Youth engagement

KINGSTON, 28 August 2023 – An innovative partnership between Digicel and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is setting the stage for a new era in youth empowerment and development in Jamaica. Using the power of its high-speed LTE mobile network, Digicel will provide zero-rated SMS messaging access to UNICEF’s U-Report social messaging…

Hi, I'm Danielle Mullings, a passionate advocate for the role of technology in youth development. I wanted to share my journey about how I went full-circle from U-Report Youth Council member to Project Manager of our exciting new life skills project, FunDoo.  It started when UNICEF visited my high school, seeking student perspectives back in 2018…, Developing a new digital life coach with U-Report , Since graduating from the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona as class valedictorian , I have now embarked on a new chapter with UNICEF as the project manager for FunDoo, an innovative digital life skills coach more easily accessible through WhatsApp.   My twin background as a software engineering student and former guild president has helped…, Co-creating “FunDoo” with Jamaican youth , Over 500 U-Reporters responded to our poll, and in collaboration with Talk Up Yout, our series of focus groups have welcomed more than 200 youth coming from west, east and central Jamaica, including students from the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf.   We envision FunDoo to be a digital life coach available at your fingertips – that can…, WhatsApp-based ‘tasks’ teaching vital skills , For Jamaica, we’re dedicated to designing FunDoo to meet the unique needs of young people. FunDoo was originally launched in India, and now more than 700,000 youth worldwide are using it. As we roll out FunDoo in Jamaica, we have engaged Jamaican youth to select our offering of bite-size courses known as “tasks” – both developing new tasks and…, Accessible tech to bridge digital divide , As we prepare for FunDoo's launch, I'm filled with anticipation. This project has been an extraordinary journey, allowing me to contribute to empowering young minds worldwide. It has further fuelled my dream of one day serving as the United Nations Envoy on Technology, advocating for the integration of technology in sustainable solutions for…, What’s UNICEF doing? , Our 2021-22 Reimagine Education initiative consulted almost 600 high school students to gain their inputs for the national Education Transformation Commission. Among their recommendations were the need for more life skills and tech in the classroom. UNICEF Jamaica has also been supporting the Government to help more adolescents transition into…

KINGSTON, MAY 22, 2023 – Flow and UNICEF have recommitted to changing the lives of Jamaican youths using mobile technology and have renewed their partnership in support of youth empowerment through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two-year MoU was signed last week at Flow’s corporate offices in St Andrew with UNICEF’s Jamaica…

KINGSTON, 19 November 2020 – UNICEF Jamaica and the National Secondary Students Council (NSSC) will consult with hundreds of high school students commencing in Youth Month, November 2020, to get their views on improving the education system. The ‘Reimagine Education’ initiative starts on World Children’s Day, November 20. UNICEF and the NSSC will…

A social messaging tool pioneered by UNICEF, U-Report gives Jamaican youth a greater voice on issues of national importance.  February 2020

NEW YORK, 4 September 2019 – One in three young people in 30 countries said they have been a victim of online bullying, with one in five reporting having skipped school due to cyberbullying and violence, in a new poll released today by UNICEF and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children. Speaking…

If someone had asked me six months ago about the fastest way to reach young people in Jamaica, I would probably have said Instagram. If you asked me today, I would likely say U-Report  (provided by UNICEF) , albeit with the caveat that it depends on your needs. As we pulled together our communication strategy and action plan for dengue at the…, U-Report poll and follow-up bot, message word mosquito A poll conducted with the U-Report  gave us that access. As a result, we were able to roll out a strategy and plan that made sense to an important audience we needed to reach, in the public health interest. U-Report subsequently created a messaging bot that allowed us to relay information on dengue, also via that platform, to…, Helped close communication gap, That helped us to close the communication loop. In short, we asked youth what they needed to know about dengue, they told us and then we gave it to them. I am grateful for the collaboration with U-Report and would encourage young people who are not yet a part of that community to join. As  for those interested in hearing from youth , you may want…, How to join U-Report, U-Report polls are sent via messaging to Jamaicans aged 13-29, who opt-in anonymously to become U-Reporters to share their views on issues that matter to them. Currently there are more than 6,800 U-Reporters in Jamaica. Messaging is conducted free of charge for partners, but must first be approved by the Youth Council who ensure that they are…

KINGSTON, 22 MAY, 2018 – Today, Jamaica became the first country in the Caribbean to launch “U-Report” – a free social messaging tool being used globally by over 5 million youth to speak out on issues affecting them. U-Report, pioneered by UNICEF , provides a platform for Jamaican youth from any community to add their voice to matters of national…

The rapid assessment is the first of three phases towards strengthening the adolescent component of the national HIV response. Through this 3-phase assessment, the country aimed to identify equity and performance gaps limiting HIV prevention, treatment and care results in adolescents and define priority actions to accelerate and improve quality of…

Suicidality is a major global public health concern as suicide is among the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Although several research studies into suicide have been conducted in Jamaica, no single research project has examined the spectrum of suicidal behaviours and completed suicides across a period of time. May 2014

Fact sheet designed for anyone seeking to communicate about HIV/AIDS related issues to young people in Jamaica. It presents information what Jamaican youth have to say about HIV/AIDS and related issues and on communication strategy recommendations based on research done among local youth. January 2002