EuroSpeak: Covid-19, online education and mental health, 14 January 2021

On 14 of January EuroSpeak hosted an info-session focused on “Covid-19, online education and mental health”. This was the first one of a series of activities that will be held throughout the period time of January-May 2021. These activities include experts, lecturers, journalists etc. who will give their contributions on different aspects of European Integration and also on current relevant issues. 

In the first EuroSpeak event held online, the discussion was mainly focused on the challenges that our country and the entire world are facing as a result of Covid-19. The quarantine aiming at minimizing the negative effects on the wide-spreading of the virus; caused long-lasting radical changes in our lifestyle in a short period of time. There have been a lot of discussions about a new reform in the education system, but Covid-19 made matters worse while the necessity to intervene became immediate. Another “shocking” outcome of this outbreak was the largest number of committed suicides of the infected individuals. This new phenomenon caused a lot of fear and anxiety among the population. Furthermore, this new “normality” created severe economic consequences, but the excessive costs of non-investment in this sector are left in the dark.

Some of the most interesting topics of this activity were oriented towards valuable lessons and practices that can be drawn from this situation; the way technology can effectively contribute in the making of a “new normality” combining online and on campus lectures in education; the manner in which the phenomenon of mental health problems can be handled by the governing structures and lastly an analysis between the costs of investment and non investment in the aspects of mental health.  Speakers at this event were: Dr. Aida Magjistari (Myrto), Lecturer at the Faculty of History and Philology, UT; Dr. Belina Bedini, Lecturer at Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës and MSc. Dorentina Hysa, Part-time Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, UT. The above mentioned speakers have contributed with their articles to EuroSpeak magazine and they discussed with participants the findings and topics analysed in these articles. 

Each one of the panelists provided facts and their opinions related to distinct subjects.  In the first part, Aida Magjistari said that she sees the use of technology in the Albanian educational system in a positive light and that we should continue to put the internet into good use.  Moreover, she added that there is a need to increase awareness about the advantages of the internet because online learning is not fully optimized in our country.  There is a lack of facilities when it comes to internet use and it requires a lot of investment in order to gain wider access. On top of that, all students who intend to study abroad will find it easier to adapt to foreign universities where technology is more advanced. There were a lot of comments and questions about professional schools, sport, and medicine where it was concluded that our country has shortcomings in infrastructure. Aida ended her speech by emphasizing that Albania can manage to further improve teaching combining online and on campus education by taking the example of other European countries. 

Regarding the impact that Covid-19 has had on mental health, Belina Bedini stressed that the biggest issue is that mental health care has not been seen as a priority so far. The amount of people suffering from mental health issues during the pandemic, not only in developing countries but also in the developed ones has increased in a terrifying manner. She added that governments should provide financial assistance to address the economic challenges of the population that have lost their jobs as a result of Covid-19. Furthermore, the media has a huge impact when it comes to presenting the cases. They should avoid using names or showing crime scenes related to suicide cases because this can have a negative effect on people that suffer from mental health problems. Bedini concluded by saying that all of this can affect the psychological mindset of the people and make them think that the system is not capable of managing the situation.  

In the third part dedicated to the costs of investment and non-investment in mental health, Dorentina Hysa said that mental health has been left in oblivion not only by relevant institutions but also by people themselves. According to a WHO study that Dorentina referred to, states spend less than 2% of their budget on mental health care. The detriment not only because individuals can become incapable of working but also because this indirectly affects the economy. The pandemic emphasized these kinds of issues because it had a multidimensional effect on economy, jobs, finances etc. and caused a lot of anxiety and insecurities for people who could not even fulfill basic needs. On the bright side, WHO has started to prioritize investments in mental health care services. Dorentina stated that governments focus on short-term goals and do not pay enough attention to mental health where a qualitative and long term investment is required. The costs of not being treated are even greater, ranging from delinquent behavior, problems with the law and ultimately suicide.

This activity was moderated by Nirvana Deliu, EuroSpeak.