Teen Health 360 engages the community in collaborative efforts to improve health outcomes and well-being among youth in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore through crowdsourcing open calls, teen health academies, health educator trainings for local capacity building, and more.
Community Engagement
Open Call
An open call is a form of crowdsourcing that focuses on engaging a broad array of people in a contest to contribute creative knowledge and generate fresh perspectives about a specific problem, followed by the sharing and implementation of exceptional ideas that are contributed, in collaboration with the community.
Teen Health 360’s community steering committee hosts an annual open call to engage the community (including youth, parents/guardians, teachers, services providers and community members) an open dialogue about communication and relationships with teens. The goal is to empower teens to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
FAQ
Who can participate in the Open Call?
The contest is open to anyone! Entries can be from an individual, a group of people or an organization. Learn more about the 2025 Open Call
Who is organizing the Open Call?
The Teen Health 360 Open Call is organized by an independent group of faculty, staff and students at EVMS and local public schools, sex education and crowdsourcing experts and other local community members. Learn more about the Learn more about the Judging Committee..
We believe in the power of the local community!
What formats are being accepted for submissions?
Your submission can be one of the following categories: 1) written narratives of stories or experiences (PDF, one page or less), 2) images, such as drawing and painting, 3) audios or videos (5 minutes or less in length) or, 4) other mixed media works which involve one or all of these elements. The submission should be related to the 2025 Open Call topic.
What is Virginia Public Schools Family Life Education?
Family life education refers to sex education as formally labeled through the code of Virginia. It is colloquially used by many public school districts, staff and families of young people in the state. The Virginia Board of Education has approved the Family Life Education Board of Education Guidelines and Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Virginia's standards for family life education provide a comprehensive, sequential K-12curriculum. They include age-appropriate instruction in family living and community relationships, abstinence education, the value of postponing sexual activity, the benefits of adoption as a positive choice in the event of an unwanted pregnancy, human sexuality and human reproduction.
Instruction is designed to promote parental involvement, foster positive self-concepts and provide mechanisms for coping with peer pressure and the stresses of modern living according to the students' developmental stages and abilities. Parents have the right to review the complete family life curricula, including all supplemental materials used in any family life education program.
What is a crowdsourcing open call?
Crowdsourcing is the process of having a group solve a problem and then sharing that solution widely with the public. The basic idea is that groups of people can work together to solve problems that individual experts cannot. Crowdsourcing tools, such as challenge contests, are increasingly used to improve public health.
An open call is one strategy that can be used to crowdsource information from a broad array of people. Open calls invite people to contribute creative ideas in response to a specific problem, followed by sharing and implementation of exceptional ideas that are contributed.
If you are interested in open calls and crowdsourcing as a strategy for solving public health problems, please check out these useful resources:
Video: SESH (Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health) on the benefits of crowdsourcingA systematic review of crowdsourcing in health and medical research (open access)A conceptual paper on the theory and applications of crowdsourcing in health and medical research (open access)A paper on crowdsourcing applications in public health (requires library access)
Who are the judges?
Judges will include EVMS clinicians and students, sex education and crowdsourcing experts, local public school teachers, parents/guardians, students and other community members. View the complete list of judges.
What are the judging criteria?
Relevance to Theme: How well does the content align with the Teen Health 360 Open Call theme: My Health, My Choice – What does empowering teen sexual health and STI prevention look like?
Relevance to Target Populations: Does the submission speak effectively to one or more of the program’s target audiences: middle and high school students, teachers, parents, guardians, and other caring adults?
Creativity and Innovation: Does the submission present original, standout ideas or approaches?
Inclusivity: Does the submission represent one or more diverse subgroups (e.g., age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity)? Does it avoid bias against any group?
Feasibility for Program Use: Is the information presented practical and usable for future programming or outreach?
Overall Quality: Does the submission demonstrate strong logic, structure, design, grammar, and visual presentation
Where do I submit?
Make submissions through this online form. Learn about the requirements for submitting to the Open Call.
What is the deadline for participating in the Open Call?
All submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, May 23, 2025.
Can I submit more than one idea?
Yes! Please contribute as many submissions as you wish. Read more about the requirements for making a submission.
What are the prizes?
A total of $2,500 in prizes will be awarded for exceptional winning submissions ($25 to $200)
Will I retain my intellectual property?
Yes, you will retain all intellectual property that is submitted. However, be aware that the point of this open call is to create open-access information sharing to generate program strategies and key messages for use in the Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education program. All personal information shared during this contest will be processed in accordance with the current General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules.
By submitting your entry to the contest, you agree to grant the organizers the right to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store and re-format your entry and any accompanying materials.