Co-creation: centering the stories of youth in Africa

Abstract Information: Research and evaluation methods can feel particularly extractive in projects with clear power dynamics - a large foundation, a medium-size international consulting firm, and a group of youth across Africa. Caribou Digital and the Mastercard Foundation set out to try and solve this dilemma - how can we listen to the thoughts and feedback of youth in Africa, and share in a way that thoughtfully and carefully represents their stories and voices? The Mastercard Foundation approached Caribou Digital with this broad task - to start an online conversation with youth around their experiences with digital for the Foundation’s Youth Voices Report series. Based on the Foundation and Caribou Digital’s previous experience, we developed a relationship with 20 young persons across six countries in Africa, consulting them at every step of the process and sense-checking our findings with their experience and expertise. In this presentation, we’ll share our methodology map to lay out bread crumbs for other evaluators to follow when approaching remote evaluation projects with youth. We’ll explain the two overarching principles that guided our engagement with the youth - co-creation and consistency. We’ll share our lessons learned, particularly around our debates and ultimate decision to use the first person plural voice in the report. Lastly, we’ll share recommendations for evaluators and foundations looking to initiate similar relationships with youth.

Relevance Statement: Western evaluators and organizations have told the story of youth in Africa for decades, from their non-African life experience and perspective. This type of storytelling has strong elements of ‘othering’ and ‘white savior complex’ that Caribou Digital and the Mastercard Foundation pushed back against. In this project, we chose to consult the 20 youth panelists as experts, compensate them for their time as we would any other expert, and forefront their voices and experiences. The team involved at Caribou Digital and the Foundation was diverse - representing six countries, including Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana. Based on the Foundation’s priorities, we purposefully included youth whose stories are not often seen or heard - young women, young people with disabilities, young refugees, and youth who live in rural areas. When writing the report and after much debate, we chose to write in use the collective ‘we’ - representing the 20 youth panelists, the Foundation, and the voices of more young people from reviewed literature. This approach to storytelling in evaluation and research is one of co-creation - active listening and creating a safe space for young people to share their diverse experiences with digital technologies.