The Marquês de Pombal statue will be illuminated in green on October 10, starting at 5pm, to mark World Mental Health Day.
This is an initiative of Lisbon City Council and the Lusíadas Group, which will light up the Mar quês de Pombal statue in green for 24 hours.
This initiative aims to raise awareness among Lisbon residents and visitors about the importance of mental health, as well as combating the stigma associated with mental illness.
This is the first time that a monument in Lisbon has received such an illumination in support of mental health, highlighting the urgency of tackling this issue with seriousness and empathy.
According to the latest National Epidemiological Study of Mental Health, one in five Portuguese suffers from a psychiatric disorder, placing Portugal in the second worst position in Europe, only behind Ireland.
The World Health Organization also points out that people with serious mental illness live, on average, 10 to 20 years less than the rest of the population.
Sofia Athayde, Lisbon City Councillor, highlighted the importance of this action
Mental health, and the stigma associated with mental illness and its treatment, is an issue of national scope and importance, which is why Lisbon City Council, which has been working to build a Local Welfare State by implementing various measures in the area of health, could not fail to join an initiative to raise awareness of this issue by lighting one of our city’s most symbolic monuments. The mental health of Lisbon residents is one of our municipality’s priority commitments.”
Vasco Antunes Pereira, CEO of the Lusíadas Saúde Group, reinforced the message:
In view of the growing importance of the problems associated with mental health and, above all, to eliminate the stigma that still persists in society about this issue and its treatment, Lusíadas Saúde joined Lisbon City Council in a symbolic and awareness-raising gesture of illuminating one of the most emblematic monuments of the Portuguese capital with the color green, representative of mental health. This action is a way of showing that taking care of the mind is just as important as taking care of the body, and of appealing to the urgent need to look at mental health as a collective and individual priority.”