The PYD Lab YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation

Join us for an interesting conversation on mental health as we examine its intersection with positive youth development. In this episode, we delve into pressing issues affecting youth's mental well-being — from rapid information consumption to invisible mental health issues and past experiences. We look at utilizing best practices from the Trauma-informed Approach while promoting overlapping aspects of mental health found in The Positive Youth Development Framework. Plus, we give implementers better insight into integrating mental health into their youth programming.

Sustainability professional and Founder of The Climate Education Initiative Project, Azeez Tobi Abubakar, joins us in The PYD Lab to share his passion for climate action, sustainable development, and innovation. We discuss green job opportunities for Nigerian youth and Azeez shares essential skills young people need for success in the sector.

In this episode of The PYD Lab, we delve into the multifaceted and growing world of digital literacy with Digital Transformation Analyst, Steffon Lewis, hailing from the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Trinidad and Tobago. Lewis talks about ethical tech use, the rise of artificial intelligence, worrisome trends, and the delicate balance between internet regulation and personal freedoms. 

We are celebrating and commemorating PRIDE Month in the United States by turning the spotlight on helping LGBTQIA+ youth build positive youth identities, calling for economic equity, and advocating for human rights. Guest advocate and lawyer Nandini Tanya Lallmon leads us in a thoughtful discussion on advocacy and shares insights into the challenges of campaign reform. 

Bridging the gap for young women and girls is top of mind this International Women’s Day as we are all called to Embrace Equity. The PYD Lab welcomes entrepreneur and former YouthLead Ambassador Abimbola Ajala, founder of LendAHandAfrica. We learn about her organization’s determination to make sure girls are educated, too, and why messaging and getting others on board matters in achieving equity.

Organismal zoologist Collin VanBuren and agroindustrial entrepreneur Johan Sebastian Chavez Mosquera join us for an exciting episode on food waste and sustainability. Learn more about the impact of USAID's Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, how using a circular economy to organically innovate tomorrow’s food sources can help with sustainability, and why using small insects to transform organic waste into food might be the wave of the future.