GLF 2026: When adolescent voices become a driver of systematic change
From 02–06 February 2026, the Global Learning Forum 2026 (GLF 2026) was successfully held in Ho and Accra, Ghana. This marked the final global forum under the Healthy Cities for Adolescents – Phase II (HCA-II) programme, funded by Fondation Botnar and managed by Ecorys.
Designed as an adolescent-centered, practice-oriented and action-driven learning space, the Forum convened more than 90 participants, including adolescents and project teams from six programme countries (Ghana, Senegal, Viet Nam, India, Ecuador and Colombia), alongside representatives of partners and local authorities. The event provided an opportunity to reflect on implementation progress, share lessons learned, and explore how adolescent-initiated experiences and innovations can contribute to shaping healthier, more equitable and adolescent-friendly urban environments.
The Forum’s learning journey unfolded through dialogue, storytelling, field visits and cross-country exchange, following the thematic flow: Listen → Learn → Link.
GLF 2026 was not only a platform for experience sharing among HCA-II countries, but also a vivid demonstration of the Evidence-to-Action (E2A) approach — transforming adolescent voices and lived experiences into concrete and sustainable systemic change.
Key lessons from the Forum reinforced three core pillars of the E2A approach within the HCA-II Da Nang Project:
1. Adolescents as living evidence for systematic change
2. Sustainability measured by system integration
One of the Forum’s central messages was that sustainable change is not about maintaining activities, but about embedding adolescent-centered approaches into city planning, budgeting and monitoring and evaluation systems.
For HCA-II Da Nang, this means:
– Linking adolescent initiatives with the post-merger Da Nang city planning and budgeting cycle;
– Using data and learning products as evidence for policy dialogue;
– Institutionalizing pilot models into official procedures, guidelines or programmes.
E2A thus serves as a bridge between field-based evidence and institutional action.
3. Youth-led storytelling as a strategic E2A tool
At GLF 2026, communication products produced by adolescents — including short films, visual stories and personal narratives — demonstrated the power of storytelling as emotionally compelling, authentic and policy-influencing evidence.
Within HCA-II Da Nang, E2A learning products (including a flagship video, short versions, trailers and recap videos applying Participatory Video and Most Significant Change approaches, co-designed and co-produced by adolescents to reflect key transformations in their journeys) will continue to:
– Systematize field-based experiences and lessons;
– Convey adolescent voices to policymakers;
– Strengthen the legitimacy and advocacy effectiveness of initiatives.
Storytelling is therefore not merely communication — it is a mechanism for collecting, analyzing and translating evidence into concrete system-level action.
4. Urban spaces and digital transformation: evidence for inclusive policy design
Discussions and field visits in Ghana provided evidence of adolescents’ roles in co-creating public spaces and shaping balanced approaches to digital transformation.
Adolescents’ analyses of technology — using the Help–Hurt–Control–Influence framework — demonstrated their ability to propose practical policy recommendations that balance protection and empowerment. This forms a foundation for cities to adjust digital strategies in a more adolescent-centered direction.
Strengthening the Evidence-to-Action cycle in Da Nang
Lessons from GLF 2026 will continue to be translated into concrete action in Da Nang through:
– Systematic sharing with departments and partners to foster institutional alignment and commitment;
– Integration into city planning, budgeting and results frameworks;
– Development and dissemination of E2A products to support policy dialogue at local, national and global levels.
GLF 2026 once again reaffirmed the core spirit of the global HCA-II programme: when evidence is generated with adolescents and directly connected to decision-making mechanisms, change does not remain within the boundaries of a project — it becomes part of the urban system itself.
