Mismatched shoes day
On 25th of September 2026, EU member states are invited to participate in the social campaign “Mismatched shoes day,” which aims to promote public awareness and an inclusive attitude toward people with functional impairments, including mental health disorders.
The joint campaign is also an opportunity to promote projects supporting persons with disabilities from different countries simultaneously across Europe. Participants may choose whether to go only for a social media campaign or to make
procurement for a larger-scale campaign.
The next steps:
Online meeting in early February 2026
This will be a dedicated meeting for all participating countries. The aim is to go through the key elements together, review progress, exchange practical insights and plan the next steps. It will also be the time to decide on scheduling simultaneous or successive communication activities.
ESF+ fund-specific meeting in Brussels on 5 March 2026
It will be a good opportunity for the working group to meet in person, to review progress
and keep pace with campaign preparations
All the videos from previous campaigns can be find in our Youtube profile, the list: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl4idIxUxBoHfPHwiYeMQQfa2mYyaTku4&si=2Uc4HLryJlAOAkd_
Campaign video from 2025:
Campaign video from 2023:
Three stories (short film, each story is also published separately in Youtube)
This film is about the people around us. About people who have been pushed out of the mainstream of society, who have lived in social care institutions or hidden from the eyes of others at home. About those whose different ability to live in this world we see as mental health disorders. About children with functional impairments and their families. About children and young people who do not have their closest relatives – their families. About differences that we do not always understand and that sometimes frighten us. But even more – about the commonalities that unite us all.
The social campaign “Step into Another’s Shoes” was launched by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia in 2023 to help reduce stigma and normalize that people with functional impairments, including mental health disorders, are an integral part of society.
