Charting New Waters: Tips for Strong Summer Institute Sessions
Every year, Fact Forward’s Summer Institute brings together professionals, educators, healthcare providers, researchers, and community leaders who share a common goal: advancing adolescent health.
As we prepare for Summer Institute 2026: Charting New Waters – A Path Forward, we invite presenters to bring their best ideas, energy, and creativity to the stage. Based on attendee feedback from 2025, we’ve gathered a few tips to help you design sessions that truly make an impact.
1. Engage and Interact
Attendees love learning by doing. Whether it’s a game, simulation, or creative reflection, interactive sessions always stand out.
Try this: build in small-group discussions, role plays, or art-based activities that get people thinking and moving.
2. Make It Practical
The best sessions don’t just inspire, they equip. Offer concrete tools, checklists, or adaptable strategies that participants can take home and use right away. Case studies and real-world examples go a long way in helping attendees connect the dots.
3. Bring Innovation and Evidence
Professionals are eager for new research, fresh perspectives, and cutting-edge solutions. Consider integrating technology, AI, or data-driven approaches that strengthen adolescent health programs. Share what’s working in your community and back it up with evidence.
4. Prioritize Inclusion and Accessibility
Our community values representation and equity. Include diverse voices, especially youth and those from underrepresented communities. Keep your materials accessible by using clear language, readable slides, and providing handouts if applicable to accommodate multiple learning styles.
5. Design with Intention
Skip the lecture-heavy slides. Blend visuals, storytelling, and practical frameworks to deepen learning. Aim for content that engages both newcomers and experienced professionals, and leave space for reflection or Q&A.
6. Build Connection
Networking doesn’t have to wait for the reception. Consider adding short collaboration activities, peer exchanges, or discussion prompts within your session. Those shared moments of learning often spark long-term partnerships.
7. Explore In-Demand Topics
Feedback from last year’s attendees pointed to several areas of interest for 2026:
Program evaluation and data collection for small organizations
Sexual violence prevention and positive identity development
Mental health and reproductive health intersections
Client engagement and quality improvement strategies
Artificial Intelligence
Let’s Chart New Waters—Together
At Summer Institute, every session is an opportunity to spark change. When you design with purpose, creativity, and inclusion in mind, you help build a stronger community of practice and one that equips youth-serving professionals to make a lasting impact.
🗓 Deadline: December 8, 2025.
Ready to share your ideas? Submit your proposal
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