The Vaccine Equity Education Coalition (VEEC) was launched through an IDEA Innovation Grant (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy) with a simple but powerful belief: people are more likely to engage with health information when it comes from trusted messengers who understand their lived experiences.

With the support of that seed grant and a growing network of community partners—including educators, students, healthcare professionals, and residents—we began testing a new approach to public health engagement rooted in relationships, cultural relevance, and community leadership.

That work expanded from New Brunswick to Newark to Camden and across New Jersey through partnerships with RU School of Public Health, RU School of Nursing, elementary schools, community organizations, faith leaders, healthcare providers, and public health institutions. Together, we trained youth VEEC ambassadors, older adult VEEC Ambassadors, nursing students, public health professionals, and community leaders to become trusted voices for health within their own communities.

Along the way, we discovered something powerful:

Trust is infrastructure.

Communities everywhere are seeking culturally relevant, trusted ways to engage with health information, navigate healthcare systems, and support the well-being of their families.

That insight led to the next chapter.

Today, VEEC and the HAVA Institute are building the Movement for Immunity—a cultural public health movement that uses storytelling, the arts, community engagement, and partnership-building to strengthen trust and advance health outcomes.

The movement now extends from New Jersey to New York City, where we are launching community engagement in Harlem, and onward to Côte d’Ivoire, where we are building partnerships with community organizations, public health leaders, educators, artists, and cultural institutions.

This work was never about bringing answers to communities.
It has always been about building a global coalition that learns together.

Through partnerships with organizations such as PAC-CI, collaboration with Côte d’Ivoire’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), and engagement with community leaders, cultural ambassadors, and diaspora communities, we are helping shape new pathways for community-centered public health—ones that honor culture, strengthen trust, and elevate local leadership.

Torchlight to Abidjan: A Night for Côte d’Ivoire is part of that journey.

On August 14, 2026, Movement for Immunity will host a Community Cultural Health Activation in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, bringing together community members, health leaders, educators, artists, and partners around a shared vision for health, connection, and opportunity.

Your presence and support help make that vision possible.

Together, we are showing that culture is not separate from health— it is how trust is built.

Community is how change happens.

And when people come together across neighborhoods, cities, and continents, we can create a healthier future for all