About the YouthLab

Shaping the Next Generation of Youth Advocates

The Outreach Youth and Adolescent Lab (YouthLab) is a flagship initiative of The Smile Outreach, created to equip young people with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to tackle some of the most urgent challenges facing adolescents in Nigeria today.

Over the course of six months, fellows embark on a powerful journey that blends:

Expert-led training
Co-creation of culturally relevant advocacy tools
Hands-on community engagement and dissemination

YouthLab is where passion meets purpose.

Fellows bring change to life through comics, flashcards, and animation—tools that resonate deeply with grassroots communities.

Supported by AMAZE International and aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, and 17, the YouthLab is more than a program—it’s a launchpad for transformative youth leadership.

Program Pillars

Capacity Building

We train 20 to 50 youth advocates each year in high-impact advocacy strategies, including:

• Designing community development campaigns
• Using media and storytelling to drive change
• Building sustainable, youth-led movements rooted in empathy and lived experience

Resources & Toolkit Development

Fellows co-create and adapt educational resources—including comics, animations, and flashcards—that are contextually relevant, language-inclusive, and culturally sensitive to adolescent realities in Nigeria.

Dissemination & Advocacy

Fellows don’t just learn—they lead. Through guided dissemination projects, fellows and partners reach over 10,000 adolescents, bringing awareness and action to schools, homes, camps, and community spaces. Top-performing fellows receive mini-grants to fund their advocacy projects.

Our Approach

How the YouthLab Works: Our multi-layered approach ensures every fellow is equipped to lead change—during and beyond the Lab.

We Build Leadership Capacity

Through weekly training, live sessions, and self-paced modules, we empower 25–50 youth leaders annually with advocacy skills, campaign design tools, and strategies for grassroots organizing.

We Co-Create Resources with Fellows

Participants don’t just receive materials—they help design them. Together, we build flashcards, comics, and animations grounded in lived realities and translated into Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Pidgin. These tools tackle sexual grooming, child marriage, period poverty, and more.

We Strengthen Community Engagement

Fellows are trained to initiate safe conversations in schools, homes, and public spaces, engaging educators, parents, and local leaders to normalise dialogue around sensitive topics.

We Support Local Action & Dissemination

With expert mentorship and funding support, fellows turn knowledge into action. They launch mini-campaigns and outreach initiatives that reach thousands of adolescents, spreading awareness where it matters most.

We Offer Continuous Support

Long after the Lab ends, we keep walking alongside our fellows, offering alumni mentorship, visibility opportunities, and resources to scale their impact as independent change agents.

Project Objectives

At the heart of the YouthLab is a bold commitment to amplify youth agency and drive systems change from the ground up. Our objectives reflect this commitment:

Deliver Transformative Training

Provide comprehensive training to young leaders on advocacy, digital storytelling, media campaigns, and co-creation strategies tailored to real-life community needs.

Fuel Youth-Led Solutions

Support the development and implementation of initiatives that address the Lab’s core clusters: sexual grooming, child marriage, menstrual equity, and harmful traditional practices.

Build a Nationwide Network of Changemakers

Foster a thriving community of empowered youth leaders dedicated to sustained social change and cross-sector collaboration.

Harness Media & Technology for Good

Equip fellows with digital tools and campaign strategies to amplify their voices and reach broader audiences through videos, comics, flashcards, and animations.

Incubate Youth-Led Startups and Movements

Encourage the birth of new youth-led organizations and movements sparked by the fellowship experience.

Promote Innovation and Localized Problem-Solving

Cultivate creativity and critical thinking, empowering youth to develop sustainable, scalable solutions rooted in community realities.

Proposed Impact

Empowering Youth Leaders

We’re building a generation of confident, skilled youth advocates who can turn insight into impact. These leaders will not only understand the issues—they’ll lead the response

Reaching Thousands of Adolescents

Through culturally contextualized toolkits—comics, flashcards, animations—we reach thousands of adolescents each year with lifesaving knowledge on body autonomy, reproductive health, and gender-based rights.

Driving Community-Led Transformation

We go beyond the fellows. By engaging parents, educators, and traditional gatekeepers, we foster shared accountability and create safe environments for young people to thrive.

Creating and Growing a Thriving Network of Youth Advocates

The YouthLab is more than a program—it’s the foundation of a continent-wide youth advocacy network. Fellows remain connected across borders, sharing tools, insights, and innovations to scale their impact and inspire the next generation of changemakers.

Every fellow trained.
Every adolescent reached.
Every comic created.
Every story told—brings us closer to a world where youth not only dream of justice… they deliver it.