AstraZeneca to Support AFS Youth Assembly Scholarships for Young Leaders Working at the Nexus of Health and Climate Change

August 14 - 18, 2024 in New York City

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AFS Intercultural Programs is proud to partner with AstraZeneca, through its Young Health Programme (YHP), to help create a healthier, more sustainable future for people, society and the planet by offering scholarships for young leaders from around the world to join the Climate Entrepreneurship Academy at the 2024 AFS Youth Assembly.

With these scholarships, AstraZeneca aims to empower young leaders who are tackling pressing climate issues that have the potential to impact health, build more resilient health systems, and improve equitable access to healthcare.

Prioritizing good health is paramount for building a sustainable future. However, both the enduring effects of COVID-19 and the escalating impacts of climate change on health have strained health systems worldwide, leaving them under-resourced and overwhelmed. It’s imperative that we take immediate action to fortify these systems, ensuring they can effectively meet present and future demands.

Strengthening the resilience of health systems necessitates addressing the climate crisis, which not only jeopardizes human health but also intensifies pressures on healthcare workers and disproportionately affects marginalized communities. To equip health systems for the challenges ahead, we must bolster their resilience, promote equitable health outcomes, and expedite the transition to net-zero emissions.

Applications closed on May 15, 2024

What is the Climate Entrepreneurship Academy at the AFS Youth Assembly?

The Climate Entrepreneurship Academy, delivered by NYU and powered by AstraZeneca,  is a specialized program track at the AFS Youth Assembly, happening from August 14 – 18, 2024 in New York City. The educational curriculum is developed and delivered by the New York University (NYU) – School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs.

This Academy offers a comprehensive experience with a series of seminars, organization site visits and exclusive special events to facilitate learning, connection, engagement on issues relevant to young climate entrepreneurs. Participants in the Climate Entrepreneurship Academy will learn from renowned faculty from the NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs, get a foundational understanding of the complexity of the clean energy and clean technology sectors, learn about lean startup methodologies and more. Find out more.

All delegates who successfully complete this Academy will receive an official Certificate of participation from NYU.

The AFS Youth Assembly is a global platform that cultivates an international network of young leaders and changemakers through exchange, education, action and impact.

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Who can apply for the scholarships?

Candidates must meet all of the requirements below to be considered eligible for this scholarship:

  • Ideal candidates are actively working, studying, or researching in the areas of climate issues that have potential to positively impact health, build more resilient health systems, and improve equitable access to healthcare;
  • Have never attended the AFS Youth Assembly before;
  • Be between 18 – 32 years old* at the time of application;
  • Be able to actively participate in program sessions conducted in English;
  • We welcome candidates from any country around the world. All applicants must have the ability to secure a travel visa and travel to the United States (the Academy is an in-person event).

*Most delegates are between the ages of 18 and 32. The selection committee will consider applications from those who are older than 32, pending demonstration of appropriate personal impact, initiative, and willingness to engage.

Applications closed on May 15, 2024

What is included in the scholarships?

These scholarships cover:

  • program registration fees (including the full program of the Climate Entrepreneurship Academy and the AFS Youth Assembly conference);
  • a travel stipend in the form of a reimbursement for your transportation costs;
  • 5 nights accommodation in a hotel in New York City.

Applications closed on May 15, 2024

What is the deadline for scholarship applications?

Applications closed on May 15, 2024

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is helping to build more resilient, equitable and net zero health systems that are fit for the needs of today and tomorrow. This company works towards a future where:

  • Resilient health systems are able to respond and adapt effectively to crises while managing ongoing population health needs;
  • Equitable health systems ensure everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life, removing barriers to early disease detection, accurate diagnosis, access to clinical trials and high-quality therapies; and
  • Net zero health systems improve patient outcomes and limit the environmental impact of care.

The company puts health at the center of a sustainable future by advocating for more strategic investment in health, earlier action on disease and enhanced use of digital, data and technology.

AstraZeneca recognises that prioritizing disease prevention is essential if we are to meet the increasing demand for healthcare services and improve equitable outcomes. We need a fundamental shift from ‘sick care’ to health care, gearing our health systems to act earlier to prevent, and enable access to health education, literacy, and health empowerment.

AstraZeneca’s Young Health Programme (YHP) is a global disease prevention programme with a unique focus on young people aged 10 to 24, living in vulnerable environments and under-resourced settings around the world. The YHP aims to prevent the most common non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory disease.

Our mission is to foster sustainable, collective leadership focused on improving youth and adolescent health, with an emphasis on under-resourced and marginalised communities. Worldwide, young people can face many barriers in equitable access to healthcare, and their needs can be neglected by health systems and health policy. (1)

We believe that improving adolescent health and well-being will deliver a triple dividend: not only will it deliver major benefits for adolescents and for those around them, but it will also improve their health as adults and the health of the children they will have. An investment in adolescent health is an investment in the health of future generations. (2)

(1) Barriers to accessing health care among young people in 30 low-middle income countries. Available here.

(2) Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. Available here.