Deadline: January 10, 2025
Do you have experience in youth co-creation activities or similar processes focused on health? The call to gather good practices and practical strategies for youth co-creation in health programs and research is now open!
The Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health (SESH) team and the Social Innovation in Health Initiative (SIHI) are organizing this global crowdsourcing open call to gather experiences, good practices, and practical tips related to co-creation with youths to inform the development of a practical guide on organizing youth-inclusive co-creation programs and research.
Exceptional ideas will be recognized by the TDR, the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and included in a practical guide. In addition, 4 selected finalists will be supported to join a 2025 in-person co-creation participatory workshop in Montreal, Canada.
For this open call, they seek contributions that answer the following challenge question:
How can we best design, execute, or evaluate successful youth-focused co-creation health programs or research projects?
Prizes
- All participants who receive a mean score of 8/10 or greater on the 1-10 scale will receive a certificate of commendation.
- At least four finalists will be supported to attend the in-person co-creation workshop in July 2025 in Montreal, Canada.
- Themes from the submitted texts will be analyzed to inform the development of a practical guide in partnership with the SIHI network.
- Finally, selected individuals will have the opportunity to be invited to join the working group that develops the practical guide.
Eligibility
- Participants must be 10 years or older to participate. If you are between the ages of 10-14 years, you may only submit as a member of a team with other members that are age 15 years or older.
- Anyone with an idea or insights into co-creation with youth is eligible to submit a contribution. This includes people who have organized or participated in a co-creation program or research is eligible to submit their ideas, as well as people who have never organized or participated in a co-creation activity.
- Anyone who just has an idea or some insights in co-creation with youth is also eligible to submit.
- You may submit as an individual or a group of up to four individuals. Team submissions are encouraged!
- All submissions must be in one of the six UN languages (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian).
Selection Criteria
Submissions will be judged on a 1-10 scale (1 lowest quality, 10 highest quality) according to the following five criteria that will assess the co-creation process, outcomes or strategies described:
- Relevance to the Call
- Clear and Concise Description
- Adaptability
- Feasibility and Scalability
- Promotion of Equity
Application
Submissions are accepted at any time until the final deadline of 10 January 2025, 11:59pm (UK time).
There is no required structure for an entry, regardless of whether you choose a written submission of 500 words maximum or a 3-minute video/audio description. They are interested in any of your reflections. However, there are some important details that your submission could include to help them understand why and how your co-creation activity was (or would be) successful:
- Explain the health issue that your youth co-creation activity addresses.
- Detail methods used to attract and involve youth participants in your co-creation activities (e.g., social media campaigns, partnerships with schools).
- Highlight techniques for maintaining youth engagement during the co-creation activity or research (e.g., interactive activities, mentorship)
- Share innovative approaches or tools employed in youth co-creation (e.g., design thinking workshops, digital platforms for collaboration).
- Provide examples of unique activities or sessions that fostered creativity and participation (e.g., icebreakers).
- Identify any obstacles faced during the event planning or execution and describe the strategies used to overcome these challenges (e.g., power imbalances).
- Discuss strategies to ensure diverse participation, representation and share methods used to empower youth to take active roles in the event (e.g., use of youth advisory boards).
- Share key ingredients or components that made your youth co-creation activity a success (e.g., involving youth in the design of the program agenda)
- Highlight efforts to build networks among participants, facilitators, and stakeholders to foster continued collaboration (e.g., alumni networks).
For more information, visit Youth Co-creation for Health Programs & Research.
