Yuxin
SHI

Thailand

Yuxin Shi is a 17-year-old student currently residing in Bangkok, Thailand. Born in Nanjing, China, she moved to Thailand with her mother after finishing her primary education at a local public school in China. Yuxin started noticing mental health problems when she heard her grandma’s controlled cry in primary school.

After completing research on intergenerational communication for multilingual families with professors from leading universities, she realized that communication between generations is crucial to resolving mental health problems. Over the past few years, although psychology has gained more influence, age-specific activities, alterations in family structures, the breakdown of social structures, and policy interventions in services that solely target groups all lead to the separation of older and younger generations in society, resulting in more intergenerational conflicts and ultimately deteriorating the well-being of the general public.

To address this issue, Yuxin is pursuing biology and economics through the IB program. In terms of extracurriculars, she explores the field of psychology. Her interests in mental health and family relations led her to found SmilesForSDGs, a foundation focusing on intergenerational mental health to foster connections between different generations. For her work in this organization, she was nominated to become a Learning Planet Youth Fellow in 2022. 

In the future, Yuxin aims to hold awareness campaigns and education workshops to promote well-being across generations and raise awareness on topics with an intergenerational lens. She believes that, by addressing common issues that individuals may face on a regular basis, such workshops could allow participants to interact with people of various generations and share their insights on the resolution of mental health. She has no doubts that participants of different generations could spark new takes on dealing with the problem: a refreshing view of the changing world in combination with wise advice from rich past experience, talents, and skills.