One of the biggest challenges for people living with atopic dermatitis (AD) is the impact it can have on their mental health and self-esteem.¹ It can affect how they perceive themselves or behave, often making them feel self-conscious about the look of their skin and leading many to avoid social activities or personal relationships.² The anxiety caused by AD can in turn create a vicious cycle that may worsen physical symptoms and lead to additional stress.³ How would you support people living with AD to feel confident in their own skin?

Challenge

AD can have a significant negative impact on quality of life, daily routines, and, in turn, self-confidence at every stage of life.⁴ AD usually appears before the age of five and during a critical development phase when sleep patterns, learned behaviors and a child’s awareness of themself are first established.⁵ Studies show that teens with AD are targeted with nicknames and jokes by their classmates, which can have a significant impact on their self-confidence, making an already difficult time of life more challenging.⁴ Many adults with AD feel limited in the responsibilities they can take on at work and uncertainty about career development due to discrimination or negative professional implications. ⁴

It's clear that AD can impact mental well-being at any age, highlighting the importance that now is the time to act. We're calling on people around the world to come up with ideas, big or small, to help strengthen self-esteem for people living with AD.

Read the challenge's background information for more information about atopic dermatitis and the experiences of people living with it.

Process and timeline

Participation requirements

We firmly believe that a good idea can come from anyone, and anywhere around the world. However, we are unable to provide grant funding to individuals and think that the power of you - the community - can make submissions even more substantial.

We ask that individuals, or groups of individuals, submit their ideas in partnership with a non-profit organization, such as an advocacy group, community center, or a patient or professional organization.

So, if you have an idea, make sure to reach out to a local group so that you can co-create together from the start. Local groups can also reach out to individuals who might have submitted an idea but are still looking for a non-profit partner.

Individuals with an idea that they feel passionate about, but who may not know a non-profit organization to partner with, are encouraged to:

• Research your local AD community: Most non-profit organizations either have websites or a social media presence so try reaching out that way and ask to speak to someone from the fundraising team. You may wish to consult the background information page.
• Combine teams: Reach out to others in the HYVE Crowd community who may be joining the challenge and have already identified an organization to partner with.
• Share your ideas anyway: While grant support will only be provided to those who have partnered with a non-profit organization, we want to hear your ideas regardless. Our community management team may be able to help provide more information on non-profit organizations in your region that you may be able to partner with.

What to think about

We want you to be creative when coming up with your idea. But when submitting your idea, please think through the following details. Thinking about these points from early on will help you a lot in coming up with a creative — but feasible — idea.

• Organization: What non-profit do you work for? Or tell us the non-profit organization you want to partner with to implement the idea.
• Location: Where are you based? Do you know something about your local AD community?
• Impact on AD community: In what way can your idea have a lasting impact on people with AD?

Additionally, you can take a look into the evaluation criteria to set up your idea for success.