In today's rapidly evolving world, young people are often left on the sidelines of decision-making. At YLabs, we recognize this gap and are dedicated to bridging it through our Youth Leadership Cohort(YLC), a program we launched in 2021, designed specifically to empower young voices in shaping the future.

Each year, we select up to four individuals aged between 16 and 25 to join our organization. This group of young people provide essential expertise and feedback on projects and strategic planning that will directly affect young people as YLabs continues to grow. After all, lived expertise is the best and most accurate form of feedback when it comes to designing with youth.

Here is a glimpse into the program and what we hope to achieve:

1. Build the next generation of digital social impact leaders

Young people are consistently underrepresented in the field of digital design and lack role models, which often discourages them from pursuing careers in this area. This gap has significant implications: programs with the potential to impact their health and economic futures are frequently developed without youth’s ideas, vision, and insights.

Through the YLC, our goal is to amplify young leaders' power by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to integrate design and technology for social impact. By doing so, we bridge the representation gap in digital design and ensure that future programs benefit from the rich, diverse perspectives and creativity of youth.

2. Center youth in the decisions and direction of YLabs’ global work

Our mission at YLabs has always been centered on a core principle: to meaningfully and measurably involve young people at every stage of our projects. From the initial conception to the design phase, through implementation and right up to the evaluation, their presence and participation are integral.

Each Youth Leadership Cohort member is assigned to a project based on their interests and familiarity with a region. This is to help guide our projects toward greater relevance and impact, ensuring that our solutions are directly informed by the needs and aspirations of young people.

3. Provide youth with work experience and career readiness skills

The lack of paid opportunities and mentorship for young people presents a significant barrier to their professional development. The YLC is structured to offer up to 12 hours per month of flexible engagement, and fairly compensate them for their time and expertise. We also pair participants with experienced designers and researchers from our team as mentors who help guide them through their time at YLabs.

As a youth-driven organization, we strive to put the voices of young people at the center of every decision we make. Creating a Youth Leadership Cohort is just one way we are operationalizing our mission, vision, and values.

Will you support the YLC 2024? Your contribution, whether it's $5 or $500, plays a crucial role in helping us achieve our objective and empowers these outstanding young leaders to create a meaningful impact through digital innovation.

Interested in learning more about YLabs’ work to help youth lead the way? Check out our projects!