Listening to adolescents and young people – and acting on it: Dispatch from Trinidad and Tobago and Cameroon
KIT Institute advisors Hannah Kabelka and Marielle Le Mat share reflections from dissemination meetings in Trinidad and Tobago and Cameroon. These meetings were organised as part of a global study on adolescents’ and young people’s experiences of school-based sexuality education, carried out by KIT Institute and youth partners, commissioned by UNESCO.
The aim of these meetings was to take study findings forward with national stakeholders, create a space for dialogue, and explore how policy, practice and advocacy actors can work with the youth-generated recommendations of this study.
How do adolescents and young people actually experience sexuality education in schools – and what would make it more relevant, enjoyable and helpful for their lives?
Study findings convey a clear message: while schools are a preferred and a trusted source of sexuality education for adolescents and young people, its perceived helpfulness depends heavily on whether it is delivered by skilled and supportive educators, uses interactive and inclusive methods, meaningfully addresses diversity, violence and safety, and is responsive to the cultural, religious and social contexts shaping young people’s lives.
Trinidad and Tobago: Deep engagement, difficult questions
On 25 November 2025, a national dissemination workshop was held in Port of Spain. It brought together policymakers, educators, parents, civil society, youth organisations, UN agencies and researchers. KIT Institute advisor Hannah Kabelka attended the meeting together with our partner Feminitt Caribbean’s Ashlee Burnett and Elyse Cazabon to present the case study findings focusing on adolescents’ and young people’s perspectives on Health and Family Life Education (HFLE), the country’s life-skills-based sexuality education curriculum.
Discussions were candid and highly engaged. Stakeholders broadly recognised the value of HFLE and affirmed schools as a crucial – and trusted – space for learning about bodies, relationships and wellbeing. At the same time, participants grappled with the implementation gaps leaners interviewed had highlighted: surface-level coverage of sensitive topics, uneven inclusivity, confidentiality concerns, and teachers’ limited time and support. Kathleen Chau (Programme Specialist, UNESCO Section of Health and Education) reflects on the value of the dissemination meeting as follows:
“ By convening young people, ministries, educators, parents and community actors around shared evidence, the dissemination created space for honest dialogue on important issues such as consent, safety, and inclusion. This kind of inclusive process is key to advancing HFLE across the Caribbean and globally. It ensures that diverse perspectives can come together and identify collective solutions that meet the needs of all learners. ” ”
Reacting to the findings, Dr. Gabrielle Hosein (University of the West Indies) described the study as “a timely and necessary addition” to Caribbean evidence, noting its strong alignment with regional research on gender-based violence, child sexual abuse and consent. She stressed that acting on young people’s recommendations will require confronting structural barriers, from legal interpretations of consent to political resistance around curriculum reform. Other panellists echoed this, highlighting the need for better teacher training, clearer mandates, and stronger collaboration between education, health and community actors.
Stakeholders repeatedly noted the value of the multidisciplinary exchange. Bringing together education, health, youth, civil society and policy actors created a rare space for honest dialogue and fostered a shared sense of responsibility, with several participants expressing renewed commitment to collaboration and to advancing youth-informed improvements to HFLE.
Why youth participation matters
The study’s youth-participatory approach where young researchers were meaningfully involved as co-researchers throughout all research phases was not just a methodological choice, it also shaped the quality of the conversations. As Elyse Cazabon, one of the Trinidadian youth researchers, reflected:
” I do believe this was a beneficial approach. It allowed us, the researchers, to enter interviews with an understanding of adolescents’ context, such as the social media ecosystems they experience. Additionally, being closer to them in age I believe helped reduce the perception of us as an authority figure, allowing for more comfortable and honest conversations.”
Her reflection underscores a core insight of the project: when young people are meaningfully involved as researchers, research becomes more relatable and safer for participants, more relevant and actionable for stakeholders and partnerships benefit from mutual learning.
Cameroon: How stories foster shared commitments
Similarly, KIT Institute advisor Marielle Le Mat together with our partners from Organization For Health in Sustainable Development (OHISD) joined dissemination meetings in Cameroon on 3 and 4 May, 2025, in Yaoundé and Bafia, respectively. The meeting in Yaoundé brought together a range of national level policy makers, civil society actors, researchers, and youth. In Bafia, the meeting took the form of a community dialogue, vividly attended by adolescents, young people, teachers, parents, school board members, and district level policy makers, joined by key national Ministry of Education and UNESCO staff. Young researcher Pride Akat Arrah remembers:
“ Sharing the study findings with the community in Bafia was a deeply meaningful experience. It transformed research into a collective dialogue. I watched faces change as people realized, ‘This is my story.’ The discussions around gender were particularly powerful, as many participants reflected on how deeply gender norms shape young people’s experiences, often in silence. That day fostered a shared commitment to address issues of gender and gender-based violence more openly. ” ”
The meetings validated the importance of the study conducted and its key findings. Participants were particularly aligned on the importance for young people to be involved in policy processes and working groups, and on the need for a strong ‘eco-system’ involving parents alongside teachers and adolescents and young people to improve communication on sexuality education. Participants agreed that further efforts should be made to ensure optimal integration of topics related to gender and gender-based violence, as well as gender-sensitive approaches.
What comes next
Dissemination at country-level is only one step. In 2026, the project will move into its final phase, with several key outputs planned: UNESCO will release a global synthesis report and country case study reports, peer-reviewed academic publications, and additional national dissemination events. Together, these outputs aim to translate adolescents’ and young people’s perspectives into concrete guidance for policy and practice, keeping their voices at the centre of how sexuality education evolves.
Further reading
Future updates will be shared directly on UNESCO’s website and our project page.
If this work on sexuality education, youth SRHR or youth-participatory research resonates with your own project idea, practice or research, we invite you to get in touch to discuss potential future collaborations!
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Adolescents’ and young people’s perspectives on school-based sexuality education in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review
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Article
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Review
Sexuality education is essential for adolescents’ and young people’s health, well-being, and rights. While recognised in policies worldwide, gaps remain in its implementation. This review explores youth perspectives on school-based sexuality education in low- and middle-income countries to understand their needs, experiences, and preferences. A scoping review was conducted across five academic databases and key […]
- Year of publication
- October 2025
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