Places That Shape Us

What does a city look like when you experience it as a young person?

A park can be a first taste of freedom. A classroom can be where you find the confidence to speak up. A beach can hold childhood memories and reveal stories you had never noticed before.

Places That Shape Us brings together stories from adolescents across Healthy Cities for Adolescents, told through the places that matter to them. Below, explore the first-hand stories and drawings from youth across the globe.

Colombia A Park That Brings Everyone Together Adriana Panameño, 16 Colombia A Place That Gets Me Away from the Screen “María”, 15 Senegal A Place Where I Learned to Speak Up Eugène Bakaly, 16 Vietnam The Beach I Learned to See Differently Nguyen Ngoc Han, 15 Vietnam The Classroom Where I Found My Confidence Nguyen Anh Duong, 15 Vietnam The Mountain Where I Hear My Own Voice Nguyen Nhat Bao Nguyen, 17 Ecuador The Place Where I First Felt Free Pato, 19 Senegal The Place Where I Found My Voice Aminata Solange Dieng, 19 Ecuador Where Our Voices Can Travel Olienka Macías, 18