NextGen RH is dedicated to serving as an interactive platform for collaboration, innovation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge management within the adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) sphere. The CoP is headed by two co-chairs in collaboration with 13 advisory committee members based in Asia and Africa.
The advisory committee members have met once every month since April 2022 to co-design a collaborative Community of Practice led by young people.
The design meetings feature interactive discussions and exercises to foster trust, vulnerability, and open conversation about critical issues facing the field of AYSRH. Furthermore, the Advisory Committee recognizes its role in fostering the learning of its members, and organizes mini skill shot workshops to increase cross-learning skills and collaboration. Workshops focused on topics such as public speaking, building strategies, and content creation, among others.
Throughout the process of establishing an effective and diverse working model for a youth-led CoP, the team has done the following:
- Developed an adapted social-ecological model focused on knowledge management needs and gaps from an AYSRH professional’s perspective. The social-ecological model exercise helped members reflect on challenges that professionals, as well as young people, face in their homes and communities in accessing and exchanging knowledge on AYSRH topics. Members also discussed how knowledge sharing functions across multiple contexts (within organizations, among communities, and at the national level).
- Conducted a needs-gap analysis: A gap analysis assessed the ground realities to ensure the CoP’s objectives would support the work of AYSRH professionals. Through the exercise, five prominent gaps were identified and refined into objectives:
- Knowledge sharing
- Advocating for AYSRH needs
- Inter-organizational youth networks
- Capacity building for AYSRH professionals
- Reporting the needs of young people
- Built objectives for the CoP. Across several meetings, members shared challenges, gaps, and priorities to shape NextGen RH moving forward.