A.6. Skills building seminar: Young people as drivers for public health – designing youth led initiatives in public health
Abstract
Workshop Description Young people have potential to act as powerful drivers of change, yet engaging them in public health activities, especially post-pandemic, remains a significant challenge. Health promotion often positions youth more as recipients rather than active contributors, while in reality young people represent future of public health and can bring valuable perspectives to the field. There is a growing need for more intergenerational approach, however this requires strengthening young people’s awareness and as highlighted in previous research - sparking meaningful engagement in the field. Initiatives such as European Public Health Week create opportunities for youth engagement. It acts as a catalyst for event organisation, awareness creation and connecting communities across Europe. Nonetheless, many young people still lack guidance, essential skills and tools to design and implement their own public health initiatives. This workshop’s objective is to strengthen participants’ ability to encourage younger generation to meaningfully engage and design health promotion initiatives. It is based on practical experience from organizing European Public Health Week in 2025 and 2026, as well as other educational activities, including youth panels and activities beyond Medical University of Gdansk. The session will consist of three main components: First, an introduction presenting youth-led initiatives outlining European Public Health Week and local projects, focusing on strategies which can be used to engage young people. Secondly, selected abstracts of student-led projects will be presented, focusing on key success factors and challenges. Interactive audience engagement using real-time polling tools like Mentimeter will be incorporated to facilitate discussion and feedback. This part will be crucial to allow participants to reflect on strategies, share their perspectives and discuss different approaches to youth engagement as it will provide a practical, skill-building dimension of the workshop. The final part of the workshop will focus on a moderated panel discussion involving workshop facilitators and collaborators affiliated with European public health networks, including Charlotte Marchandise (EUPHA), Prof. Łukasz Balwicki (Polish National Public Health Consultant) and Robert Otok (ASPHER). The discussion will summarise key insights, incorporate audience input and reflect on how youth-led initiatives can be further developed, scaled and adapted across European contexts. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained practical skills in engaging young people in public health, understanding key success factors of youth-led initiatives and applying intergenerational approaches to design and implement health promotion activities across diverse communities and settings.
Key messages: • Young people are not only bystanders in health promotion but should act as key drivers for public health action.
• Forming student associations and events like European Public Health Week enables younger generation to design and implement impactful public health initiatives.
Related
- B.8. Skills building seminar: Designing inclusive health systems: an interactive skills building workshop
- D.2. Skills building seminar: Which school gets the “healthy youth” program funding? Skills building for value-informed decisions
- M.8. Skills building seminar: Building skills in using AI tools to support evidence reviews for effective public health strategies
- M.11. Skills building seminar: Building Effective Public Health Communication Strategies
- C.10. Skills building seminar: Critical health literacy in the digital age: skills to navigate a distorted information environment
BibTeX
@article{publichealthscientificcirclemedicaluniversityofgdanskpoland2026skills,
title = {{A.6. Skills building seminar: Young people as drivers for public health – designing youth led initiatives in public health}},
author = {Public Health Scientific Circle - Medical University of Gdańsk (Poland), EUPHA, ASPHER and Karolina Cieścińska},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.312},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.312},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A.6. Skills building seminar: Young people as drivers for public health – designing youth led initiatives in public health
AU - Public Health Scientific Circle - Medical University of Gdańsk (Poland), EUPHA, ASPHER
AU - Karolina Cieścińska
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.312
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.312
AB - Workshop Description Young people have potential to act as powerful drivers of change, yet engaging them in public health activities, especially post-pandemic, remains a significant challenge. Health promotion often positions youth more as recipients rather than active contributors, while in reality young people represent future of public health and can bring valuable perspectives to the field. There is a growing need for more intergenerational approach, however this requires strengthening young people’s awareness and as highlighted in previous research - sparking meaningful engagement in the field. Initiatives such as European Public Health Week create opportunities for youth engagement. It acts as a catalyst for event organisation, awareness creation and connecting communities across Europe. Nonetheless, many young people still lack guidance, essential skills and tools to design and implement their own public health initiatives. This workshop’s objective is to strengthen participants’ ability to encourage younger generation to meaningfully engage and design health promotion initiatives. It is based on practical experience from organizing European Public Health Week in 2025 and 2026, as well as other educational activities, including youth panels and activities beyond Medical University of Gdansk. The session will consist of three main components: First, an introduction presenting youth-led initiatives outlining European Public Health Week and local projects, focusing on strategies which can be used to engage young people. Secondly, selected abstracts of student-led projects will be presented, focusing on key success factors and challenges. Interactive audience engagement using real-time polling tools like Mentimeter will be incorporated to facilitate discussion and feedback. This part will be crucial to allow participants to reflect on strategies, share their perspectives and discuss different approaches to youth engagement as it will provide a practical, skill-building dimension of the workshop. The final part of the workshop will focus on a moderated panel discussion involving workshop facilitators and collaborators affiliated with European public health networks, including Charlotte Marchandise (EUPHA), Prof. Łukasz Balwicki (Polish National Public Health Consultant) and Robert Otok (ASPHER). The discussion will summarise key insights, incorporate audience input and reflect on how youth-led initiatives can be further developed, scaled and adapted across European contexts. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained practical skills in engaging young people in public health, understanding key success factors of youth-led initiatives and applying intergenerational approaches to design and implement health promotion activities across diverse communities and settings. Key messages: • Young people are not only bystanders in health promotion but should act as key drivers for public health action. • Forming student associations and events like European Public Health Week enables younger generation to design and implement impactful public health initiatives.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -