Author: Maria Souza

July 22nd, 2025

From May 9th to June 30th, 15 enthusiastic teenagers from Algueirão-Mem Martins parish, in the municipality of Sintra, Portugal, engaged in the first YoPA spin-off for a dynamic co-creation process.

Following the original YoPA protocol, the project combined participatory methods, systems thinking, and local knowledge to explore the factors that influence young people’s health and daily activity.

Over 14 interactive sessions facilitated by local PhD students from Lusófona University, the teens engaged in:

• Neighbourhood walks and youth-led interviews
• Systems mapping of barriers and opportunities for physical activity
• Creative activities like storytelling, games, and mini-pitches
• Solution-building in small groups
• And a big finale with ice cream, certificates, and shared reflections! 🍦🎉

With support from local stakeholders, the Phase 1 of co-creations sessions had very positive feedback and will inspire the next steps towards creating a tailored intervention for a healthier community.

This spin-off represents an important step in developing the original YoPA protocol into different sites and applying participatory research to empower youth to become co-researchers, change-makers, and advocates for better urban health.

On July 17th, YoPA and its spin-off was presented in the internal scientific event CIDEFES Day, for around 50 researchers in the field of Sports, Physical Education, Physical Activity, Exercise and Health.

If you want to know more about the community and partners of YoPA Portugal and see more pictures, take a look at this page.

May 8th, 2025

On April 28th, the YoPA Soweto team hosted a vibrant recruitment event at the Jabulani Safe-Hub, welcoming youth aged 12–18, their parents, and key community stakeholders. The session offered an open platform for families to engage directly with the team, ask questions about the intervention, and learn more about YoPA’s goals, with the objective to register youth to be part of the next phase of the project. ✨

Parents had the opportunity to sign consent forms, officially welcoming a new group of young participants. The energy was high, the conversations meaningful — and this marks another important step toward community-driven change!

#YoPA

February 17th, 2025

📢 Co-Creation in Action! ✨

In January, the YoPA Amsterdam team kickstarted the 2025 co-creation process by welcoming new participants into the Action Team.

The group, guided by facilitators from Amsterdam UMC, Jesse Vargas and Leto Demetriadou, learned about the research that was conducted by previous participants, and shared their own perspectives on these findings.

Through member-checking, we can continuously develop insights that are relevant to the local context together with our adolescent co-researchers! 💡

December 19th, 2024

🎉 YoPA’s First Year in Review!

As the project wraps up an incredible first year of interventions, it is thrilling to celebrate the milestones achieved with youth, communities, and partners across all sites. From co-creating vibrant activity-friendly neighbourhoods to sparking meaningful dialogues, it’s been an inspiring journey that has taught everyone a lot.

Watch now the 2nd official YoPA video:

Here’s to progress, partnership, and greater impact in 2025 and beyond! 🧡

#YoPA #YearInReview #CommunityEngagement

December 18th, 2024

On December 4th, 2024, the Soweto Youth Council (ages 12-17) gathered at the Jabulani Safe-Hub for a special end-of-year event hosted by the YoPA team.

The event was a heartfelt farewell, thanking the youth for their incredible participation in co-creating the project. Certificates of participation were handed out along with thoughtful gifts, and everyone enjoyed refreshments in a warm, celebratory atmosphere.

The youth expressed their gratitude, sharing how much they valued their involvement and how the project has become meaningful for their community’s future.

A big thank you to the Soweto Youth Council for their dedication and to our host partner, Jabulani Safe-Hub, for making this day memorable!

#YoPA #YouthEngagement #Soweto #CoCreation