The Problem Youth (ages 14-24) are at increased risk of new HIV infection, and experience high rates of HIV-related deaths. Ending the HIV epidemic among youths by 2030 must be more than just a slogan; it requires us to actively engage, mobilize and support youth as leaders and agents of social change to make this a reality. It also requires us to lean on young people themselves to call attention to information, experiences, and perspectives that would not otherwise be known about how they understand ways to end the epidemic, including the role research.
The Solution It is time to put (YOU)th at the front and center in the response to HIV to lead their own solutions. Since 2018, The 4 Youth by Youth team has worked in partnership with youths, communities, clinics, and policymakers to ensure that these tools are co-designed with and delivered by the youth themselves. We actively engage youth in deciding what services resonate most with them and learning more about how the opportunities and activities provided by such services have prevented or reduced risks for HIV and other STIs while also leveraging youth assets and working with them to enhance their professional development, research, and community engagement skills overtime.
Our Process 4YBY used a four-pronged approach to actively engage youth as leaders and build on the strengths and capacity of youths in Nigeria. First, we launch a nationwide open crowdsourcing contest where we solicit concepts and strategies for promoting HIVST + other prevention services over a period of time, averaging about 7-weeks.
Next, we carry out a designathon in which youth teams are invited to create new youth-friendly HIVST services. Designathon involves the youth teams fleshing out their ideas with the support of experts in the field.
Finally, during our 4-week Bootcamp aimed at building capacity for research and entrepreneurship, a select group of teams work with industry experts and mentors to refine and finalize their proposed service for improving HIVST + other prevention services for young Nigerians. Finally, the finalist teams get to implement, and pilot test their solutions among youth within their communities.
Since 2018, we have engaged over 8,000 youths in Nigeria through four crowdsourcing contests, three designathon, two innovation bootcamps in Nigeria, one pilot trial, and one clinical trial that followed over 1,500 youth for 24 months. While the data is being finalized, our interim analysis, includes a high retention of these youth participants (>80%) and a high uptake of HIV self-testing (>x%) at 24 months. Through this process, we demonstrated the scale of untapped impact of youth engagement in developing youth-friendly HIV self-testing services. We have shown that if young people are provided with the platform, training and support to share and implement their solutions on ways to promote preventive services for HIV and STIs in their communities, the use of these services among our youths can increase dramatically.
The Challenge Now we are calling on young people in Nigeria, to use creative tools to help us disseminate our research findings (see Our Process above). We want you to help us shed light on the results of our process using creative tools such as: art, storytelling, poetry, letters, creative non-fiction, or surprise us category, that includes any creative medium of your choice.
We believe that the dynamics of the way we create, consume, and share information are changing. We are slowly moving away from traditional forms of sharing research information with the public to more innovative approaches. From the activities so far with engaging youth through 4YBY projects, we understand the need to transform how we communicate research ideas and products to young people. Hence, why we are calling on young people to help us disseminate the research findings of 4YBY.
What lessons have we learned from engaging youth over the years? Youth are brilliant and learn in diverse ways. Their communication style sometimes differs from other community members, and they focus on things that capture their attention and align with their interests. They love art, creativity, and self-expression. This makes this a unique opportunity to co-create with young people and explore creative ways for sharing research information not only with their peers but also with the broader community.
Contest Prompt How might we disseminate the research findings of 4YBY to youth communities using creativity?
What We’re Looking For:
-
Artwork
Artwork should be visual art or illustration and include a short narrative to briefly describe or introduce the illustration, painting, etc. Acceptable file types include: .csv, .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .wpd, .wpf, .gif, .jpg, .png, .svg, and .tif.
-
Poetry
Poems should be between 250 to 500 words. Poetry submissions should be typed in 12-point font, Arial or Calibri, and single-spaced. Acceptable file types include: .csv, .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .wpd, and .wpf.
-
Stories
Stories should be between 1000 to 2000 words. Story submissions should be typed in 12-point font, Arial or Calibri, and single-spaced. Acceptable file types include: .csv, .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .wpd, and .wpf.
-
Letters/creative nonfiction
Letters should be between 250 to 500 words. Letter submissions should be typed in 12-point font, Arial or Calibri, and single-spaced. Acceptable file types include: .csv, .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .wpd, and .wpf.
-
Surprise Us
While we ask for artwork, letters, poems, and stories, we know that people are very talented and have other ways of expressing themselves. If your submission does not fit into one of the other four categories, please submit it here. We will be happy to view whatever you surprise us with! Acceptable file types include those of text, images, audio, video, and others. Please email us at info@4YBY.org if your file is not accepted.
Judging Applications will be reviewed by 4 Youth by Youth Team and affiliated partners, and up to 15 of the most promising teams of innovators will be chosen to participate. Judging criteria will include the following: (1) clear description of the creative tool used; (2) desirability of the creative tool to youth; (3) innovation of the creative tool; and (4) feasibility of using the creative tool solution to disseminate the research findings of 4YBY to other youth. All entries are judged anonymously. No identifying information is to be included on any art, poem, story, or nonfiction piece submitted.
Prizes Top-scoring finalists will have a chance to win up to N250,000. In addition, finalists will receive a commendation and will be invited to further develop their ideas and be published in a LIGHT (LIGHT4PH.org) issue.
Potential Timeline Launch October 25th October, deadline November 25, Pitching December 1.
Contest Rules No work simultaneously submitted elsewhere, already published, or already accepted for publication is eligible for consideration (even if only excerpted, or even if revised since original publication). We consider any appearance in print or online to be a publication, including newspapers, newsletters, magazines, anthologies, chapbooks, books, websites, blogs, social media, etc. This restriction applies regardless of the size of the print run or the extent of the circulation of previously published work. Failure to comply with these criteria for eligibility will immediately disqualify any entry, regardless of when the ineligibility is discovered in the process of adjudication (submission, processing, screening, shortlisting, final judging).
