Following this introduction, the session will explore two other empowering methodologies for investigating youth access to sexual and reproductive health services and information: cellphilming and photovoice approaches. We will then delve into how these participatory visual methods can be employed to capture and convey the experiences of young people in a way that allows for authenticity, impact, and ethics. We will draw examples from a research study that uses photovoice to explore the sexual and reproductive health experiences of young women and girls living with HIV in Ghana.

Participants will learn about the advantages and challenges of these methodologies and also how they can be adapted based on different experiences, contexts, and backgrounds.

Participants will break out into small groups for a hands-on activity in this section. Each group will reflect on their chosen topic and plan to implement their cellphilm activity. They will then engage in a storyboarding exercise where they will plan out a short video about their experiences with youth accessing SRH services or any other public health topic of their choice. This activity is designed to foster innovation, creativity, collaboration, and empathy, allowing participants to step into the shoes of young people navigating SRH services. Facilitators will work with the groups to provide support, ethical guidance, and discussions throughout this session.

After the storyboarding, the next session will focus on each group discussing their planned video and discussing their chosen story, sharing insights about their experiences with the exercise, and collaborating with team members. The debrief portion will provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on the challenges and opportunities highlighted by their stories and to consider the broader implications for public health or SRH service accessibility in their various contexts or backgrounds.
The next session will then focus on the broader group discussion. We will collectively brainstorm strategies for addressing the negative experiences highlighted in the participants and promoting the positive ones. Together with the facilitators, participants will think critically about how these strategies can be implemented in their own contexts, taking into account cultural, social, policy, practice, and structural factors.

To ensure the creation of a community at the end of the workshop for ongoing support and collaboration, we will form a Google Group account or the selected social media account where participants can continue to share resources, experiences, and ideas on more participatory and empowering programming methods. This online participants community will serve as a valuable platform for networking and tool kit for learning, and advocating for youth-centered approaches in SRH research and programming.

Target Audience: Practitioner, researchers and students