From left, Kate Midttun, Founder and CEO of Acorn Strategy and Chairperson of MEPRA; John Rynehart, , Managing Director Middle East of Kekst CNC and Chair of the PRCA MENA Mental Health Committee; Amina Taher, Chief Marketing Officer of WIO Bank PJSC and UAE Chair of The Marketing Society; Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl; and Emma Cantwell, Non-Executive Board Member of The Marketing Society.A coalition of marketing and communications industry bodies across the GCC region, including The Marketing Society, PRCA MENA and Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) as well as mentl have launched the Mental Health Charter 2025.
The charter intends to be a roadmap designed to address the urgent mental health challenges facing the sector while fostering sustainable workplace well-being.
The joint initiative responds to collective insights, including data from the 2024 PRCA MENA mental health survey of mar-comms professionals, which found:
- 51 per cent say the workplace exerts a ‘strong influence’ on their mental health.
- 30 per cent report having experienced a mental illness (a sharp rise from 10 per cent in 2021).
- 37 per cent report that discussing mental health at work feels inappropriate.
Amina Taher, Chief Marketing Officer of WIO Bank PJSC and UAE Chair of The Marketing Society said, “The most important element of this Charter is that it originated with our young scholars. This is a framework designed by the next generation of leaders who refuse to accept stigma and silence. It’s a powerful step toward making asking for help a sign of strength.”
The charter was officially launched by select young scholars to an audience of more than 300 executive and mid-management marketers joining The Marketing Society’s Changemakers Conference at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, where attendees were asked to pledge their support to normalise mental health.
The coalition highlights that silence about mental health delays support and fuels burnout, which costs the industry people and performance. Open, non-punitive dialogue protects both.
Organisations and individuals from the industry across the GCC are encouraged to review the Charter, sign the pledge, and begin implementing the actionable solutions to build healthier, more resilient workplaces.
“Our data shows that the work environment strongly influences mental health in this industry,” added John Rynehart, Managing Director Middle East of Kekst CNC and Chair of the PRCA MENA Mental Health Committee. “This Charter offers managers the tangible tools they need — from encouraging dialogue to formal training — to help build a truly supportive culture where urgency is the exception, not the norm.”
Flexible roadmap for mental health and cultural change
The charter provides organisations with a flexible and actionable framework built on four core pillars that can support to strengthen employee engagement, attract talent, reduce turnover and lay the foundations for sustainable business growth:
- Culture and workplace foundations: Aims to create a healthier workplace by setting clear work boundaries and communication norms and implementing flexible working options.
- Train the front line: Emphasises that managers are often the first line of support. It recommends providing leadership mental health training and certified mental health first aid training to equip leaders to spot signs of stress and burnout early.
- Normalise the conversation: Focuses on making mental health as safe to talk about as physical health, without stigma or fear. This includes encouraging leadership-led dialogue and providing anonymous channels for feedback.
- Movement as medicine: Integrates regular physical activity as a powerful tool for mental health, as movement reduces stress, lifts mood, and builds resilience. This pillar encourages integrating active habits and providing an annual sports and wellness allowance.
“This charter is an industry-wide commitment to turn intentions into practical action,” said Kate Midttun Founder and CEO of Acorn Strategy and Chairperson of MEPRA. “By uniting under these four pillars, we are creating a framework, built by industry, that ensures our people feel seen and supported, allowing the marketing and communications industry to be more resilient and sustainable for years to come.”
“When organisations invest in well-being, they strengthen employee engagement and significantly reduce turnover,” added Scott Armstrong the Founder of mentl, a home-grown business driving the mental health agenda in the UAE. “This is not a policy of soft skills; it’s a commitment to smart business, recognising that healthy people are the foundation for creative output and sustainable growth.”
Born from early career industry talent
The foundation of the Mental Health Charter 2025 originated with The Marketing Society’s UAE Scholarship Programme.
All 50 entry-level professionals selected as scholarship participants for a six-month programme led by industry leaders were tasked with developing recommendations for a charter as their final body of work.
The final charter was developed by Isabel Calandrini, Kimberly Rodejo, and Nathalia Tawil with mentorship from a judging panel including Scott Armstrong (mentl), Emma Cantwell (The Marketing Society), Kate Midttun (MEPRA) and John Rynehart (PRCA).
