On August 12th, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) and its local partners around the world celebrated International Youth Day, which raises awareness of the challenges and issues facing young people worldwide, while promoting their engagement and empowerment as equal partners in global development and advocacy. Our Food and Nutrition Program is strongly committed to empowering youth advocates to effectively engage in and lead healthy food policy campaigns. We recognize that meaningful youth engagement is critical and support young people to be fully integrated into decision-making processes as valued and respected stakeholders.
Our partners in the Caribbean – Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) and Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB) – all leveraged the day to center youth voices through an array of dynamic activities. HCC prioritized youth perspectives by partnering with youth advocates from across the region to share video testimonials urging governments to prioritize healthy foods in schools instead of ultra-processed products. HCC, alongside their youth wing Healthy Caribbean youth (HCY), also hosted an engaging Instagram Live discussion, When the School Bell Rings - What’s in Your School Food Environment, that brought together a panel of youth advocates from across the region to share their experiences, insights and solutions for creating healthier school food environments. They stressed the importance of keeping youth voices at the forefront of the movement.
JYAN partnered with the Caribbean Regional Youth Council (CRYC) to host a digital town hall on X with over 200 participants entitled "Beyond Tokenism: Using the Digital Space for Meaningful Engagement." The virtual event featured a panel of young academics and advocates who shared successful strategies from across the Caribbean to ensure that issues affecting young people are meaningfully addressed by regional policymakers.
In Barbados, HSFB amplified several youth advocate voices in social media videos and appearances on the television program Mornin’ Barbados to advocate for implementing the National School Nutrition Policy, which bans the sale and marketing of ultra-processed products in school feeding environments. HSFB was also featured in a Barbados Today article highlighting their new initiative, Cool School Nutrition Tour, in collaboration with the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Michron Robinson, HSFB’s Youth Health Advocacy Officer, stated: "Our children deserve the basic right to enabling school food environments and so with the push for the proper implementation of our School Nutrition Policy we want to encourage our youth to make healthy choices. This is where our Cool School Nutrition Tour comes in, we have been out in the schools across Barbados educating and engaging with our young ones about the importance of such a policy. About the fact that there is hope for them and that there is a greater vision to leading a good quality of life through healthy choices."
The impactful initiatives led by our partners make it clear that youth voices are not just being heard but are driving change in the realm of healthy food policy across the Caribbean. HCC, JYAN and HSFB’s partnerships with young people exemplify the power of youth-led advocacy and the importance of their contributions in influencing policy and fostering a healthier future for all.
