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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Sophia Kim, MEd, Youth Action Initiative, The Medical Foundation, 95 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116, 617-451-0049, x281, skim@tmfnet.org

The Youth Action Initiative (YAI) is a statewide project funded by the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program of the Department of Health and managed by The Medical Foundation. There are five main components of YAI which are aimed at building a youth statewide movement of tobacco control and prevention work: mini-grants, an interactive website, a youth summit, a youth advisory council, and a youth profile contest. Community based organizations, school based clubs, and faith based organizations from all across the state applied for the mini-grants which were available at two levels: a $10,000 grant for changing or strengthening tobacco-related policies or a $1,400 grant for community education and mobilization. The six large grantees and thirty-six small grantees were eligible for technical assistance and training around policy advocacy and media literacy and advocacy to support their projects. They all had four months to develop and implement their projects. The statewide youth summit was organized by an ad hoc committee of youth and adults, and it brought together grantees in a day of celebration of work, networking, and building of skills and knowledge. The other three components of YAI are still in the developmental stages. This initiative is a revival of a previous statewide project which focused on training for youth and adult advisors to be anti-tobacco advocates in their communities. This is the first year in its current form and it will serve to provide lessons around where and how to most effectively engage young people on tobacco control and prevention issues.

Learning Objectives: