement.

Among the prizes listed are a tablet, smartwatch and other awards, giving participants an opportunity to have their work recognized beyond their individual campuses.

The competition therefore combines creative expression with an opportunity for students and PGME trainees to participate in a wider international conversation around mental health.

For students who may have ideas about mental health that are difficult to communicate through conventional academic or clinical formats, the art-based approach offers another avenue for expression.

October 11 is the submission deadline

Students and PGME trainees interested in participating have been asked to submit their artwork by October 11, 2026.

The announcement advises prospective participants to scan the QR code provided in the competition material for the complete guidelines and submission details.

Because the submission requirements, judging criteria and other competition rules are contained in the official competition guidelines, participants should consult the QR-linked instructions before submitting their work.

Why the 2026 theme matters

The competition coincides with a broader shift in the way mental health systems are being encouraged to understand lived experience.

WHO's 2026 campaign theme is officially framed as “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” The organization says meaningful engagement goes beyond simply asking people to tell their stories; people with lived experience should have opportunities to influence decisions, help co-design services, strengthen peer-led approaches and improve accountability.

WHO also reports that meaningful involvement of people with lived experience is still not standard practice globally. Its 2024 Mental Health Atlas data show that only 45% of responding countries reported ongoing collaboration with people with lived experience and family or caregiver advocacy groups in planning, delivery or monitoring of mental health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services.

That makes the emphasis on personal perspectives particularly significant for a competition involving students and future healthcare professionals.

A creative platform for future healthcare professionals

For medical students and PGME trainees, mental health is not confined to psychiatry. It intersects with primary care, emergency medicine, maternal health, chronic disease management, rehabilitation and virtually every area in which healthcare professionals interact with patients.

Giving healthcare trainees an opportunity to reflect on mental health through art can also encourage conversations about stigma, empathy, patient experience, psychological wellbeing and the importance of listening to people receiving care.

The World Mental Health Day 2026 campaign similarly emphasizes that lived experience can help make mental health programmes more relevant and responsive to the people they are intended to serve.

With submissions closing on October 11, students and PGME trainees in Karachi, Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam now have a limited opportunity to put their perspectives on mental health on an international platform — one drawing, painting or digital artwork at a time.

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