the mentl awards 2026 Community. Impact. Resilience.
Recognising organisations and individuals improving mental health and well-being across the region
Judging has begun. Join us for the Gala Final.
Public entries for the mentl awards 2026 are now closed and independent judging is underway. Finalists will be announced soon.
Friday 27 November 2026 · Atlantis The Palm
Join our community at the spectacular sea-facing Asateer Tent, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai for the Gala Final and Wellbeing Leadership Dinner, celebrating the people and organisations moving mental health and wellbeing forward.
Your evening includes
- A sparkling networking reception overlooking the Dubai Marina skyline, with alcohol-free options from our Official Non-Alcoholic Beverage Partner, Drink Dry
- A three-course awards dinner and the mentl awards 2026 ceremony
- Music from DJ Sabrina Terence
- Connections with senior leaders, wellbeing professionals, clinicians, advocates, judges and changemakers
- Twelve months of mentl community membership, with access to events, roundtables, live conversations, newsletters, research and practical resources
You do not need to be a finalist or awards entrant to join us. Bring your colleagues, clients and partners for an evening of recognition, conversation and shared purpose.
Explore the Gala Final and Wellbeing Leadership Dinner →
Full menu details, timings and arrival information will be shared with guests closer to the evening.
Explore sponsorship opportunities and download the kit →
About the awards
The categories and entry guidance below remain available for reference. The 2026 public submission deadline has now passed.
Well-being and resilience are not slogans on a wall.
They live in the choices leaders make, the trust within teams, the culture organisations create, and the communities who support each other.
The mentl awards exist to recognise you – the people and organisations doing the real work of improving mental health and well-being at work, in schools, and for those around us. In a world of constant change, mental health and well-being are foundational. As parents, pupils, colleagues and leaders, we thrive together.
This year, the mentl awards have evolved.
We have introduced more tailored categories, with clearer guidance and sector-specific scoring to help entrants tell their best story and ensure inspiring work is judged fairly on merit. We are also introducing two new additions: the Year of the Family Award, recognising initiatives that support parenting, caregiving, and family well-being with a clear link to mental health outcomes, and a MENA Guest Entry category, welcoming standout initiatives delivered outside the GCC.
Entries are judged independently by a respected global and regional panel, with results audited by Coretax Arabia. The mentl awards are not just one night, the impact lives on through the wider mentl movement, spanning our community, exclusive events, podcasts, videos, newsletters, live webinars, data-driven research, and a growing platform reach, including over 135,000 YouTube subscribers.
Community. Impact. Resilience.
Give your entry a fresh perspective
Meet the mentl Entry Feedback Studio — now in beta. Get gentle, practical feedback informed by hundreds of past entries and judges’ comments, helping you see what comes through clearly and where more context or supporting evidence could strengthen your submission.
AI-assisted and reviewed by mentl. Your work and words remain yours. The studio is optional and available to all entrants; feedback is separate from independent judging and does not predict an award outcome.
Try the Entry Feedback Studio →
Explore the categories
From courageous leadership moments to practical initiatives that shift how workplaces show up for people, the mentl awards have become a regional benchmark for mental health and well-being progress.
Use the arrow keys ▸ to expand each section and find the category that fits you best.
Mental Health Heroes
Mental Health Heroes recognise individuals who champion, lead, support or inspire progress in mental health and well-being.
Mental Health Heroes: Advocate of the Year
Who it’s for: Individuals who have actively championed mental health, challenged stigma, and driven meaningful change through advocacy, awareness, and practical action in a workplace, community, or industry. Start your entry now →
Mental Health Heroes: Empathy in Leadership
Who this is for: Leaders who role-model psychologically safe, empathetic leadership and improve well-being through practical action, culture, communication and decision-making. Start your entry now →
Mental Health Heroes: Mental Health Champion 2026
Who this is for: Individuals driving mental health progress in an organisation, community or sector, regardless of seniority. Start your entry now →
Mental Health Heroes: Rise Above
Who this is for: Individuals who have navigated adversity and used that experience to help others through advocacy, support, storytelling, leadership or community action. Start your entry now →
Country and regional initiative categories
Recognising mental health and well-being initiatives delivered across specific GCC countries, plus a MENA Guest Entry category for standout initiatives delivered outside the GCC.
Best mental health and well-being initiative in the UAE (Small and Medium: under 250 UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in the UAE by organisations with under 250 employees in the UAE at the time of entry. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in the UAE (Large: 250+ UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in the UAE by organisations with 250 or more employees in the UAE at the time of entry. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in Saudi Arabia
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in Saudi Arabia by organisations or institutions improving mental health and well-being, including workplace programmes and wider community initiatives. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in Qatar
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in Qatar by organisations or institutions improving mental health and well-being, internally or through community impact. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in Kuwait
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in Kuwait by organisations or institutions improving mental health and well-being for employees, students, patients, or communities. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in Oman
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in Oman by organisations or institutions improving mental health and well-being in workplaces or the wider community. Start your entry now →
Best mental health and well-being initiative in Bahrain
Who it’s for: Initiatives delivered in Bahrain by organisations, public sector bodies, schools, healthcare providers, charities, or community groups improving mental health and well-being. Start your entry now →
NEW: Best mental health and well-being initiative in MENA (Guest Entry outside GCC)
Who it’s for: Standout initiatives delivered outside the GCC in the following eligible countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey. Open to organisations, institutions, and community initiatives demonstrating meaningful mental health and well-being impact in workplaces or wider society. Start your entry now →
Public sector and frontline services
For public sector, government, semi-government, public institutions and frontline services initiatives supporting mental health and well-being.
Outstanding well-being support in the public sector
Who it’s for: Public sector entities delivering mental health and well-being support for their workforce and or the communities they serve. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being support to front-line heroes
Who it’s for: Initiatives supporting frontline professionals (police, fire, armed forces, paramedics and emergency services) with mental health and well-being support. Start your entry now →
Healthcare
Recognising mental health and well-being impact across healthcare, including providers and health system organisations, as well as the wider health sector such as health insurers, healthcare groups, clinics, digital health, medtech, and pharmaceutical companies. Categories cover workforce support for carers and frontline healthcare teams, alongside broader healthcare impact, with separate lanes for small and medium and large organisations based on UAE headcount.
Outstanding contribution to mental health and well-being in healthcare (Small and Medium: under 250 UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Healthcare organisations with under 250 UAE employees, including clinics, provider groups, health insurers, medtech and pharmaceutical companies delivering meaningful mental health and well-being impact in healthcare settings or communities. Start your entry now →
Outstanding contribution to mental health and well-being in healthcare (Large: 250+ UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Healthcare organisations with 250+ UAE employees, including hospital groups, large provider networks, health insurers, medtech and pharmaceutical companies delivering significant, scalable mental health and well-being impact in healthcare settings or communities. Start your entry now →
Best caring for the carers initiative
Who it’s for: Healthcare providers and healthcare organisations supporting the mental health and well-being of carers and frontline healthcare workers, from clinics to hospital groups. Start your entry now →
Finance, legal and professional services
Recognising initiatives that improve mental health and well-being across finance and professional environments, as well as projects that reduce financial stress through financial literacy. Includes legal and professional services categories split by UAE headcount for fair comparison.
Outstanding well-being initiative in finance
Who it’s for: Banks, insurers, exchanges, fintechs and financial services organisations delivering mental health and well-being initiatives for employees and or customers. Start your entry now →
Most impactful financial literacy project
Who it’s for: Initiatives addressing the mental health and well-being impact of financial literacy, either internally or as a community project, with evidence of reduced financial stress or improved financial confidence. Start your entry now →
Best well-being support in professional services and legal (Small and Medium: under 250 UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Consulting, advisory, audit, accountancy and legal organisations with under 250 employees in the UAE at the time of entry, delivering mental health and well-being support for their people and culture. Start your entry now →
Best well-being support in professional services and legal (Large: 250+ UAE employees)
Who it’s for: Consulting, advisory, audit, accountancy and legal organisations with 250+ employees in the UAE at the time of entry, delivering scaled, evidence-led mental health and well-being support across teams and offices. Start your entry now →
Education, HR, inclusion, ESG and charity
Recognising initiatives that strengthen mental health and well-being through education settings, people practices, inclusive support, ESG-aligned projects, and charity or non-profit work.
Outstanding well-being initiative in education
Who it’s for: Schools, universities, education providers and education charities improving mental health and well-being for students and or staff. Start your entry now →
Best well-being support in Human Resources and talent management
Who it’s for: HR teams, talent functions and recruitment agencies delivering people practices that protect and improve mental health and well-being across the employee lifecycle. Start your entry now →
Outstanding Inclusion initiative for mental health and well-being
Who it’s for: Initiatives improving mental health and well-being through an inclusion lens, removing barriers and making support accessible and relevant, including neurodiversity, menopause, people of determination, localisation or Emiratisation, and culturally or linguistically inclusive support. Start your entry now →
Best ESG project that supports well-being and mental health
Who it’s for: ESG-aligned projects where mental health and well-being outcomes are central to the impact, delivered by organisations across the region. Start your entry now →
Best well-being support in a charity or non-profit (Free to enter)
Who it’s for: Charities and non-profits supporting the mental health and well-being of staff, volunteers and or the communities they serve. Start your entry now →
Technology
Recognising both technology organisations supporting their own workforce, and innovators developing technology that improves mental health and well-being support, access, prevention or outcomes.
Most supportive technology company
Who it’s for: Technology organisations demonstrating strong mental health and well-being support for their own people and workplace culture. Start your entry now →
Most innovative mental health tech
Who it’s for: Organisations building technology-led mental health and well-being solutions, including apps, platforms, AI tools, wearables, telehealth or digital support tools. Start your entry now →
Creative and communications
Recognising mental health and well-being support in creative, design, PR and communications environments, where pace, deadlines and client pressure can be intense.
Outstanding well-being support in the creative sector
Who it’s for: Creative and design organisations supporting the mental health and well-being of their workforce in high-pressure creative environments. Start your entry now →
Best well-being support in PR and communications
Who it’s for: PR and communications agencies or in-house teams delivering meaningful mental health and well-being support for their people and culture. Start your entry now →
Hospitality, tourism, events and wellness
Recognising mental health and well-being initiatives across hospitality, tourism, events and wellness settings, where shift work, peak seasons and customer-facing pressure are common.
Outstanding well-being support in hospitality, tourism and events
Who it’s for: Hospitality, tourism and events organisations supporting mental health and well-being for teams working in guest-facing, shift and peak-demand environments. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being initiative in sports, fitness and wellness
Who it’s for: Sports, fitness and wellness organisations delivering initiatives with meaningful mental health and well-being impact for members, participants, staff or communities. Start your entry now →
Industry, mobility, consumer and built environment
Recognising sector-specific mental health and well-being support across energy, industry and supply chain, construction and real estate, mobility and travel, and retail and consumer goods.
Outstanding well-being support in the energy industry
Who it’s for: Energy organisations across oil and gas, utilities, renewables and energy services supporting mental health and well-being for their workforce. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being support in industry and supply chain
Who it’s for: Manufacturing, engineering, industrial services, logistics, freight, warehousing and supply chain organisations supporting mental health and well-being across operational teams. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being support in construction and real estate
Who it’s for: Construction, development, property, facilities and real estate organisations supporting mental health and well-being across site-based and office-based roles. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being support in mobility, aviation and travel
Who it’s for: Mobility, aviation and travel organisations supporting mental health and well-being in high-pressure, safety-critical or irregular-hours environments. Start your entry now →
Outstanding well-being support in retail and consumer goods
Who it’s for: Retail and consumer goods organisations supporting mental health and well-being across frontline, customer-facing and operational teams (excluding prescription pharmaceuticals). Start your entry now →
Special Award: Year of the Family Award
Who it’s for: Initiatives supporting families, parents and caregivers through practical mental health and well-being support in workplaces and communities. Start your entry now →
From Entry to Influence
Every finalist helps shape the region’s most practical workplace well-being playbook.
The mentl awards don’t end when the trophies are handed out.
Selected finalists and winners are featured in Moving the Needle, our annual evidence-led playbook built from awards submissions, judging insights and real-world case studies.
The report is shared with employers, HR leaders, healthcare providers, educators and policy stakeholders across the region.
Real well-being. Real workplaces. Real progress.
Click the cover shot to join our community and download your free copy
Our awards are given purely on merit
Each year recipients are chosen by an independent jury of respected leaders from the public and private sector. Meet the mentl awards 2026 judging panel.
Healthcare professionals, mental health champions, CEOs and industry leaders, well-being advocates and inspiring individuals who push boundaries, both regionally and globally, their vote and their vote alone will determine which organisations are celebrating at our gala awards celebration on 27 November 2026 at Asateer Tent, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai.
The most inspiring night in the region’s mental health calendar
Each year, the mentl awards bring together a growing community of leaders, organisations and changemakers to recognise work that genuinely moves the needle on mental health and well-being.
Last year, more than 400 guests joined us for an evening that has quickly become a standout date in the UAE calendar, equal parts celebration, connection and purpose.
It is a night to honour progress, share stories worth hearing, and spotlight the initiatives and individuals shaping healthier workplaces and communities across the region.
Hero your values – become an awards sponsor
Become an official sponsor of the mentl awards 2026 and help amplify the region’s benchmark for mental health and well-being progress.
As the awards continue to grow in scale and influence, sponsorship gives your brand a visible, credible platform, reaching a wider community of leaders and organisations, and extending far beyond the gala through mentl’s content, campaigns, research and storytelling, including our growing YouTube audience and wider reach across the year.
To become a sponsor, please email awards@mentl.space or download our sponsorship deck.
We’re building a legacy of hope
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