The PYD Lab

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.

Rasmus Jakobsen and Anxhela Bruci are two young entrepreneurs running startups with social good at their core. From starting up to dealing with growing pains, they share their journeys and perspectives on running businesses in Greenland and Albania, and what they want policymakers to know about young business owners.

Content warning: This episode contains a discussion about female genital mutilation (FGM), gender-based violence, and domestic violence.

It is estimated that more than three million girls will be at risk of FGM this year alone. Catherine Kimaren Mootian joins The PYD Lab as not only a survivor of FGM, but as an advocate for its eradication through her organization, AfyAfrika. Catherine shares her own powerful story and how her project, Scars to Stars, is helping other survivors find their voice and feel seen.

Content warning: This episode contains a conversation about conflict areas/situations, trauma, mental health and psychosocial support, and how one program is working with youth in Ukraine.

Listen in on a timely, informative conversation on how implementers can keep programs responsive to youth and staff needs during times of conflict. We examine rapid program considerations and the dos and don’ts of working with youth in conflict situations and areas through a positive youth development lens. Plus, we get insight on USAID’s UNITY Activity and how some programs are adapting to assist Ukrainian youth during this time.

Ecofeminist Ineza Umuhoza Grace says it is going to take the inclusion of youth and women to truly protect the environment and have climate justice for all. In this episode, we dive into the challenges young leaders of color confront when growing their organizations while trying to avoid the trappings of tokenism. Plus, Ineza shares how her organization, The Green Protector, is contributing to Rwanda’s sustainable development and inspiring the next generation of climate justice warriors.

Content warning: This episode contains a discussion about gender-based violence, domestic violence, and women and children seeking emergency shelter.

WoMen Against Rape (WAR) has been a safe haven for women and children in Botswana for the last 28 years. WAR’s Executive Director Peggie Ramaphane, Research Coordinator Helen Anne Apps, and social worker Gofileone Gontle Samakabadi visit The PYD Lab to talk about the vital role their work plays in the Northwest District and how USAID’s Collective Action to Reduce Gender-Based Violence (CARE-GBV) is helping them build an internal culture of resilience and wellness thanks to their Small Grants Program.

In this episode of The PYD Lab, we get the scoop on the Journal of Youth Development’s special issue on Positive Youth Development (PYD). We talk to issue co-editors Cassandra Jessee and Dr. Lisa Lauxman about putting the issue together, the changing PYD landscape and what YouthPower2: Learning and Evaluation learned from analyzing 17 Cross-Sectoral Youth Assessments.

Scott Warren of Democracy Moves shares his perspective on building a youth-led global movement for democracy. Learn why youth have always been at the forefront of change and how enabling them to lead now, rather than later, can have a meaningful impact on their communities.

In this episode of the PYD Lab, Natasha speaks with young changemaker Cynthia Nyongesa and Lisa Jenga of Generation Unlimited, exploring the issues women and girls still face and why safe spaces for young women and girls are so important.

In this inaugural episode, The PYD Lab explores the threats facing women in politics in Brazil. YouthLead Ambassador and law student, Fernanda Ribeiro, talks the rise of Femicide, the dangers of advocating for the dismantling of structural violence and the health crisis Brazilians face in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.