Kick-off meeting in Dar es Salaam

On 31 March and 1 April all members of the Y-ENGAGE project team met for an inception workshop in Dar es Salaam. It was the first time for all team members to physically meet. The workshop had three aims. One, for all team members to meet and get to know each other. Two, for us to discuss our different roles and responsibilities within the project. Three, to make some decisions, but mostly to start essential conversations about how we move the project forward.

Day 1 was packed with presentations by team members. They presented work that both represented their background and informed the project. We learned about climate change in Tanzania, the power of Photovoice, experiences of doing research with marginalized groups and pathways to youth empowerment – reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the project team. The presentations raised a number of important questions and helped place our skills and strengths within the project.

On day 2 we discussed a range of different and difficult questions and made plans for the next step. We discussed the study sites and ways of recruiting and working with young peer researcher. We also discussed opportunities and challenges of communicating the phenomena of ‘climate change’ or ‘global warming’ to children and young people.

It was a successful meeting, and everyone left feeling energized and motivated to quickly get the project off the ground.