Youth protagonism: an analysis of the project Network of Adolescents and Young Health Promoters (Rap da Saúde) the city of Rio de Janeiro, from the perspective of its participants

Abstract

This article addresses the project Network of Adolescents and Young Health Promoters (Rap da Saúde) from Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Health Secretariat, as a strategy to promote youth protagonism. A documentary research was carried out in the project archives, including 150 graduation papers of the young participants of the 2018 class, in which they evaluated the experience. The analytical perspective adopted sought to value the youth reports on personal and professional learning achieved at Rap da Saúde, the challenges faced by them and how much such experience and the contact with health professionals and various social institutions allowed them to become more self-sufficient, confident, inserted in their communities, and attentive to the needs of their peers. This paper reflects the process of personal development experienced by the participants who had the opportunity to be protagonists of health promotion activities in their communities in the city of Rio de Janeiro from September 2017 to September 2018.