500 students join a run in Bengaluru to open up conversations about mental health

More than 2,000 people, including about 500 school students, took part in the World Mental Health Day Run at Cubbon Park in central Bengaluru on Sunday, ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10.

The youth-led initiative was organized by Imaan Zara Khan, a class 11 student at a private school in the city, and 1M1B Changemaker. The event included 3K, 5K and 10K runs and brought together students and runners in the city to encourage conversations about emotional well-being among young people.

The 3K category, titled “The Unspoken Run,” carried the message “A step for every conversation we never had,” with participants encouraged to see the run as part of a larger effort to facilitate conversations about mental health.

The event was part of SAFE (Student Advocacy for Emotional Well-Being), a student initiative founded by Imaan that focuses on adolescent mental health through research, storytelling and system-level advocacy.

The initiative examines how signs of distress are recognized among young people, how they seek help, how adults respond and how schools can create clearer pathways to appropriate support.

“Through SAFE, I want to move the conversation beyond awareness and ask the harder question: when a young person is in trouble, what happens next? Who recognizes the signs, who responds and how do they get the right support?” Imaan said.

Imaan will next present the SAFE project at the 10th 1M1B Summit at the UN Office in Geneva, where he will join youth leaders, institutions and stakeholders from around the world.

Published – 04 Oct 2026 21:01 IST