1,550 high school students gather to gain Knowledge for Life

School, Friends, Snapchat, Diet, Sleep. When the world is spinning fast, tools are needed to make smart choices in everyday life. But being on top is definitely not an easy task, and several studies show how teenagers' mental wellbeing is at ever lower levels and that their faith in the future is replaced by worry and hopelessness. This raises demands on the grown up world to show the next generation the right way forward, and 18 November, the Faculty of Pharmacy is filling the Uppsala University Main Auditorium with 1,550 high school students to give them Knowledge for Life.

“We all struggle daily to give our children and youths the best possible conditions in life, but a big challenge is that none of us - neither parent, teacher nor expert - have all the right answers. Just as surely, we know that sometimes it takes new voices for a teenager to actually listen. This is why we are gathering a selection of Sweden's foremost experts on subjects that concern us all, and the response from the schools is amazing,” states Anja Sandström, Deputy dean for education.

In the auditorium, the students will meet a number of well-known experts: Emma Frans, winner of the Swedish Journalist Award, gives tips on source criticism and how we become smarter media consumers. Christian Benedict, known from SVT's educational success Sov Gott, focuses on the positive aspects of sleep. Lotta Borg Skoglund, founder of SMART Psychiatry, gives advice on how to protect ourselves against mental illness. Jale Poljarevius, Head of intelligence in Police Region Mitt, speaks about violence in social media, Professor Pernilla Åsenlöf sheds light on the path to sustainable health, and Anni Grosse, manager at Det syns inte, wants to motivate the students to put themselves in the driver's seat of their own lives:

“Today, young people form their identities largely online, where a "successful" person is often defined by what gets attention in social media with its unrealistic ideals of beauty and well-staged images of perfect lives. This contributes to increased stress around performance both in school, socially and life in general, but with the right knowledge, we can better understand ourselves and support each other to promote both our own and others' well-being and balance in life. To me, it is both a favor and sort of rock'n'roll to meet so many of the next generation at one and the same time, and my hope is to strengthen their self-confidence and understanding that they are not alone in their experiences.”

Many teachers who have registered classes testify how their students struggle with time online, sitting still, sleep problems and a general anxiety about the future. Observations fully inline with the results of numerous studies: 73 percent of all young people feel that they spend too much time online. Only every fifth child in Sweden meets the recommendations for physical activity – the lowest in the Nordic countries. And in the third year of high school, one in three girls sleeps six hours or less on weekdays, clinically classified as sleep deprivation.

“As teachers, we know that students' habits differ, but also that lifestyle issues like these are likely decisive for their future. We work non-stop to help our students deal with stress, social media, online gaming and well-being factors they should be aware of. But having well known researchers describe what is actually going on will undoubtedly add extra strength to our teaching and presumably be an eye opener for the students,” says Anna Björkman, teacher at Kungsängsgymnasiet in Sala.

Expectations are high also among the students who are often aware of what is probably the smartest choice, but where the temptations they face are not seldom stronger than the incentives to make the right decision.

“Of course I know it's not very smart to binge-watch TikTok on school nights. Still, I look at one more, and then another after that. Obviously, I need to know exactly why I should leave my phone in the kitchen at bedtime. That mom and dad keep telling me does not help out, as they also take their phones with them to the bedroom. Therefore, I hope to get answers to a lot of things that I can use in my everyday life,” says Ottilia, a student in the Social Sciences program.

On Monday 18 November, students, teachers and experts will meet to find the way to a sustainable lifestyle. The interest in the event keeps exceeding all expectations and in less than two days all 1,550 seats in the University Main Auditorium were booked by high school students from Västmanland to Östhammar with another 800 students on reserve lists.

“This is a prioritized investment in our faculty's Science outreach, and of course it provides important inspiration that so many students and teachers want to come to Uppsala to take part in current research and knowledge. Now we have created a structure that we hope to develop further in the future so that more youths will get the opportunity to participate, but first we are aiming for a fantastic meeting in November,” says Mathias Hallberg, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy who will give a presentation on how drugs affect a young brain.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o