To truly understand the needs of adolescents, it is vital to listen to adolescents themselves. This was a central feature on the agenda of the first ever inter-country meeting and international conference addressing the mental health and well-being of adolescents living in central Asia, which took place on 17–20 January in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan and organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with WHO. Country delegations from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as well as Kazakhstan, participated in the exchange of knowledge, experiences and plans to better understand and address the mental health needs of adolescents.