UNESCO x SEVENTEEN - Going Together – For Youth Creativity & Well-Being
Developing a strong organizational vision & strategy. OKRs and KPIs
Training Reflections
Structuring Change: Amplifying Autistic Wellbeing through Strategy and Vision
Today’s training offered was a call to clarify our impact. To transform values like inclusion into operational frameworks that deliver. Our project—Amplifying Autistic Wellbeing fit right into this conversation. But what made today’s training especially useful was how it broke down abstract ideas like vision and strategy into practical tools like PSMART, OKRs, and KPIs.
We started with a a foundational question: What is your big, bold outcome?
For us, the answer is right there in the title, Amplifying Autistic Wellbeing. Unpacking that meant we are focusing on amplifying the voices of autistics who are more impacted by their disabilities from the global south, as they often get left out of the autism conversations. Our core question revolves around what wellbeing means and we are going to explore this via art and other forms of expression. We need to start with many such small steps to get to inclusion and belonging, which is our big bold outcome.
🧠 PSMART in Action - Grounding Our Goals
The PSMART model helped us evaluate if our goals are
- Performance-Oriented: We’re actively running a hybrid symposium and building an international network. (Tentative date Sep 15, 2025, UK)
- Specific: Focused on the Global South and high-support needs (HSN) autistic youth aged 18–30.
- Measurable: Targeting 100+ network participants.
- Achievable: Backed by community partnerships, accessibility design, and UNESCO’s support.
- Relevant: Aligns with UN SDGs (3, 4, 10, 16) and fills a critical gap in neurodiversity discourse.
- Time-Bound: Clearly mapped from April–November 2025.
It was reassuring to see that the planning we had already done naturally aligned with this model—and where it didn’t, we now have a better structure to adapt.
🧠 Vision vs. Strategy: Where We’re Going, and How We Get There
The training’s diagram of Vision vs. Strategy reminded us that.
- Vision is the dream: A world where autistic youth define and lead the conversation on wellbeing.
- Strategy is the plan: Use participatory, creative, and accessible platforms (like our hybrid symposium) to spotlight their voices and translate them into policy and research.
This clarity matters. We’re not just hosting an event, we’re designing systems of representation.
OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) vs. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
Category | OKRs | KPIs |
Definition | Actionable goals with measurable outcomes | Metrics that track business performance |
Basis | Company missions & aspirations | Past results & current projects |
Criteria | Bold, aggressive goals | Steady benchmarks |
Purpose | Motivation & alignment | Evaluation & tracking |
Duration | Quarterly or yearly | Variable (weekly, monthly, etc.) |
Variation | Updated each cycle | Often consistent across cycles |
🎯 OKRs: What Success Looks Like
We mapped out our OKRs like this.
Objective: Center HSN autistic youth in wellbeing and policy discourse.
- KR1: Receive ~100 creative submissions using any mode of communication or creative expression.
- KR2: Co-author research and policy documents
- KR3: Establish an international network of 100+ individuals committed to inclusive advocacy
These OKRs are not just milestones—they’re mission checkpoints. They ensure we’re staying accountable to our community, not just our calendar.
🧠 KPIs: Measuring Impact Without Losing People
We also reflected on how our KPIs blend quantitative and qualitative indicators
- Quantitative: Number of submissions, participants, countries represented, website engagement
- Qualitative: Participant feedback (via visual surveys, testimonials, videos), policy influence, and narratives of change
As discussed in training, KPIs aren’t just for funders—they’re mirrors for internal growth.
🧠 From Notes to Practice: Why This Matters
Studying today’s frameworks in the context of our project made one thing clear: HSN autistic individuals are missing from the definition of success.
The structures we learned today help us push back on that. Not by overhauling the system, but by remapping it to include everyone—especially those often written out.
Using creative expression as data.
Treating stimming videos as valid submissions.
Centering autistic youth as policy co-authors.
That’s our strategy. That’s our KPI for success.
🧠 Final Reflection
The UNESCO training emphasized that big visions need bold structure. And we’re here for it.
