Regional Youth Champions (RYCs)
Call for Applications: Regional Youth Champions – Cohort 2025-2026
Regional Youth Champions (RYCs) are key partners in Digital Transformations for Health Lab’s (DTH-Lab) work. This partnership derives from the previous experiences and lessons learned in meaningfully engaging young people during the Lancet and Financial Times Commission.
Deadline for applications is 19 August 2025 at 23:59 CEST.
Goal and objectives
The overarching goal of the cohort is to help connect the work of the Lab to the regional and local level as well as bring the voice of youth from their regions to the work of the Lab. Through concerted efforts that capture and reflect the diverse views and experiences of young people within the activities and outputs of DTH-Lab, RYCs support young people at the local, regional and global level to become informed and enfranchised digital health citizens, co-creators of digital first health systems and innovative thought leaders with the skills and capacities to be key stakeholders in the digital transformation of health.
The cohort of RYCs play a pivotal role in advancing DTH-Lab’s work by promoting findings and initiatives, fostering community engagement and facilitating knowledge exchange.
Cohort objectives:
- Amplify messaging and recommendations from DTH-Lab with regional and national youth networks through the #MyHealthFuttures Youth Network and other personal channels including social media.
- Provide insights, key concerns and proposed solutions to improve the health and well-being of young people at the regional and local levels.
- Co-design and co-create youth focused research, policy and solutions
- Advocate for inclusion of youth voices in external governance processes by raising the key concerns of youth by joining events, consultations, workshops and other dialogues
RYC Profile
RYCs will play a role in supporting the DTH-Lab’s workstream objectives:
- Create and promote adoption of a blueprint for digital first health systems that are co-designed and governed by young people, are responsive to their health needs, and strengthen digital health citizenship.
- Support implementation of a framework for governing health futures that provides governments, technology companies and other stakeholders with guidance on how to build a trusted and inclusive governance architecture based on data solidarity and Health for All values.
- Share research and create a sustainable platform to engage governments, technology companies, youth organisations and other key actors to take coordinated actions to address the digital determinants of health.
- Equip youth at the regional and local level with the necessary literacy and opportunities to connect with decision makers to shape health policies through efforts in advancing digital citizenship for health
Expectations of RYCs are as follows, but not limited to:
- Support the development of events, articles and other outputs led by DTH-Lab
- Provide insights and expertise on the three work streams of DTH-Lab
- Collaborate with other RYCs to provide written/oral contributions
- Support partnership building with key stakeholders and other youth networks
- Share strategic and innovative ideas that support the overall vision and mission of DTH-Lab
- Serve as messengers and disseminators of DTH-Lab’s work at the regional level
- Ensure that key outputs are distributed across social media platforms including Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Whatsapp, etc.
- Involved in partnerships to learn about scholarly communications in the digital health space, with an emphasis on understanding and contributing to the peer review process
- Improve the diversity and inclusivity of young people in the #MyHealthFutures Youth Network
- Join panel discussions, podcasts and other forms of knowledge sharing platforms as youth champions
Regional Breakdown
RYCs represent seven different regions based on the groupings used by the Sustainable Development Goals, including
Sub-Saharan Africa
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Northern Africa and Western Asia
Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, State of Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
Central and Southern Asia
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia
China, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, Macao Special Administrative Region, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Latin America and the Caribbean
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Saint Martin (French part), Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Australia and New Zealand, Oceania
Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, Melanesia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Guam, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Polynesia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Pitcairn, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, American Samoa, Samoa
Europe and Northern America
Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, United States of America, Bulgaria, Belarus, Czechia, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Kosovo, Ukraine, Åland Islands, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Isle of Man, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Sweden, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Gibraltar, Greece, Holy See, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia , Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands
Stipend
To support the work of the Regional Youth Champion, DTH-Lab will provide a monthly stipend of 230 USD, payable every 3 months, in the period from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. RYCs should plan to spend roughly 10 hours a month dedicated to this role. A proposed breakdown of time includes:
- Internal convenings – Monthly RYC meetings, working group meetings, one-on-one calls (3 hours)
- External convenings/partnership development (2 hours)
- Project work (3 hours)
- Networking, promotion and dissemination of findings (2 hours)
Note: The cohort term is one year with a three month probationary period. An evaluation will be made after the first three months to ensure meaningful engagement and contributions to the work. DTH-Lab reserves the right to renounce this role from any person who does not uphold the same ethos as DTH-Lab.
How to apply
Applications open on 12 August, International Youth Day 2025, and close on 19 August 2025 at 23:59 CEST.
Interested applicants should complete the online application form at your earliest convenience.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and if too many submissions are received DTH-Lab reserves the right to close the call early.
Applicants can prepare their application in advance by preparing the following material:
- A link to your current CV/Resume (maximum 2 pages)
- A link to a published or nonpublished writing sample
- Responses to the following questions: (maximum 200 words each)
– Question 1: Why do you want to be a Regional Youth Champion?
– Question 2: What unique perspective would you bring to the cohort and to DTH-Lab?
– Question 3: What relevant experience do you have that will support your success as an RYC?
– Question 4: What do you hope to accomplish during your time as an RYC?
Original responses will be prioritized in this application process. Please note only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.