Back in our May 2021 newsletter we introduced the youth participating in our National Youth Advisory Board (NYAB) internship program, a component of the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) and today we’re excited to give you our newest update! The GEAS NYAB internship is an advisory and capacity-building opportunity for youth to make sure that our local implementation of GEAS is relevant and responsive to the unique needs of adolescents in New Orleans. GEAS NYAB sites in Chile, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Indonesia, Malawi, and the United States were asked to select one or two of their NYAB members to represent their site/country among a Global Youth Advisory Board (GYAB) that will inform both the third Phase of GEAS and youth engagement strategies across the globe.

Our New Orleans NYAB interns Kristalynn Gross (she/her, 17) and Ekundayo Akinlana (he/him, 18) served as GYAB representatives for the United States. GYAB members were invited by the GEAS Coordinating Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, to attend a GYAB Youth Summit in Bali, Indonesia from June 27-29, and Ekundayo embarked on his first international journey to represent his city and country and – most of all – to take a seat at the table with other youth from around the world to share his lived experiences and what he feels are the most important and timely issues to address to improve the health and wellbeing of adolescents.

During the summit, young people engaged in group discussions and capacity-building sessions to provide their feedback on findings from GEAS data; learned to process how gender norms, attitudes, and beliefs that impact the health and wellbeing of adolescents; and learned how to develop key messages and strategies for meaningful youth engagement, raising awareness of adolescents’ health concerns, and advocacy. GYAB members presented group projects they had been collaborating on months before the summit. Ekundayo, along with youth from Chile and Malawi, presented a project on how gender norms, specifically harmful ones, are reinforced in product and service advertisements, and also presented examples of how some companies are moving toward diversity, inclusion, and broader representation of identities in their marketing strategies. The youth from Indonesia and the DRC presented a media strategy on how to provide a safe space for youth to access medically-accurate information and host dialogues about reproductive health and rights. Besides the work, the youth also got to participate in networking and bonding activities and experience Bali’s unique culture during their down time. The group enjoyed walks on the beach, trying the local cuisine, exploring the seaside Uluwatu Temple, and marveling at a traditional Kecak Fire Dance.

Ekundayo shared the following quote about his experience:

My experience at the GEAS Youth Summit was truly eye-opening and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It was very unique because it drew together youth from all over the world with vastly different backgrounds and allowed us to have a focused discourse about issues concerning youth. The Summit being held in Bali, an island bursting with culture, set the perfect setting for everything, with the hard-working yet peaceful nature of the island and its people. This setting provided a constant reminder to us that with respect for your peers and an open mind, you can help improve not only your community, but the world, with collaboration. Having finally met my peers from all over the world and being able to have this gathering showed me on a tangible level that no matter how many miles there are in between people, we are all more alike than we are different. This was an outstanding opportunity and it’s something I definitely learned a lot from and something that will help me in future endeavors in life.

To learn more about the GEAS Global Youth Advisory Board, please contact Jakevia Green, MPH, Director of Programs.