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In summer 2021 as vaccines became available for people under 16, we worked with IDEO.org to co-design tools with young people who identified as coming from refugee, immigrant, or migrant communities. We learned that young people wanted an open, judgment-free space to talk about concerns and questions related to COVID-19 vaccines, and resources to practice speaking in judgment-free ways with their peers and family members.
Together, we built #NoJudgment, a set of tools to help spark, practice, and host judgment-free conversations. The toolkit included tools to host a gathering, share social media posts, learn about how to have judgment-free conversations, and answer FAQs on the vaccine written by and for young people.
We worked alongside three youth ambassadors from the International Rescue Committee, and five members of a Youth Design Collective to build tools specifically with and for young people from refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities. We also tested these tools with over 40 young people who self-identify as coming from refugee, immigrants, and/or migrants communities.
Additionally, Asian Media Access, Come Together Houston, Corner Health, and Restoration for All piloted the tools to engage young people in their communities and offered their invaluable feedback.
These tools adopted language that spoke to younger populations and normalized open conversations. The language was casual, inclusive, and inviting.
These tools took into account needs specific to refugee, immigrant, and migrant youth. For example, their immigration status, involving families as part of the conversation, and the impact of their lived experience of marginalization.
This was made for youth, by youth. The tools were created together with the Youth Design Collective, as well as youth ambassadors from the International Rescue Committee.
Our hope was to engage everyone with various vaccine perspectives in conversations. To help shift mindsets, we needed tools that make everyone feel heard and validated.
The social risk of posting something sensitive and original on social media is high, but if community-based organizations take the lead, young people are much more likely to repost and engage. Since we heard from young people that it is easier to engage with posts in a more passive way, the social media tools were built for CBOs to post on their channels to engage young people in their communities.
For CBOs, we developed tools to spark and facilitate judgment-free conversations with young people around the vaccine, including social media posts or tools to host virtual or in-person gatherings.
For young people, we made tools that help clarify doubts and give people actionable ways to engage their peers in difficult, judgment-free conversations around the vaccine.
The quiz plugged into the youth experience as one of many touchpoints to introduce them to the #NoJudgment campaign. It ended with a call to action to seek more perspectives and information.
Social media templates equipped CBOs to share information on social media that youth could repost. We heard that youth would be more likely to repost than take on the social risk of posting original content.
CBOs will have everything they need to plan and host judgment-free conversations with youth either in person or online. This includes considerations for staffing, logistics, facilitation, and a safety plan.
Conversation guides were specific to the concerns of refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities with clear, tailored information in response to a larger set of common vaccine concerns.
An interactive text conversation was a way for youth to explore information and practice having judgment-free conversations at their own pace.
Come Together Houston used a prompt included in the # NoJudgment toolkit to create a mural with community answers to the question, “What does the end of the pandemic mean to you?”. The mural was progressively built during a number of community events and is now showcased in a museum in downtown Houston, TX.
Corner Health Center used the social media posts in the #NoJudgment toolkit to showcase various judgment-free conversation examples and highlight testimonials from young people in their community.
Restoration For All held a virtual gathering with young people to discuss vaccine hesitancies they were observing in their community and within their families and encouraged young people to use the FAQ section of the website to find demystified answers to common vaccine-related concerns.
Within refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) communities, youth and young adults can play a unique role in comparison to their… Read More »Youth and Young Adult Ambassadors
