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Introduction¹

On September 19, 2022, the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a workshop at The California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities in Oakland, California, to explore the power of youth leadership in creating conditions for health and equity. This public workshop was organized and convened by an ad hoc planning committee.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

The workshop objectives, drawn from the statement of task for the workshop (see Box 1-1), were to

1. Underscore the power of young people as leaders, organizers, advocates, and experts;
2. Understand the barriers and solutions to building youth-led power and social movements and strengthening the platforms to amplify their voices; and

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¹ The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop, and the Proceedings of a Workshop has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual presenters and participants and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and they should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus.

3. Explore frameworks, concepts, models, approaches, and tools to promote and increase youth civic engagement and leadership in creating and changing the conditions for health, equity, and well-being.

Raymond Baxter, a roundtable co-chair and a trustee of the Blue Shield of California Foundation, welcomed attendees to the workshop and noted that the other roundtable co-chair, Ana Diez Roux, the dean of the School of Public Health at Drexel University, would be attending virtually. He thanked the California Endowment for hosting the workshop and acknowledged some individuals from the California Endowment who were present. Baxter acknowledged that attendees were on the land of the Ohlone peoples. He added that in memory of the ancestors who struggled for justice, “we seek to build a just future by centering health equity as a prerequisite to improving population health.”

Baxter said that the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement “recognizes that health and quality of life for all are shaped by interdependent, historical, and contemporary social, political, economic, environmental, genetic, behavioral, and health care factors” and that the roundtable seeks to catalyze multisector community action by hosting public workshops that “bring together different perspectives, disciplines, and sectors to explore and share what works . . . to improve the conditions

for equitable health and well-being in U.S. communities.” He added that the roundtable has previously hosted events showcasing community-led efforts and that a recurring theme of these events has been the role of youth,² which was the focus of this workshop. He noted that both young leaders and the scholars and organizations who work to build the voice and power of young people are featured in the agenda.

Baxter described the intention of this workshop to highlight “the power of young people³ as leaders, organizers, advocates, and experts” as well as to explore barriers and solutions to “building youth-led power and social movements.” He said that the workshop would “explore frameworks, concepts, models, approaches, and practical tools to promote and increase youth civic engagement and leadership” as well as health, equity, and well-being more broadly. He urged attendees to connect the topics discussed in the workshop to health, well-being, and health justice.

ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP AND PROCEEDINGS

The workshop consisted of four panels and a concluding discussion with the workshop planning committee. The topics of the four panels were youth civic engagement and leadership (Chapter 2); child development and family and community context (Chapter 3); data, surveys, and research (Chapter 4); and infrastructure and supports for youth leadership and engagement (Chapter 5). The concluding discussion is described in Chapter 6. The workshop agenda, references, speaker biographical sketches, and readings and resources that were part of the workshop materials are provided in Appendixes A through D.

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² In this Proceedings, the term “youth” refers to people from the ages of 15 to 25 (middle school to young adulthood).

³ In this Proceedings, the term “young people” refers to people from the ages of 15 to 25 (middle school to young adulthood).

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