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Applications are now open for the Digital Transformation of Health Lab (DTH-Lab) Regional Youth Champions. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
The Digital Transformation of Health Lab (DTH-Lab) is a global consortium of partners working to drive implementation of the Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030’s recommendations for value-based and youth-centred digital transformations of health at global and national levels.
In 2021, GHFutures2030 Commission produced a ground-breaking report on the digital transformations of health providing a strong evidence base and set of recommendations for the DTH-Lab to take forward. All areas of the DTH-Lab’s work are a direct result of three years of research, convening and partnership building.
DTH-Lab overall vision for 2030 that digital transformations of health are led by Health for All values and enable digital first health systems to deliver equitable benefits for the health, wellbeing and safety of young people and their communities.
The Lab will bring youth together with policymakers, technology companies and other stakeholders to drive change in three areas: (1) putting young people at the centre of digital first health systems; (2) advancing value-based governance of digital transformations in health; and (3) addressing digital determinants of health (DDoH). It will achieve its goals through a multidisciplinary approach that combines cutting edge research, strengthening youth leadership, driving innovations in policy and practice, and shifting public and political agendas.
Youth will be key partners in all aspects of the DTH-Lab’s work and will have a seat in the Lab’s governance structure. Meaningful youth engagement and supporting them to become informed and enfranchised digital health citizens will be prioritised at every stage of the Lab’s pathway to impact. The Lab will take concerted steps to capture and reflect the diverse views and experiences of young people in its activities and outputs and to champion their inclusion in external governance processes.
REGIONAL YOUTH CHAMPIONS
As part of the work of the Commission, the first cohort of Regional Youth Champions (RYC) was established to champion the report’s key recommendations to improve the health and well-being of young people at regional and national levels. RYC represents eight different regions based on the groupings used by the Sustainable Development Goals including Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa and Western Asia, Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, Oceania, Europe and Northern America.
The next cohort of RYC will:
● join a well established network of young leaders dedicated to amplifying the report recommendations and key messages
● provide insights, key concerns and proposed solutions to improve the health and well-being of young people at the regional and local levels
● support in the co-design and co-creation of youth focused research, policy and solutions
● join the leadership and governance mechanism of the DTH-Lab
● advocate for inclusion of youth voices in external governance processes
RYC will play a role in supporting the DTH-Lab’s workstream objectives:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
To support the work of the Regional Youth Champion, the DTH-Lab will provide a monthly stipend of 200 USD. in the period of 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025. RYC should plan to spend roughly 7 hours a month dedicated to this role. A proposed breakdown of time includes:
1. Internal convenings - Monthly RYC meetings, working group meetings (2 hours)
2. External convenings/partnership development (2 hours)
3. Project work (2 hours)
4. Networking, promotion and dissemination of findings (1 hour)
Note: The cohort term is one year with a two month probationary period. An evaluation will be made after the first two months to ensure meaningful engagement and contributions to the work. TheDTH-Labreservestherighttorenouncethisrolefromanypersonwhodoesnot uphold the same ethos as the DTH-Lab.
● You are between the age of 18 and 30 years old at the time of applying.
● You are based in the region you are applying to represent during the full term
● You possess great oral and written communication skills in English. Working knowledge and/or the ability to translate to other UN languages is an added advantage
● You have access to a bank account
Interests
● You are passionate about global health governance, the future of health, digital transformations of health, data solidarity and/or UHC
● You have similar foundational values for digital health governance such as democracy, solidarity, inclusion, equity and human rights
Experience
● You are pursuing a professional career in health, STEM, international affairs and/or governance
● You have experience or training in communications, advocacy, policy writing and/or research
● You have leadership experience in fostering change and/or innovation
● Training or experience in futures thinking or foresight is an added advantage
Networks
● You are in a youth network and/or have experience with youth networks at the regional and/or local level
● You use social media for knowledge sharing and are well connected to other young people
● You have excellent working knowledge of digital platforms and the use of technology to increase digital engagement
CHAMPION’S ROLE
The Champions role is 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 the DTH-Lab
● Collaborate with other RYC to provide written/oral contributions
● Support in partnerships building with key stakeholders and other youth networks
● Share strategic and innovative ideas that support the overall vision and mission of the DTH-Lab
● Serve as messengers and disseminators of the DTH-Lab work at the regional level
● Ensure that key outputs are distributed across social media platforms ranging from Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, 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
Interested applicants are asked to share a current CV/resume and a short expression of interest in becoming a RYC. Please complete the online application form to complete your application.
All applications are due by 18 August 2024 and will be evaluated on a rolling basis.
Apply for The Digital Transformation of Health Lab (DTH-Lab) Regional Youth Champions