Launched on 14 October at the World Health Summit in Berlin, the WHO Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies sets out ten calls to action for the collective efforts of governments, the private sector, academia, civil society organizations and individuals to take in empowering youth to play a central role in creating healthier societies for all. DTH-Lab played a key role in drafting and delivering the Declaration, one month after its launch we reflect on what we are doing to translate words into action. And how you can help too.
The Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies: Building well-being, resilience, and trust
The Declaration was written by members of the WHO Youth Council, of which DTH-Lab has been a member since its inception in 2022. As one of two focal points appointed by the Youth Council to lead the creation of the Declaration, DTH-Lab provided ongoing technical support and was an integral driver in making the Declaration a reality.
The Declaration’s ten calls to action are grouped into three priority areas 1) promoting health education and literacy, (2) ensuring accessible and sustainable healthcare and (3) transforming and elevating youth leadership. The Declaration is unique because it does not aim to represent the health priority areas of a specific group of young people or key concerns of youth as a population but rather it does raise the collective concerns of twenty-three youth organisations from around the world in creating healthy societies in achieving health for all.
Since the launch one month ago, DTH-Lab has endorsed the Declaration, shared it with our partners and networks across different geographies and ages and is now looking to drive the declaration forward through implementation, co-creation and strong intergenerational action across the globe.
DTH-Lab is actioning the Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies: Building Well-being, Resilience and Trust across all three priority areas.
DTH-Lab’s work on digital health citizenship provides a frame through which to pursue governance approaches that increase health equity, enfranchise communities and advance public participation in health and well-being, particularly among young people. Through the promotion of digital health citizenship people are enabled to participate in the design and governance of digital transformations of health and to co-create digital environments that promote equitable health and well-being.
Digital health citizens are individuals who can effectively use digital tools and platforms to engage in their healthcare choices, advocate for their rights and hold healthcare providers, policymakers and technology developers accountable for ensuring that all people have access to quality healthcare resources, information and services, regardless of socio-economic status or location. However, to become effective digital health citizens, individuals require a combination of digital, health and civic literacy and skills. By equipping young people with the necessary education and literacy in the health, digital and civic spaces, DTH-Lab aims to promote non-formal and innovative ways youth can partner with stakeholders in promoting their health education in a digital world.
Priority area 2 — ensuring accessible and sustainable healthcare
The Youth Declaration makes several references to creating safe and sustainable spaces for young people to not only benefit from healthy societies but also to have a meaningful role in shaping societies built for all, for today and tomorrow. With a specific call for ‘brave spaces’ where young people are empowered “to exercise their human rights and to seek the help and support they need to improve their health and well-being”.
DTH-Lab’s work on addressing the digital determinants of health aims to better understand the direct and indirect ways by which digital transformations influence equity in health and well-being and support policy that accounts for these effects. Through this work, we are coordinating with public health agencies, youth networks and other stakeholders to create safe and healthy online environments as well as to explore public health approaches that address the digital determinants of children’s health and well-being.
Through its convening power of diverse stakeholders from youth to key decision makers in the digital health ecosystem, DTH-Lab will continue to advocate for the uptake of these calls from youth in ensuring accessible and sustainable healthcare including health promotion. Acknowledging the importance of health promotion in digital spaces, DTH-Lab calls on all stakeholders across geographies, disciplines and generations to do the same.
Priority area 3 — transforming and elevating youth leadership
Since its inception in the Lancet and Financial Times Commission, DTH-Lab’s approach to meaningful engagement of young people as changemakers is at the heart of its work. More importantly, DTH-Lab has put this vision into action by transforming and elevating youth leadership through an intergenerational approach.
DTH-Lab’s bold position on youth engagement goes beyond inclusion to co-creation through its concrete work with its cohort of ten Regional Youth Champions (RYCs), the #MyHealthFutures youth network of over 1,100 young people and most recently the establishment of its Research Fellowship.
DTH-Lab has held leadership roles within the Council such as a previous steering Committee member, previous co-chair of the mental health working group and co-chair of the Universal Health Coverage working group. DTH-Lab ensured its official representative could meaningfully contribute to the work of the Youth Council by allocating sufficient working time to meet the Council’s needs. Most recently, an RYC alumnus was appointed as the official representative of the Lab and receives a stipend for the role. This reflects DTH-Lab’s commitment to strengthening capacity and following best practices in compensating young people for their contributions, ultimately in hopes of truly transforming opportunities for young leaders to meaningfully participate.
In 2024, the meaningful inclusion of young people can now be seen and felt in nearly all convening spaces at the global level. The Youth Declaration offers a great metric for assessing meaningful youth engagement and DTH-Lab will strive to apply this to drive innovative approaches in co-creating intergenerational solutions with and for youth.
Collective action — how you can support the Youth Declaration
Nothing is possible without the collective action of all stakeholders, but with the fast paced demands of everyday life, we must remember small actions lead to big change and they must be taken if meaningful impact is to be seen.
You can take the following actions to support the Youth Declaration:
As a driving force behind the Youth Declaration, DTH-Lab is committed to ensuring that it is a ‘living, breathing’ document that leads to action. DTH-Lab is excited about the Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies and committed to transforming the ten calls to action into meaningful impact through its vast network of young people and key stakeholders from global to local levels.
Whitney Gray is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at the Digital Transformations for Health Lab. She has a degree in pre-medical biology and medical ethics and holds two Masters degrees in Public Health and International Affairs.
Aferdita Bytyqi is the Executive Director of the DTH-Lab ensuring the success of overall project goals and strategic objectives of the DTH-Lab both internally and with key external stakeholders within the global health ecosystem.
© 2024 DTH-Lab. All Rights Reserved.
Whitney Gray is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at the Digital Transformations for Health Lab. She has a degree in pre-medical biology and medical ethics and holds two Masters degrees in Public Health and International Affairs. Ms Gray’s experience includes biomedical research, health systems strengthening, global health governance and civil society engagement. With a longstanding desire to advance the health and wellbeing of all, she works to improve the inclusivity of actors in the design and implementation of research, policy and solutions for health.
Aferdita Bytyqi is the Executive Director of the DTH-Lab ensuring the success of overall project goals and strategic objectives of the DTH-Lab both internally and with key external stakeholders within the global health ecosystem. With a career spanning over 25 years, she brings a wealth of progressive programmatic experience in spearheading international research, development, and regeneration initiatives on behalf of multilateral and bilateral agencies, as well as private donors. Her previous professional contributions include ICS Integrare, MBM, FAO, WHO and the Senior Coordinator of the Lancet and Financial Times Commission. Aferdita has a Dipl. Ing in Architecture and an M.Sc. in Urban Design in Development from UCL.
