On 15 July 2026, as the world celebrates World Youth Skills Day under the theme "Skills for a Shared Future", SmartCHANGE wants to shine a light on one of the most distinctive aspects of the project: the young people, families, and health professionals who didn't just inspire the HappyPlant app, they helped build it.
Designing a shared future, together
This year's theme recognises that young people need more than technical skills alone, they need the human qualities, social-emotional competencies, and civic engagement that technology cannot replace. It calls for initiatives that empower young people not only to adapt but also to lead and to shape a more sustainable and inclusive tomorrow actively.
That spirit sits at the heart of how SmartCHANGE built the HappyPlant app. Rather than designing a health app and handing it to young people, the project made a deliberate choice from the outset: to bring adolescents, families, and health professionals into the design process as collaborators. Across the Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia, and Portugal, hundreds of participants took part in workshops, feedback sessions, and concept reviews, directly shaping the tool that would become HappyPlant.
What young people told us
The insights gathered from adolescents were honest and insightful. Many participants felt healthy and saw no immediate reason to change their habits. They had little time after school, and plenty of competing priorities. What did they want? Something fun, something voluntary, and something that didn't feel like another obligation.
Five very different concept directions were developed and tested with young people across multiple countries. One stood out: a plant-based concept where completing small, achievable health challenges helps a virtual plant grow. It received positive feedback and became the foundation of HappyPlant.
What families told us
Families pointed to something equally important: unhealthy habits are often rooted in practical constraints, not a lack of awareness. Limited time, long distances, busy schedules. They wanted tools that supported the whole family, not just one child, and although the idea of a social component had its appeal, privacy and trust were non-negotiable.
What health professionals told us
Healthcare professionals were clear about their needs, too. They wanted transparency in AI predictions, to understand how the system reached its conclusions, not just what it suggested. They needed tools that fit into time-pressured daily practice and that helped them build stronger and more trusting relationships with their young patients.
From insights to HappyPlant
All of this shaped HappyPlant into what it is today: a mobile app where children track their physical activity and nutrition through rewarding daily gameplay, with personalised goals set by their physician. Every healthy choice helps their virtual plant thrive, making health feel achievable, engaging, and entirely their own.
HappyPlant is the result of hundreds of conversations, honest feedback, and genuine collaboration across countries, and that, perhaps, is exactly what building a shared future looks like. This World Youth Skills Day, SmartCHANGE celebrates not just the technology, but the process behind it: one that put young people, families, and professionals at the centre from day one.