The USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health is excited to again offer the SDG Leadership Academy in summer 2023.
This year, we’re excited to have a specific emphasis on sexual health and rights, with the opportunity for students to engage in research and content creation that advances dialogue around sexuality, sexual wellness and rights.
The 2023 SDG Leadership Academy will provide a remarkable opportunity for a cohort of students to learn and engage around topics pertaining to sexual health and rights. Activities will include creation of a series of short videos that share information about and reflect on sexual health and rights, and support for the development of an educational guidebook relevant to a landmark new partnership between USC IIGH and Durex.
The program will bring together instruction and learning that offers participants skills in creative storyboarding, video creation, and activism, and will advance student understanding of sexual rights, health and wellness. Students will leave with a deepened understanding of the linkages between sexual rights and policy, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and tools for content creation that can be applied to a variety of topics and spaces.
Apply here by Sunday, April 23rd, 2023.
We anticipate notifying students of their acceptance status on or around May 1st.

General Information
*The program will run from June 1st to August 11th and will be fully remote. While students are welcome to participate from anywhere, they must be available for live sessions between 9am – 2pm PST Monday-Friday (noting that sessions will be a maximum of two hours per day within this block, depending on schedules of external speakers).
*For the duration of the 10-week period, students should anticipate a 30 hour/week commitment.
*Participants will receive a stipend of $4,500 for the summer.
Learning outcomes
*Participants will have hands-on engagement and learning in advocacy-focused content creation through creating weekly video clips.
*Participants will deepen their knowledge and engagement around the sexual wellness, sexual health and rights, and the SDGs.
*Participants will receive training from experts in content creation and marketing, and will learn to leverage advocacy vocabulary alongside creative vision to craft short-form videos for a global audience.
*Participants will have the opportunity to network with and learn from leaders in the global health and sexual rights field through weekly brown bag lunches and guest lectures.
Qualifications
*Demonstrated interest in global health, sexual wellness, and/or sexual health and rights.
*Interest in content creation and using digital tools for advocacy (experience a plus but not necessary).
*Comfortable talking about sexual health and wellness, and a desire to advance dialogue around sexual health and rights with other young people.
*Commitment and/or lived experience with social factors related to sexual rights and health, justice, equity and inclusion.
Note: As a part of the fellowship, participants will create short videos featuring their own image, which will be posted on USC IIGH social channels and may be shared at a later date by IIGH’s partners at Durex.
Questions may be directed to Caroline Diamond at cd24422@usc.edu. Applications will close at 11:59pm PDT on April 23rd.
Previous SDG Projects
USC IIGH has been working with the city of Los Angeles over the last several years in a committed partnership. For example, in the fall of 2018, supported by USC’s Office of the Provost, IIGH offered a practicum that brought together students from across the university to bring a human rights analysis to work occurring around homelessness in support of the Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles. In the summer of 2020, students from USC and three other universities took part in a ten-week internship program to support the Mayor’s office on topical projects ranging from LGBT+ data, communication, and storytelling to addressing biodiversity loss. The 2021 SDG Leadership Academy was an extension of this partnership. Students from USC and Carnegie Mellon collaborated on research that utilized the SDGs as a mechanism to measure the positive and negative impact of COVID-19 relief and recovery funds on social justice and equity, as well as to understand the implications of policy and potential solutions in the context of Los Angeles and other cities.
Learn more about previous SDG projects at the links below:
- Article: Classroom Walls and City Hall: Mobilizing Local Partnerships to Advance the Sustainable Development Agenda (2021)
- Un(Just) Recovery: Addressing COVID-Related Inequalities in Los Angeles (10/25/2021)
- 2021 SDG Leadership Academy begins summer project focused on a #JustRecovery post-COVID (7/19/2021)
- The SDG Leadership Academy: Students And the City of Los Angeles Work Towards A Sustainable Future (9/11/2020)
- SDG Leadership Academy: Update (6/17/2020)
- Revising National SDG Targets for the City of Los Angeles (5/2/2019)
- Training in Malaysia connects health and human rights (11/5/2018)
- New practicum seeks sustainable solutions for LA’s wicked problems (6/29/2018)
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