 is a PhD student in Dal's School of Health and  is a Professor of Health Promotion and Scientific Director of the Healthy Populations Institute at .
Youth and young adults hold unique, creative and diverse perspectives and approaches compared to their adult counterparts. Think about the advocacy of and around climate change and climate justice or advocacy for all childrenâs rights to receive an education.
While these advocates have challenged the marginalization of childrenâs and young peopleâs voices in the context of countriesâ governance typically structured around adult participation, countries around the globe have ratified the and many organizations work to amplify youth voices.
Our work with the in Nova Scotia, Canada, is aimed at supporting the health and learning of school-aged children and youth by empowering them to take the lead in making their school communities more supportive, healthy, sustainable and safe.
We share this work as part of observing on Aug. 12, a day to celebrate, acknowledge and recognize the rights of young people to drive social change for themselves, their communities and the world. We also share it to support youth engagement in social change and healthier school communities year round.
Health Promoting Schools
The UpLift Partnership is rooted in a global movement and model of , first championed by and driven by the insight that âhealth is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life.â
Involving youth in promoting health in schools can catalyze â what researchers call their âaction competence.â
This includes building knowledge, motivation and competencies that align with this yearâs .
Building âgreen skillsâ
The Uplift Partnership brings together different stakeholders such as school communities, government partners and not-for-profit organizations and is hosted at .
The partnership between these diverse parties is grounded in designed to enhance youth engagement within the Health Promoting Schools model.
Over the past four years, youth have led projects through the support of UpLift student action grants. Building green skills helps them to understand the between health, well-being and nature.
Tranquility Garden
In fall 2020, in the COVID-19 pandemic, a student group in Northport, N.S., created an outdoor space for their school community. Prior to this, the school did not have a physical outdoor seating area or place for the students and staff to connect with nature, despite its rural location.
The Tranquility Garden now provides students, staff and animals with a calming and enjoyable place to visit and play. Students and staff planted fruit trees, flowers and shrubs, and built benches for seating to create the garden.
This student-led initiative has given this school a place to learn, play and connect outdoors.
Outdoor shelter, cooking by fire
Over 90 students worked on an UpLift student action grant to create an outdoor shelter with a stove at their school in Colchester, N.S.
Prior to installing the hot tent shelter and stove, few students at the school had the desire to learn outside due to the exposed nature of the outdoor space.
The outdoor shelter now serves as a space for multiple learning opportunities that connect the students to their environment, like stargazing, cooking by fire and building outdoor education skills. It is also a place for students to simply connect and socialize with peers outside.
Farm-to-school movement
A student action team in Tatamagouche, N.S., worked with UpLift to purchase salad bar infrastructure where they can prepare the food they grow and harvest in their school gardens. This station is the final piece of a growing in their school. The school community already had plans to build a school garden and greenhouse.
This funding provided the salad bar infrastructure necessary to support more diverse and nutritious food options at the school cafeteria. This infrastructure also supports youth building green leadership skills through sustainable food processes such as menu development and food preparation.
Healthier futures
These are just a few examples of how youth have the capacity and potential to change their school community. As , youth participation in school health promotion enhances youth knowledge, competence, motivation and commitments to health and well-being. This, in turn, will help young people become active citizens for a healthier future.
There is no day like today to advocate, highlight and build awareness of the transformative power of youth voices in making our world a more sustainable and healthy society. As famously quoted by Thunberg, â,â and a difference is never too small to impact the world.
Follow the #YouthLead initiative by the to celebrate International Youth Day. It is time for youth to have a lead role on the worldâs stage, and for more adults to uplift them.
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