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Story 2025:

Stories for the Future

Participate and maybe your story will be published!

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Stories for the Future

“What can I expect from the future... my future? There is only misery in the news... it seems like nothing positive ever happens anymore. Will the many wars, famine and climate change ever end? These kinds of thoughts are not strange, if you look at the world today. In the Netherlands, more than one million people now take antidepressants. Many hundreds of thousands of young adults are not feeling well and see their future bleakly. Our question is therefore: how can we prevent more and more people from sliding further into despair?

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Why this challenge?

With the 'Stories for the Future' we want to give people who are struggling mentally inspiration, meaning and hope. We want them to see again that they are worth something and to get excited about tomorrow again. Give them a mirror in which they can discover that the future has not yet been determined. That's what this challenge is about. And that really needs you and your pen!

Open Book

Challenge Explanation

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Write your 'Story for the Future' to inspire others and let people feel that, even with headwinds, there is always light in the distance. A personal story, an exciting fictional scenario or a social commentary or new philosophy based on your own world view? Everything is allowed. All stories are judged, published on our website and published as an e-book. A selected collection of short stories will also be published as a book, including ISBN number.

 

This can help you with your writing

We have insights and tips for every writer that can help you write a story so that it can really help people. When you read them, you will understand why we haven give them. These items come from our own research among dozens of young adults, youngsters with mental health problems and (mental health) professionals on top of scientific research on the possible therapeutic impact of (shared) reading and writing:

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  • 'Write from your heart' - a strong wish from experienced experts. It doesn't have to be smooth and slick, a little messy is nice.​

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  • Overly positive stories often set the bar too high. A happy ending doesn't feel real, life has setbacks and you don't have to brush that aside. That gives false hope.​

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  • Acceptance of one's own vulnerabilities makes life livable. The perfect world does not exist here either. But real people... they do exist.​

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  • Social ideals are nice, but they must also be believable. Stories can encourage you to see new paths and bright spots and contribute to the feeling of 'it is possible'. Reality helps with that.​

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  • As said: a story that is too pretty misses its target. Here are some words that were mentioned and that can be valuable for a good 'Story for the Future': desire, resilience, uncertainty, fear, courage, trust, connectedness... You can also let existential dilemmas, such as order/chaos, freedom/limitation, responsibility/guilt, play a role in your story.​

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  • As for 'connectedness': many people with mental vulnerabilities experience a feeling of loneliness or existential emptiness. Stories with/about one person therefore appeal less to the imagination than stories with multiple characters who are connected to each other.​

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  • (of course you can also ignore these 'tips' and just write a wonderfully inspiring, meaningful and hopeful text. It's up to you!)​

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You see that you can go into all sorts of directions. And do keep in mind: scientific research shows that writing from the heart has a strong healing effect. So take that opportunity and enjoy this writing experience yourself!

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About us

We are committed to the advancement of mental health of children and young adults     in the Netherlands and beyond

 

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