YOUTH ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

Co-creating an advocacy toolkit with and for young people

  • Following a successful response to an open call led by WWF and Activate The City, I was approached to co-design and deliver the brand identity for their new Youth Advocacy Toolkit.

    The Toolkit encourages young people to deliver social action projects that champion sustainable food practices.

    Co-design and collaboration were central to the project which aimed at creating an easy-to-use brand identity that could showcase large amounts of information clearly and that, most importantly, connects with young people.

  • Through online interactive group sessions and surveys, we engaged with young people to understand their barriers in undertaking advocacy work.

    Together we co-created a user-friendly Toolkit that guides young people in developing and delivering their own advocacy projects.

    The brand’s key element is the rotating sphere, symbolising the global impact that advocating for sustainable diets and change in current food systems can have in addressing climate change.

    The Toolkit is split into four modules that include step-by-step exercises and worksheets to help young people develop their own campaigns. Each of the modules is represented with illustrations by Aya Mohamed.

    Following the conclusion of our first iteration, the Toolkit was tested by 36 young participants during workshops in different cities across Europe.

TEAM
Content and Editing – Karen Jelenje
Illustration – Aya Mohamed
Branding and Web Design – Ana Bea Studio
Web developer – Bart Stassen

Illustration of a woman speaking into a megaphone next to a sign that reads "Youth Advocacy Toolkit Brand Guidelines" with four colored spheres labeled "Exploration," "Planning," "Activation," and "Review." The client was WWF.
Three wireframe globes in different colors—green, blue, and pink—stacked vertically, with the top globe being green and the bottom globe being pink.
Design layout for Youth Advocacy Toolkit with repeated logo, colorful gradient bars, a heading with subheading, and placeholder paragraph text.
Illustration with green wireframe globes, speech bubbles with the word 'CHANGE' repeated, a checklist with the words 'EXPLORE,' 'PLAN,' 'ACTION,' 'REVIEW,' and a light bulb icon with a timer next to it.
Collection of black outline icons on a white background including a globe, microphone, heart, people, stopwatch, shaking hands, downward arrow, wristwatch, quick actions, factory, eye, lightbulb, notebook, apple, radio, speech bubble, location pin, magnifying glass, flag, leaves, and warning sign.
“I hired Ana Bea for her experience and passion for working on participatory design projects with young people. I’m really pleased with the final design and this is echoed by WWF and the young people involved.”

– KAREN JELENJE, FOUNDER, ACTIVATE THE CITY

Bright green text saying 'YOUTH ADVOCACY TOOLKIT' with a black globe featuring 'EAT4CHANGE' repeated around it on a white background.

The initial concepts for the Toolkit branding were voted by young people

Three women sitting at a table during a meeting or workshop. The woman in the middle is smiling and holding a purple textured object. The woman on the right is touching her nose and wearing glasses. The woman on the left is slightly out of focus. The table has notebooks, a water bottle, and other items.
Person writing on a large white poster with a black marker, the poster reads 'NEED FOR EDUCATION IN CLIMATE', surrounded by colourful markers and stationery on a wooden desk.

Workshops to test the toolkit

“The Toolkit was instrumental in refining my action project ideas. It provided a comprehensive framework, practical skills and real-life examples that empowered me to effectively advocate for environmental issues.”

– MOHAMED AHMED, WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT, SWEDEN

A step-by-step guide for identifying a problem, including questions like what the problem is, why it's a problem, who benefits from a solution, and who can influence change.
A digital graphic design for a youth advocacy toolkit, featuring a woman with curly hair speaking into a megaphone on the left side. The right side contains an introduction paragraph, circles with images of lettuce, a diverse group of young people using a megaphone, and a sunflower. The background is black with white text, geometric globe patterns, and colored tabs at the top.
A diverse group of people standing in a circle on a rooftop, engaged in a discussion or activity, with city skyscrapers in the background.
Three wireframe globes in pink, yellow, and green arranged vertically on a white background.