The YWB project held its second annual meeting in Bogota, Colombia, from July 8-12. The meeting brought together more than 20 YWB participants from Colombia, Switzerland, Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Mexico and Guatemala. All stakeholders were present in person.
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to the steering committee, where key decisions were made regarding the selection of pilot municipalities and the work plan for WP4. Discussions focused on topics of collaboration, including the characterization of the target populations and the identification of relevant social programs in each country. The work plan emphasized supporting countries interested in adopting strategies, addressing challenges, and creating a shared resource bank. Expected outputs from these efforts include an information repository, an academic article on academia-government collaboration, and a public policy brief. The research team will take the lead on drafting the initial policy brief, with input and feedback from participants of the policy lab.
On the second day, the full project team convened, including members from Unisanté, FSFB, and PS teams, along with project consultant Ricardo Araya and the BTiLab team. The morning session began with Gustavo Perdomo’s presentation on peer work logistics and psychologists’ roles. Following this, Mauricio Avendano outlined the logistics for the intervention, including the pilot schedule and the recruitment process for participant pairs and psychologists. In the afternoon, BTiLab provided a progress update on the platform’s development. Later, Juan Camilo Vargas presented the communication strategy for the study, aimed at raising awareness about mental health issues, reducing stigma, and motivating participation in the intervention.
The third day was dedicated to finalizing decisions regarding the intervention design and questionnaires. Presentations were led by Mauricio Avendano, Armando Meier, Clémence Kieny, and Nathalie Monnet, with detailed discussions ensuring alignment on these critical elements.
The final two days focused on WP4, with participants from neighboring countries joining the discussions. On the first of these days, representatives from various countries shared insights into their landscapes concerning conditional cash transfer programs and mental health challenges, along with potential solutions. The final day featured a roundtable discussion on policy interventions and their implementation, fostering an exchange of ideas and strategies for addressing mental health issues at a systemic level.
In summary, the 2024 YWB annual meeting in Bogota allowed the team to have in-depth discussions on the progress of each of the work packages. The team discussed also the challenges and best way forward for the full implementation of the pilot phase.
More photos from Bogota’s meeting can be found here.
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