Mental health represents a core human value but also an economic value.
Opportunities for expanding prevention and promotion in mental health worldwide will be heavily dependent on acquiring support from policy makers, politicians, insurance companies, business companies, public health and social service agencies and organizations in many other sectors (e.g. schools, justice). Their support for prevention and promotion activities will depend on the benefits they expect for their special interests from our interventions. These could concern benefits for the health of the population, but could also be social in nature, and could directly or indirectly concern economic interests.  For a long time, the economic value of mental health has been underestimated. Recent studies have pointed at the large economic costs of mental ill health and mental disorders to society, and at the economic benefits of good mental health. This special plenary and related presentations at the conference aim to offer more insight into the actual or potential benefits of preventive interventions and mental health promotion programmes, and to educate participants about the concepts and health economic models and their application to prevention and promotion.