Mind Threads Initiative: a project that unites neuroscience, mental health, arts and storytelling
- Dunya Fadili
- Feb 2
- 4 min read
You have probably noticed how often here at MGIM we like to explore the ways in which music and art influence the mind, emotions, and culture. Recently, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Mind Threads Initiative, a global initiative run by young female students that works to make neuroscience and mental health more accessible and free from stigma. This collaboration inspired us to highlight their project and share more about what they do.
More about Mind Threads Initiative
In recent years, we have been hearing more and more about psychological and mental well-being, and this is no coincidence. For us young people, mental health is no longer a distant or abstract topic, but something that touches everyday life, emotions, relationships, and even the way we think and create. Understanding the mind means learning to know ourselves better, not only from a human and personal perspective but also from a scientific one: understanding how the brain works, which processes and mechanisms regulate its balance, and what happens when this balance is disrupted. It is precisely in this space between emotion and science that Mind Threads was born.
Mind Threads is an international project created with the aim of making conversations about mental health, psychology, and neuroscience more accessible, inclusive, and understandable, especially for young people. It is a space that encourages open discussion about the mind, without judgment and without barriers, transforming complex scientific concepts into written content that combines them with creativity and art.
The project does not stop at raising awareness, but also helps improve how individuals perceive their own mental health. Understanding how the brain works, the processes that regulate it, and what happens when something goes wrong allows people to develop greater awareness, empathy, and care for themselves and others. In this sense, Mind Threads shows how education and well-being are deeply connected: the more we understand the mind, the more we learn to respect it.
Through articles, social content, art, creative campaigns, and interactive tools, Mind Threads succeeds in combining scientific communication with personal artistic expression. The project’s website also hosts educational games designed to make learning an active and engaging experience, showing that knowledge can be both creative and accessible.
More about the team
Behind Mind Threads are two young founders united by a strong vision and a deep curiosity about the human mind. Their team has grown rapidly and now includes collaborators in more than 25 countries.
Sara Jaheen is a writer, polyglot, artist, interviewer, and creative leader with a deep curiosity about the brain not only as an organ, but as a home that shapes thoughts, emotions, and identity. From an early age, she was drawn to both storytelling and science, always searching for ways to better understand people and the world around her. She dreamed of becoming a successful author and seeing her name shared widely, a desire that led her to write a science book about space, a work of fiction, and later to create and publish a guided journal for the sacred month of Ramadan. She enjoyed this process so much that it inspired her to help others publish their own books as well.
She is the Co-founder, Operations Director, and Creative Director of Mind Threads, which she explains was born after an interview with an oncologist, an experience that left a lasting impact on her. Speaking with an expert, asking meaningful questions, and transforming complex knowledge into something accessible gave her a deep sense of fulfillment. From that moment, she felt the urge to create an initiative where actions mattered more than words and where Ambassadors and Volunteers could experience that same sense of purpose, curiosity, and fulfilment.
This idea stayed with her for almost two years, until the night before her IGCSE results. Anxious and restless, Sara was on a video call with her co-founder, Hareem Faisal, trying to distract herself. Instead of letting anxiety take over, she chose to channel those emotions into something meaningful. That call became the true beginning of Mind Threads: from the website and logo, to the social media profiles and the first ideas (and finally, Sara and Hareem had an excuse to name their mascot Neuronaut"). Sara is especially grateful for how Mind Threads evolved beyond an initiative into a close-knit and supportive community, bringing together people driven by curiosity, care, and a genuine desire to make a difference.
Today, Sara manages the operational and creative core of the project: she oversees communications, coordinates the team, curates and develops the website, designs and codes interactive educational games, and manages Mind Threads’ social media presence. Her creativity also finds expression in hands-on artistic practices such as crochet, knitting, embroidery, portrait drawing, and photography, as well as through language learning to connect with people from different cultures.
Hareem Faisal is a bold, curious, and deeply self-driven young woman with a mind that is always searching for meaning, growth, and ways to turn ideas into something real. She thinks intensely and feels deeply, drawn to both creativity and challenge, and unafraid of complexity. Whether she is reflecting quietly or stepping forward with confidence, Hareem carries a strong sense of purpose and an inner drive to become more than what is expected of her.
From a young age, she has been guided by ambition and vision. She does not settle for standing still: she believes in constant evolution of mindset, skill, and self. This drive led her to become Co-founder and Marketing Director of Mind Threads, where she blends strategy with creativity, shaping ideas into impact and giving meaning a voice.
She thrives in building something from nothing, transforming concepts into movements and messages into identity.
Hareem values independence, discipline, and self-respect, and she approaches life with intention, choosing growth even when it requires discomfort or stepping outside her comfort zone. She learns quickly, adapts with determination, and refuses to shrink herself to fit into spaces that do not represent her. For her, leadership is not about control, but about clarity, vision and direction.
Here at MGIM, we are happy to give space to projects like Mind Threads because, in addition to bringing together science, art, and awareness in an accessible and original way, they transform information into awareness and knowledge into a tool for change.
You can support their work here:
