Youth Research VOX
Our
Story
Youth Research Vox (YRV) was founded in May 2020. When the unprecedented pandemic shattered the world, when communities scrambled to survive, a small group of young people in America rose to the challenge. Four high school students with the support of an educator started YRV with nothing but a dream.
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Today, YRV has grown into a global network of young researchers from 37 countries with a mission to forge community sustainability through youth-led research. Together, we study economic, social, and environmental issues of community sustainability and seek solutions that will help us lead our communities to a brighter future. At Youth Research Vox, no dream is too big, no action is impossible. While youth might be only twenty percent of the world's population, they are one hundred percent of the world's future.
Supported by Rotary, Youth Research Vox partners with Rotary Clubs worldwide enabling high school students between 13 and 19 years old to participate in a unique international online research scholarship programme. Students from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North and South America and the Pacific collaborate on research aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals under the guidance of a YRV Research Advisor to produce a high-quality research paper that can be peer reviewed and published.
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Rototuna Rotary Club partnered with Youth Research VOX to support New Zealand high school students join a global collaboration with their peers from around the world.
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Youth Research VOX in New Zealand
In late 2023, Rototuna Rotary partnered with Youth Research Vox (YRV) to sponsor two young New Zealand students in the 2024 programme and invited applications from students who were:
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13 to 19 years old
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Curious about the unknown and keen to explore it through research
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Eager to make a positive impact in the world
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Open-minded and ready to learn new skills
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Available for a minimum of six hours per week for programme activities
Research scholarship
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Rotary–YRV Global was a one-year programme that gave high school students the opportunity to participate in scholarly research and contribute to peer-reviewed publication. Students strengthened academic research skills and developed leadership through global collaboration. The programme began in January 2024 and was fully funded through scholarships offered by Rotary–YRV Global Partners.
Update from Youth Research Vox
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We received confirmation that one of our NZ students, Dean Richardson, had successfully led his team of international youth researchers to complete an exceptional theoretical research study, which has now been officially published.
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(https://www.youthresearchvox.org/ijylr-volume-5/sdg-13-article-landing).
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Over what became a challenging two-year journey, Dean demonstrated remarkable persistence, leadership, and commitment, especially during moments when the team felt close to giving up. Rototuna Rotary and Youth Research Vox are incredibly proud of what Dean and Team Kin have accomplished.
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Preparing to celebrate this milestone with the YRV team gave us all a new appreciation for the dedication and tenacity of the five students who collaborated as Team Kin, coming from five different countries: the USA, the Bahamas, Moldova, Nepal, and New Zealand. They also negotiated at least five different time zones.
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Well done, Team Kin.
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Q&A
What is YRV?
What is the purpose of YRV?
YRV is an international nonprofit organization based in California, United States. YRV is operated under the state government of California and led by a team of experts in education and sustainable development.
The purpose of the YRV Research Programme is to help high school students strengthen academic skills through research and therefore increase their chances of university admissions.
Do I need to have perfect grades to be considered?
How does the YRV Research Programme work?
No. Having perfect grades is different from having strong academic skills. And having "talent" is different from having potential for growth. YRV believes that it's not about how much you can do, but how much you can grow. It's that growth potential that we value most.
In the YRV Research Programme students work in small groups on a research topic under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each research team has the support of a research advisor. The programme is one-year long, from January to November 2024. Each team is expected to produce a high-quality research paper that will be peer reviewed and published.
Do students need to travel for the programme?
What does the YRV Research Programme involve?
All programme activities including small group live sessions, one-on-one meetings, team collaboration, and independent work are done remotely. A computer and stable access to the internet are all students need.
Students collaborate through weekly research meetings, group work, and independent work, approximately 6 hours per week in total. All meetings, discussions, and teamwork are done remotely via Zoom and Google collaborative apps. Each team creates their own meeting and work schedules in consideration of team members' time zones.
