In November 2025 our Birmingham team hosted an engaging and inspiring Youth Advisory Group (YAG) meeting! The following was on the agenda:
Mónica Romão from AEGEE-Europe joined to explore how we can shape a social media approach that actually works for young people. We discussed ways to boost awareness of YOUTHreach and youth mental health using content that feels accessible and authentic.
Evangelina Asiedu-Addo from the McPin foundation delivered a brilliant flash talk on quantitative vs. qualitative research. She also shared how peer research and creative methods like photovoice can make research more inclusive and reduce power imbalances.
Casper Crombach and Sophie Leijdesdorff from Maastricht University explained process evaluations through the perfect analogy: making cupcakes! It’s not only about how the cupcake tastes, but whether the recipe was followed. They shared how they’re applying this approach to the YEAH intervention and asked for young people’s feedback to shape this work.
Dr Rebekah Amos from the Birmingham YOUTHreach team introduced our systems mapping work. We looked at how young people access mental health support, with most saying their primary care doctor was the first step. The long-term goal: create mental health care pathway maps for all countries involved in YOUTHreach.
Huge thanks to all the young people who joined and shared their perspectives!
Your insights genuinely guide the direction of this project and we’re excited to build on this work in our next session!
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