October 10th, 2025
From August 26th to 29th, during the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS) Conference, held in Groningen, in The Netherlands, YoPA took part in an inspiring roundtable session titled “Youth-centred co-creation in European projects – challenges and successes.”
The session brought together researchers from three European initiatives that place youth at the heart of research, empowering them as co-creators of knowledge and action for health and wellbeing.
Representatives of the YoPA team in Amsterdam were strongly present. Prof. Mai Chin A Paw opened the discussion, emphasizing the rising interest in co-creation research and the current lack of evidence, guidance, and need for a shared understanding of co-creation processes. PhD student Leto Demetriadou presented the YoPA project during one of the session’s short pitches, sharing insights from co-creating interventions with adolescents in diverse European and African settings. The session concluded with an open dialogue on lessons learned, current developments, and priorities for advancing youth-centred co-creation in research, which was facilitated by Dr. Teatske Altenburg.
Contributions from the Smart Change and CONNECTION projects further enriched the conversation, each showcasing innovative strategies for engaging youth in health-promoting initiatives.
At its core, the roundtable emphasized that today’s youth grow up in increasingly diverse societies where structural inequalities persist. Public spaces, schools, and health systems are often designed by adults from privileged backgrounds, resulting in environments that may not fully reflect young people’s lived realities. By engaging youth as co-researchers, initiatives like YoPA aim to promote health equity, social justice, and community-driven innovation.
This session underscored the shared commitment across European projects to amplify young voices, create inclusive research processes, and build healthier, more equitable communities.