Youth Projects

Helping Hand is a digital role-playing game focused on strengthening adolescents’ abilities to deal with mentally challenging situations, including anxiety, bullying and depression.

The simulation, which takes players through a series of life-like scenarios in a computer game-style setting, is designed to reinforce positive decision-making and strengthen adolescents’ resolve to ask for help when they need it.

Helping Hand has now supported more than 25,000 adolescents, including 5,000 refugees in Lebanon, where it was first used with Syrian teenagers in camps in Central Beqaa. The teenagers said the game made them feel better and helped them make better sense of their world.

As part of a survey, 28% of the adolescents reported what WHO classifies as ‘normal wellbeing’ before playing the game, while 99% reported normal wellbeing 10 weeks on.

Following its success, the simulation has been rolled out in Ukrainian to help victims of the ongoing conflict and is available to schools and adolescents across Norway. The Helping Hand was selected as one of the winners of the UpLink - World Economic Forum Youth Mental Health Challenge in 2022. Recognized as Top 10 Tech for Good initiative by World Economic Forum in 2022.

Helping Hand is now available in English, French, Norwegian, Ukrainian and Arabic.

The youth development program, called Flyt, has been set up to prevent social isolation and promote wellbeing among youngsters. Every year more than 1,000 young people participate in the program, with great results.

To continue to expand the program, Attensi is:

• Helping FLYT reach their participation goal of 10,000 young people by 2026
• Providing its technology to support the training of both program leaders and its participants.