G-1811-14600

This investment supports Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) to continue to engage youth in the Oral Health Equity and Progress Network (OPEN) by building and expanding the capacity of partner organizations to integrate youth into their work and supporting youth to emerge as leaders within OPEN. Building on the three previous years of work, YES! will continue to support organizations in the Youth Network to engage youth; facilitate the inclusion of youth in the leadership of OPEN; and widely disseminate trainings, webinars, and other materials about youth engagement throughout the Network. Specific activities of Year 4 will include: supporting the existing members of the Youth Network as they expand their capacity to engage youth; offering 5-6 webinars for OPEN members about youth engagement; designing and hosting an OPEN convening session to raise up youth voices; and supporting youth members within the OPEN infrastructure. This work aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal of improving public perception of the value of oral health within overall health and the target that oral health is increasingly included in health dialogue and public policy. $65,800.00 will support personnel time, travel and meeting expenses, and supplies.