Empowering Global Youth: the Trinity Challenge Youth Summit on Antimicrobial Resistance

The Youth Summit and Competition

A global movement in response to a growing health threat must include the voices of young people and invest in  their leadership for the future.

In a step towards building the youth voice on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Trinity Challenge Youth Summit recently convened young leaders to share their insights, discuss key topics and help co-design a global campaign. This culminated in the launch of a competition for seed funding to deliver a new youth-led campaign on AMR, inspired by the collaboration during the summit. The winning campaign topic, voted for by participants, was WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and Schools. 

The two-day summit was attended by over 100 participants representing 36 countries across all seven major regions of the world. Participants represented a range of professions including medical doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, those working in farming, pharmaceuticals and more.

Dame Sally Davies, founder and Chair of the Trinity Challenge and UK Special Envoy on AMR, highlighted the crucial role of youth in this global challenge: “We gather not just to discuss AMR, but to harness the enthusiasm and energy of young people. I believe there is a pivotal role for the perspective and contribution of youth leaders and youth-led organisations in driving meaningful change.”

Thoughts on the Youth Summit

Yona Yangaza, an attendee of the Youth Summit based in Tanzania, said: “The Trinity Challenge’s dedication to promoting youth participation and leadership in the AMR response is inspiring. Your generosity will not only benefit the youth involved in the initiative but will also contribute to our community against AMR.”

Hafeez Hamza, a facilitator based in Kenya, said: “A key takeaway for me was the creative and innovative solutions proposed by the youth, it is fantastic to see their passion. There is a critical need for more platforms where youth can co-create campaigns and be meaningfully engaged in AMR as well as global health.”

A competition to launch a youth-led global campaign…

During the interactive sessions, break-out groups worked on creating campaign ideas for seven different topics: youth voices, healthcare education, pharmaceutical companies, farming & agriculture, restaurants, growing the movement and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and schools.

At the end of the summit, all groups were invited to share their campaign ideas for the separate topics, and participants voted on the topic they would like to take forward as the focus of the competition. WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and Schools was the winner.

An exciting outcome of the summit was the launch of the Trinity Challenge seed funding competition aimed at funding youth-led AMR initiatives. This initiative garnered significant interest, now teams have two weeks to create an outline campaign plan and enter into the competition.

The Trinity Challenge Youth Summit not only underscored the importance of youth involvement in addressing AMR but also acted as a catalyst for new ideas and shared initiatives.

For more details on the summit, the competition and upcoming initiatives, visit the Youth Voice page.