Written by Aishat Adedoyin Koledowo, Youth Advisory Board Co-chair (S-ITEST) and Nomujuni Neale Natukwatsa, Youth Advisory Board Co-chair Co-chair (MUJHU)

YAB members gather in person for the first time at the pre-meeting workshop in Lagos, Nigeria.

Building the Skills to Lead

The journey began with capacity building.

Throughout the year, YAB members strengthened their skills in research writing, storytelling, blogging, digital communication, and translating complex research findings into language and formats that young people can understand and connect with. These experiences were not simply about acquiring new skills; they created the foundation for members to participate more meaningfully in the research process.

As confidence grew, so did the opportunities to contribute.

For Pimer Clare, a YAB member from MUJHU, the experience has changed how she sees her place within research, “Being part of the YAB and youth-led dissemination has helped me see myself as an active partner in research, representing young people’s voices and ensuring findings reach and benefit our communities.”

That shift from being a recipient of research to seeing oneself as an active partner became an important thread throughout the YAB’s work in 2026.

From Learning to Co-Creating

With this foundation in place, the YAB began developing a Youth-Led Research Dissemination Framework, bringing greater structure to the question of how young people can work alongside researchers to communicate HIV implementation science.

The framework is rooted in collaboration, co-creation, accessibility, and youth leadership. Rather than positioning young people at the end of the research process, it creates space for them to contribute to decisions about how findings are translated, which messages are prioritized, what formats are most accessible, and how research can be communicated in ways that resonate with young audiences.

For Beene Chitempa of ZAIMARA, this experience reinforced the importance of closing the gap between research participation and access to research knowledge, “It (being a YAB member) has made me realize that beyond participating in research, we must intentionally share findings with participants and communities, ensuring research knowledge reaches those who contributed to it.”

Putting the Approach into Practice in Lagos

Ideas started to take shape in a new way during the PATC³H-IN Annual Meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, from May 4–7, 2026.

For the first time, YAB members came together in person for a dedicated pre-meeting workshop focused on youth-led research dissemination. The workshop provided space to test ideas, exchange perspectives, receive feedback, and think through how research findings could be transformed into engaging and accessible content for young people.

The conversation continued at the Annual Meeting, where the YAB Co-Chairs — Aishat Adedoyin Koledowo (S-ITEST, Nigeria) and Nomujuni Natukwatsa (MUJHU, Uganda) — presented “Youth Advisory Board: Reality Check & Translation.” The presentation highlighted the evolving contributions of YAB members across manuscripts, abstracts, social media, dissemination planning, and implementation science.

Lagos became more than a meeting point. It became a bridge between capacity building and application, giving YAB members an opportunity to move from discussing youth-led dissemination to actively putting it into practice.

Turning Evidence into Stories

Following the Annual Meeting, the YAB moved from planning to production. Members worked with researchers to translate complex research findings into short, accessible videos. They developed key messages and video scripts, produced the videos, and worked alongside researchers to ensure that scientific findings remained accurate while becoming easier for broader audiences to understand and engage with.

This was a significant moment in the YAB’s journey.

Young people were no longer simply advising on what researchers should consider. They were creating the content through which research could be understood and shared.

For Hannah Nancy Nkhoma of VS4A, Malawi, the experience has strengthened both her confidence and her understanding of what youth participation can look like: “Being part of YAB and youth-led dissemination has shown me that young people can shape research, and it has also strengthened my confidence that I can integrate youth voices into meaningful research practice.”

The videos became a practical expression of the belief that research should be translated with young people, rather than simply translated for them.

Looking Beyond Production to Reach

As the videos were shared, the YAB began looking beyond the question of whether content had been produced to a more important question: what difference might different dissemination approaches make to the visibility and reach of research?

Between May 26 and July 17, 2026, manuscripts with video promotion recorded 183 abstract views compared with 61 for manuscripts without video promotion. Promotion also led to 16 full-text downloads compared with 10. The difference was also visible in citation counts. Between May 26 and August 22, 2026, manuscripts with video promotion recorded 46 citations compared with 15 for manuscripts without video promotion.

These are observed differences between manuscripts with and without video promotion and do not, on their own, establish that video promotion caused the higher levels of engagement or citations. Nevertheless, the findings provide an important opportunity for the YAB and research teams to explore how creative, youth-led approaches can contribute to making research more visible and accessible.

For the YAB, measurement is becoming part of the dissemination process itself, helping the team understand what reaches audiences, how they engage, and what can be improved.

Taking Youth Leadership into Research Spaces

The YAB’s growing role has not been limited to digital dissemination. Engagement with the Scientific Leadership Committee (SLC) and External Research and Scientific Board (ERSB) provided opportunities for YAB members to share their progress, receive feedback, and demonstrate how youth-led dissemination can strengthen the relationship between research and the communities it seeks to serve.

The YAB also carried its voice beyond PATC³H-IN. At AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, YAB representation gave voice to youth perspectives on international conversations on HIV, health research, and meaningful youth engagement, including participation in youth co-creation spaces.

The YAB’s contribution to the WHO/TDR Practical Youth Co-Creation Guide launched in April, further reflected its commitment to meaningful participation. The guide reinforces the importance of involving young people from the beginning of research and programme processing not bringing them in only after the key decisions have already been made.

Together, these experiences are helping redefine what youth leadership can look like within research.

Mba Chinedu Ude of iCARE+ Nigeria reflected, “Being part of YAB has shifted my focus to amplifying youth voices in research. I am more intentional about inclusivity and impact now, and it has made me see research as a tool for youth empowerment, not just data collection. Now I focus on amplifying voices and driving change.”

From Youth Voice to Youth Leadership

The YAB’s journey in 2026 has ultimately been about more than dissemination. It has been about transformation. Transformation in how young people see themselves within research. Transformation in how researchers and young people collaborate. And transformation in how evidence can move from academic publications into conversations, platforms, and communities where it can be widely understood and utilized.

The next phase for YAB will build on this foundation by strengthening youth-led research products, expanding collaboration between YAB members and researchers, developing digital storytelling and communication skills, documenting lessons, and using engagement data to refine future dissemination approaches.

The goal is not simply to create more content. It is to continue creating the skills, structures, platforms, and opportunities that allow young people to meaningfully shape research and lead how knowledge is communicated.

Because significant youth engagement is not only about giving young people a seat at the table. It is about ensuring they have the skills to contribute, the space to co-create, the confidence to lead, and the opportunity to see their ideas move beyond the table and into action.

From youth voice to youth leadership, 2026 has been a year of putting that principle into practice and the journey is only beginning.

Written by Nomujuni Neale Natukwatsa, INSPIRE Youth Advisory Board Co-Chair

What happens when young people, researchers, health practitioners and community stakeholders from different countries, institutions and lived experiences come together in one room not simply to talk about young people, but to co-create with them?

That was the spirit of the Youth Co-creation for Health Workshop held at the Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca at Fiocruz Manguinhos ahead of AIDS 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The workshop brought together participants representing a diverse range of organisations and institutions, including CEDAPS, Baylor-Botswana, University of Washington, Wake Forest University, Rio Youth Force, Decola Cria/GOYN Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz, RNAJVHA, ACS, SZNDIR, UNICEF, INT EVOLUX and UNC, among others. The diversity extended beyond institutional affiliations. With at least 70% of participants speaking Portuguese, the workshop created a valuable bridge between the local youth community in Rio and the international AIDS 2026 community.

This diversity was important. It meant that conversations about youth participation were not happening from a single perspective. Young people, researchers, community organisations, academic institutions and global health partners brought different experiences and ways of understanding the challenges facing young people in health.

Group photo during the Rio Youth Co-creation Workshop.

From participation to partnership

The workshop was built around the Youth Co-creation for Health: Practical Guide, developed by SESH in partnership with UNICEF and TDR. The guide approaches youth co-creation as an iterative process in which young people and researchers work together while deliberately recognising and addressing power imbalances.

 The afternoon began with introductions to the practical guide, reflections celebrating Rio’s youth, an exploration of Fiocruz’s role in the local youth community, and a discussion on inclusion. The discussion included the question of what it takes to ensure that young people dealing with systematic stigma are not left behind. And a panel brought together perspectives from WHO, CEDAPS, Decola Cria, RNAJVHA, and Fiocruz, creating space for dialogue between local and international experiences.

But the heart of the workshop was the co-creation activity.

Participants worked in small groups of six to eight, bringing young people and adults together to explore two practical questions. The first question asked how we might imagine a future where young people facing systemic stigma — including those living with HIV, disabilities, and other conditions — are not discriminated against or excluded from work. The second question challenged participants to think creatively about how the Youth Co-creation Practical Guide could be disseminated in different settings with young people taking the lead.

Participants were encouraged to pay attention to power imbalances, create space for young people’s contributions, generate ideas together, and identify their strongest proposals before sharing them with the wider group. This was co-creation in practice. Not a presentation about youth participation, but a room where people had to listen, negotiate, create, and make decisions together.

When the conversation continued beyond Fiocruz

One of the most memorable aspects of the workshop was that the conversation did not end when the formal programme ended. Later that evening, participants gathered for dinner, creating an informal space to continue exchanging experiences, challenge ideas, build friendships, and explore opportunities for future collaboration. For a workshop centered on relationships and shared power, this informal continuation mattered. It allowed people to connect beyond their institutional roles and discover the experiences and motivations behind the work.

The group enjoying a post-workshop dinner.

Why this matters for INSPIRE

The Rio workshop demonstrated an important principle; meaningful youth engagement is not about simply creating opportunities for young people to participate. It is about creating processes where young people can influence the questions, contribute their knowledge and lived experiences, shape solutions, and help determine what success looks like.

It also demonstrated the value of bringing different communities together. Local youth organisations and community networks. Researchers and universities. Global health institutions and international partners. Young people and adults. Different perspectives, brought into the same space, can challenge assumptions and create possibilities that may not emerge when people work in isolation.

This workshop offered a practical example of what youth co-creation can look like when diversity is treated as an asset rather than a complication.

The lesson from Rio is simple. Young people should not simply be invited to the table. They should help shape what is on it.

And the co-creation continues.