Competition winners: Raiyana Alibhai, Jenna Ramji, and Gabriela Villamil
Comprehensive sexual health education is a recognized human right by global organizations and international treaties, but many British Columbian youth do not have access to the education that would provide them vital information, such as where to test for STIs and where to find emergency contraception. Additionally, British Columbia youth are highly affected by the shame and stigma present around the topic of sexual health. This stigma prevents British Columbian youth from developing a healthy relationship with their sexuality. This team utilized a systems-thinking approach to examine the current challenge landscape, root causes, and potential leverage points for enacting change within this system, along with conducting anonymous surveys, interviews, and a thorough literature review. They found that the provincial government has the most power to enact change.
This team represented UBC in the Canadian Map the System Finals and after placing in the top 4 Canadian teams, represented UBC on the world stage at the University of Oxford in July 2023. They received the ‘Undergraduate Award’ to commend an outstanding project conducted by a team of undergraduate students in a competition with undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals.
Check out their research submissions: