Centering young people’s voice and agency in and through research and policy

Afternoon activities will take place one block away at the Brookings Institution.

1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

This workshop will engage participants around research conducted with adolescent girls in marginalized contexts across 8 countries. Key questions include: what does agency mean to adolescent girls? What situational, relational and structural factors impact that? And what can each of us do to promote girls’ agency and well-being?

Many youth programs develop life skills like leadership, empathy, and resilience—but measuring their change is complex. This interactive workshop explores challenges and lessons from NGOs in India, Mexico, and Peru. Participants will share experiences and best practices, leaving with insights and commitments to strengthen life skills measurement in their local contexts.

Join Rebecca Winthrop, author of The Disengaged Teen, and student technology advocate Isabel Sunderland to explore prioritizing student voices in education. The workshop will cover supporting student agency in a world of Generative AI, fostering healthy communication, and leveraging AI in classrooms. Learn how to connect with students and ensure their engagement, as technology transforms education.

Young children around the world are increasingly being affected by conflict and crisis, yet their voices are not always heard. This session will share three innovative projects that uplifted young children’s voices in humanitarian crisis. Contexts include migrants on the move (Colombia), children recovering from a natural disaster (Turkey), and those living in a refugee camp that will likely be their home for decades to come (Bangladesh).

This workshop will explore how to meaningfully center and engage student voices in the SPARKS Research Policy Collaboratives. Through case studies, interactive discussions, and strategic brainstorming, participants will identify barriers and co-develop practical approaches to ensure student engagement in research moves beyond symbolic participation.

In this workshop, NEST (Network for Education Systems Transformation) will share the work of its youth engagement sub-group and explore NEST’s evolving vision of meaningful youth engagement. Through a dynamic Vision Wall exercise, participants will co-create context-specific ideas and consolidate key indicators defining what effective youth engagement could look like.

This workshop will provide the opportunity to learn about and practice girl-centered methodologies that seek to center the voices, experiences, and knowledge of girls in research and action to promote agency. Together, participants will dissect and discuss approaches to shaping research with girls and according to their needs and dreams.

Youth are often invited to participate as token participants in educational research and practice, but not given equal and intentional roles in designing, implementing, and leading efforts. Hear about how to move beyond positioning youth as subjects and objects of research to co-leading intergenerational research and supporting youth-led research like youth participatory action research.