Written by Aamna Haq & Raissa Umutoni, 2022 YLC Members

In most parts of the world, the largest segment of the population is youth. However, young people continue to be left out in discussions on political and socioeconomic issues that directly or indirectly affect their lives.

Thanks to programs like YLabs’ Youth Leadership Cohort, young people from different nationalities now have a platform to share their voices and play an active role in shaping global projects that address the challenges faced by their fellow youth.

During the YLC program, we’ve been involved in different design projects, learned about YLabs’ youth-driven approach, and shared our perspective to help design more effective and sustainable solutions. We’ve also been equipped with practical skills such as career readiness, communication, and project designing – all of which have come in handy in our cohort project.

On Youth Involvement

As a youth activist, I have always had a dream of building an organization that advocates for young people, but I’ve doubted my abilities because people often tell me that I’m too young, not experienced, and not an expert! It’s really inspiring to see how this group of young people at YLabs is changing the narrative and designing projects that are impacting thousands of youth around the world.

“I’d say that my time with YLabs has increased my self-confidence and belief that young people are actually capable of positively impacting their societies.”

— Raissa Umutoni

On a Youth-Driven Approach

As a young person, I've always thought that there was a barrier for me to cross in terms of opportunity. I also didn't have much of a voice in conversations due to my age and lack of experience, even though I had big dreams and ideas about how I wanted to work at the intersection of public health and human-centered design. As I got closer to my university graduation date, I felt like I was at a crossroads. After a long period of introspection around the career path I wanted to take, I discovered YLabs, an organization that valued young peoples' voices in the context of health and economic opportunity.

“At YLabs, the age barrier doesn't exist as youth are encouraged to speak up and share their ideas.”

— Aamna Haq

I've been able to dive into YLabs’ portfolio of projects, like Tegura Ejo Heza, which is centered on young people's mental health in Rwanda. I was able to participate in research synthesis, presentation content-drafting, and product testing. I've also been trained on numerous topics – from interview and networking skills to human-centered design processes and epidemiology. Most of all, I've had the opportunity to work with my team, the Youth Leadership Cohort, and design our own project from the ground-up, centering our work in the youth-driven design process, and staying true to the communities we're working with — young people just like us.

If you are interested in supporting our 2023 Youth Leadership Cohort, you can donate here.