UNESCO HIV and AIDS Education Clearinghouse Events, News, Publications

20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014)

Sun, 20 Jul 2014 13:07:00 +0200

The 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) will take place in Melbourne, Australia from 20 to 25 July 2014. More details are available at: www.aids2014.org

The WorldPride Human Rights Conference 2014, 25-27 June 2014

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 11:37:00 +0200

The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto and Pride Toronto are organising The WorldPride Human Rights Conference 2014. The Conference will take place from 25-27 June 2014 in Toronto, Canada.

The WorldPride Human Rights Conference 2014 provides a unique opportunity for a global dialogue about LGBTTIQQ2SA* human rights. More information, please visit: www.wphrc14.com. *LGBTTIQQ2SA* is an acronym used by the Conference organisers to represent a broad array of identities such as, but not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, two-spirited, and allies.

International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) 2013

Sat, 07 Dec 2013 13:34:00 +0100

ICASA 2013 will take place from 7 to 11 December in Cape Town, South Africa. More information will be available at: www.icasa2013southafrica.org

11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP11), 18 -22 November 2013, Bangkok, Thailand

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 08:09:00 +0100

Deadline of abtract submission: 31 May 2013 Theme: Asia/Pacific Reaching Triple Zero: Investing in Innovation

ICAAP 11 aims to create a "Game Change" impact on the HIV/AIDS response in Aisa and the Pacific region by providing a forum where innotavive and evidence-based research programmes and policies to combat HIV/AIDS are exhibited to generate and reinforce public attendtion on the issues. The major objectives of the ICAAP 11 are: i) to enhance public awareness and media attention on the continued impact of HIV/AIDS and the needs for responses to the epidemic; ii) To gain a greater understanding and commitment for increased investment in community based and evidence-based interventions and innovations; iii) To share best practices and lessons learned on scaling up, susttaining and effective responses in order to reach the tripple zero; and iv) to strengthen politcial commitment for sustaining resources and programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, support and reducing discrimination and stigmatization. Contact: The ICAAP 11 Secreteriat at secreteriat@icaap11.org Website: www.icaap11.og

7th SAHARA Conference

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 15:29:00 +0200

The 7th SAHARA (Social Aspects of HIV and AIDS Research Alliance) will be held in Dakar, Senegal, from 7 to 10 October 2013. The conference theme is "Translating evidence into action: Engaging with communities, policies, human rights, gender, service delivery ..." More information is available at: http://sahara.org.za/conferences/2013

21st World Congress for Sexual Health

Sat, 21 Sep 2013 06:52:00 +0200

Main topic of the Congress: Sexual Issues Straight from the Health
Dates: 21-24 September 2013
Venue: Porto Alege, Brazil Online Registration Form

More information on the event will be available at: www.2013was.com

21st IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion, 25 - 29 August 2013

Sun, 25 Aug 2013 07:13:00 +0200

Organised by International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) and Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) The conference will aim to examine the following questions:

i) What are the best investments for health and the well-being of people? How do different perspectives contribute to the definition of policies and interventions that promote health, social and human development?

ii) Who are key investors in health promotion systems? (But) Who is missing? What are the implications for developing dimensions related to social, financial, and cultural capital?

iii) What are the successes and challenges developing and implementing (or in achieving?) health in all policies? Do we know enough? [More]

STI & AIDS World Congress 2013

Sun, 14 Jul 2013 13:15:00 +0200

The STI & AIDS World Congress 2013 will be held in Vienna from 14 to 17 July 2013. The Congress will be held as a joint meeting of the 20th Meeting of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR), and the 14th World Congress of the International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI). For more details visit: www.stivienna2013.com

2nd International Conference for the Social Sciences and Humanities in HIV

Sun, 07 Jul 2013 10:43:00 +0200

The 2nd International Conference for the Social Sciences and Humanities in HIV is taking place from 7 to 10 July 2013 in Paris, France. The theme of the conference is 'KNOWING PRACTICES'. ‘KNOWING PRACTICES’ refers to:

The practices that produce, reproduce and transform the social worlds in which people live. This includes what knowledge we have of the forces shaping the epidemic - whether social, structural, geographic, historical, political or economic - and their connection to practice; and
The different ways of ‘doing science’ or knowing (and unknowing), that is, on the ways in which we as scientists claim to have evidence.

For more information visit the conference website: http://asshhconference.org/

7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013)

Sun, 30 Jun 2013 15:24:00 +0200

The 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013) will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 30 June to 3 July 2013. The event will be organized by the IAS, in partnership with Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), University of Malaya. The conference is a unique opportunity for the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders to examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can – in very practical ways – inform the global response to HIV/AIDS. For more information visit the conference website: www.ias2013.org

Taking Stock, Taking Action. 5th Symposium on HIV, Law and Human Rights

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:28:00 +0200

This symposium, organised by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network will look at HIV criminalization, LGBT rights, sex work and includes a conversation with Frank Mugisha, one of Uganda's leading activists for LGBT rights. More details and agenda are available at: www.aidslaw.ca/symposium

9th Annual short course on: Strengthening Contemporary School Health, Nutrition and HIV Prevention Programmes

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:09:00 +0200

10-20 June 2013, Elmina, Ghana This interactive and participatory short course aims to strengthen the capacity of the health and education sectors to respond effectively to the needs of school-age populations at the country level. The course offers:

Up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to concepts and good practices in improving the health, nutrition and education of schoolchildren.
Expert facilitation by current practitioners with recognized international and regional knowledge in school health and nutrition (SHN).
Visits to schools and communities to see the FRESH Framework in action.
Exceptional opportunity for information exchange, debate and continued learning among those engaged in SHN programme policy and implementation.

The principal objective of the course is to develop country-specific response plans reflecting all aspects of the FRESH Framework. Follow up technical support is provided to participating countries to enable these plans to be successfully implemented. More information is available on the Schools and Health website: www.schoolsandhealth.org/Pages/2011SHNshortcourse.aspx

Women Deliver Global Conference: Moving from Promise to Progress for Girls and Women, 28-30 May 2013

Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 +0200

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Women Deliver is a global advocacy organization bringing together voices from around the world to call for action on maternal, sexual and reproductive health. We work globally to generate political commitment and resource investments to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health. Organiser: Women Deliver

More information: http://www.wd2013.org/

Enhancing Leadership and Capacity Development of the MSM and TG Community Networks

Fri, 10 May 2013 04:24:00 +0200

With financial and technical support from National AIDS Authority, UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, FHI360 and KHANA, Bandanh Chaktomuk (BC) successfully organized a 3-day workshop in Phnom Penh focusing on enhancing the leadership and capacity development of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender (TG) Community Networks.

The event brought together 36 MSM and TG representatives including the elected members of the BC executive committee and representatives of the network from more than 10 provinces of Cambodia. The objectives of the workshop were to:

• Review overall progress from the previous mandates, the two-year action plan and other key priorities for 2013 and beyond
• Deepen the understanding and knowledge among Executive Committee members about international, regional and national commitments, the policy framework, and the challenges and needs of MSM and TG people in relation to human rights, legal, health and social services, stigma and discriminations and livelihood improvement opportunities
• Increase understanding of the qualities of good leaders
• Develop their personal confidence, communications and advocacy skills
• Enhance communications and partnership among new executive members, provincial representatives and advisory members and key partners of BC Network.

In order to achieve the objectives, various thematic topics were covered and facilitated by the resource persons from the government (National AIDS Authority and National Centre for HIV/AIDS Dermatology and STDs), UNESCO, UNDP, UNAIDS, KHANA and FHI 360. Some of the topics are:

• Political declarations and national commitments on human rights protection
• Enabling environmental initiatives for those people from key populations who are affected by HIV
• Targeted HIV services to MSM/TG and mechanisms for the networks to play an active role at national and sub-national levels to support key populations, in particularly young MSM and TG people
• Getting to Zero 2011- 2015 UNAIDS Strategy and what does Getting to Zero mean for Community Network?
• Role of the Community Network in achieving HIV response using core competencies
• The qualities of good leaders of a community network and leadership skills
• Leadership strengths consultation
• Participatory approaches and planning
• Vision for the preferred future The workshop employed participatory methods: lectures, plenary discussions, group works and presentations. Most of the comments and recommendations raised during the discussions and plenary sessions clearly presented the critical challenges faced by the communities in their everyday lives and greatly emphasized the importance of the active role to be played at the national and provincial levels in advocating for the rights. Similarly, feedbacks on empowering and mobilizing community members to promote, respect and protect their rights were also shared among the workshop participants. View the Workshop report. For further information about this workshop, please contact Nimol Soth, UNESCO Phnom Penh at n.soth@unesco.org Source: UNESCO Phnom Penh

Related Links:

BC General Assembly to Set the New Leadership for Better Recognition of the Contributions of MSM and TG People in Addressing and Facing Challenges

National AIDS Authority, Cambodia

National Centre for HIV/AIDS Dermatology and STDs

Piloting Project on Supplemental Illustrative Manuals Comprehensive

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:19:00 +0200

Two hundred youth from juvenile detention centres in Tangerang, Palembang, Blitar and Kupang participated in pilot activities to review illustrative manuals on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). The piloting took place between 1 – 3 May and was jointly conducted by the Directorate General of Correctional Institutes, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, supported by UNESCO Jakarta. At each of the juvenile detention centres, facilitators gathered opinions about the CSE manuals and disseminated information on reproductive health, including puberty, sexual abuse, sexual transmitted diseases and HIV & AIDS. Mr. Haviluddin, Director of Health and Care of the Correctional Institute formally opened the piloting at the Palembang-Juvenile Correctional Institute. During the sessions, Dr. Mee Young Choi, Team Leader HIV/AIDS, UNESCO Jakarta, stressed the importance role of education in juvenile detention center, especially to provide knowledge and skills to be used once they leave. Mr. Faedhoni, the Head of Palembang-Juvenile Correctional Institute welcomed the pilot team and focused on the need of reproductive health education to support behavioral change education at the center. Dr. Hetty Widiastuti, team leader, and Irna, from the Directorate General of Correctional Institute, co-facilitated the piloting project with Grace Halim, NPO HIV/AIDS, UNESCO Jakarta in Palembang Juvenile Correctional Institute. Youth and staff were excited to participate in the piloting project, and actively gave their opinion, both verbal and written. At the end of the program, youth showed their gratitude by a short performance of singing, dancing, role-playing and poetry reading.

On the National Education Day, which is celebrated every 2nd May, local television, Sriwijaya TV, broadcasted the event on their evening news. The results of this piloting project will be presented by Directorate General of Correctional Institute, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, during a workshop arranged by UNESCO Jakarta that will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 30-31 May 2013. For further information on this event, please contact: Grace M Halim, UNESCO Jakarta at gm.halim@unesco.org. Source: UNESCO Jakarta
Related Link: Focus Group Discussion on Pilot Project: Supplemental Illustrative Manuals Comprehensive Sexuality Education for Youth in Detention Centers

Myanmar Youth Stars for HIV Response

Wed, 08 May 2013 03:19:00 +0200

"To empower, advocate and create opportunities for key populations of young people to have access to HIV prevention, care and treatment in an environment where they receive equal rights” is the mission statement of the newly-established Myanmar Youth Stars network, whose members met recently in Yangon in a foundation workshop.

In Myanmar, the HIV epidemic is largely concentrated in nature, with 0.53% prevalence among the adult population. Key populations, including younger cohorts (under age 25), bear a great burden of disease. HIV prevalence is 9.1% among young female sex workers, 5.7% among young men who have sex with men and 13.7% among young people who inject drugs. According to the 2012 Myanmar Country Progress Report, laws which criminalize behavior of groups who are most at risk remain in place in the country and make effective and open interventions with these populations challenging. Therefore, it is essential for young people from key populations to network among their peers in order to stand up for themselves and lead initiatives in response to HIV in the country. In November 2012, UNESCO supported the NewGEN Leadership Short Course Training for emerging young leaders in Myanmar. The training aimed to equip participants the necessary skills to become future leaders in the HIV response. As one of the outcomes of the training, some participants decided to establish a mechanism to increase the participation of young people from key populations in HIV activities. Since then, they have organized monthly meetings to prepare to establish this network, named Myanmar Youth Stars. Myanmar Youth Stars (MYS) is a network of young people from key populations including young men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, people who sell sex and people living with HIV. Together the members of MYS have committed to organizational values of transparency, support, team spirit, unity and acknowledgement of diverse strengths among members. “I think everyone has values, every organization has values and MYS should have values. We MYS should avoid things that contradict our values.” Aung Kyi Khaing, MYS member. UNESCO Yangon has been actively supporting the establishment of MYS through capacity building and technical support and guidance. Nineteen MYS members from various regions including Ayeyarwaddy, Kachin, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing and Yangon gathered in April 2013 for a three-day workshop aiming to set up a good foundation for MYS members to become a well-functioning network and to lead effective actions in HIV response. To work towards its vision for Myanmar where “young people are free from risk of getting HIV infection and live healthy lives to their full potential”, MYS will voice young key populations’ needs and concerns on accessing to HIV prevention, care and treatment with various stakeholders. They plan to do this through several mechanisms such as building a strong relationship with other NGOs and government sectors, having their representatives in relevant meetings with various stakeholders, and mobilizing resources to ensure sustainability of the network. Furthermore, MYS will empower their members through capacity building and information sharing among their members. Consensus on the network’s goals, objectives and roles and responsibilities of MYS members and its working group were reached during the workshop. MYS members also discussed and prepared their work plan for 2013 – 2014 towards the end of the workshop. Based on this work plan, the working group will continue to meet on a monthly basis and will focus on the development of MYS’ structure, constitution and registration for official recognition. The workshop ended with each member expressing their individual commitment and identifying which activities they would carry out in the next three months. By attending the Foundation workshop, each MYS member has acquired a set of skills for effectively working in the network activities and for strengthening individual connections. “ We need to have more members, to reach more young people. We have set the target to have 198 members by end of July this year. All founding members are responsible for this and will mobilize a greater number of young people from key population” MYS membership is open to any young person from a key population in Myanmar who has volunteer spirit and is willing to commit their time to contribute to the network. To get more information on how to join MYS, please write to Nagin Lin at msmboy2@gmail.com. For information on UNESCO response to HIV in Myanmar, please contact:
Dr Yu Yu Aung
HIV/AIDS National Program Officer
UNESCO, Yangon, Myanmar
Phone: 01 542910 -19, ext. 111
Email: yy.aung@unesco.org
Related Links:

Foundation Workshop for Myanmar Youth Stars, Young Key Affected Populations Network in Myanmar 6-8 April 2013 Building new young leaders in Myanmar

Focus Group Discussion on Pilot Project: Supplemental Illustrative Manuals Comprehensive Sexuality Education for Youth in Detention Centers, 25 April-3 May 2013

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:23:00 +0200

UNESCO Jakarta Office hosted the first Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the Pilot Project of the Supplemental Illustrative Manuals – Comprehensive Sexuality Education for youth in detention centers. A total of fifteen participants from Directorate General Correctional Institute, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, WHO, UNICEF, and UNESCO attended the FGD. This FGD is organized for selected civil servants working for the Correctional Institutes who will pilot HIV prevention education-modules that have been developed for youth in detention centers. This FGD commenced with the welcoming remarks by Deputy Director UNESCO Jakarta, Shahbaz Khan. He highlighted the importance of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, especially in light of evidence that most of HIV infected youth are among those who are engage in high risk behaviors. Therefore, UNESCO sees an opportunity to work together with Directorate General Correctional Institutes, Ministry of Law and Human Rights in implementing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), specifically for youth in closed setting centers. Haviluddin, Director of Health and Care of the Correctional Institute very much encouraged seeing that this new initiative to cover youth in detention centers in a non-formal setting and emphasized that the initiative should be fully supported as in fact it covers those who are not able to access reproductive health education at formal education system. Amrullah and dr. Hetty Widiastuti, as team leader and secretary, detailed the piloting project on the technical point of view. Dr. Tini Setiawan, WHO focal point for Adolescent Health, Annisa Elok Budiyanti, DNICEF focal point for HIV AIDS and UNESCO were engaged as technical advisers to provide skills to the piloting team in conducting piloting project for youth in detention centers. Grace Halim, National Programme Office HIV-AIDS and School Health, on behalf of Dr. Meeyoung Choi, Team Leader HIV-AIDS, UNESCO Jakarta also expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, especially the Directorate General of Correctional Institute for its collaboration and partnership and shared that UNESCO shall continue to assist the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, in educating youth at higher risk of HIV transmission to achieve Zero new HIV Infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths. This first FGD marks the series of piloting projects in four youth correctional institutes, i.e. Banten, Palembang, Blitar and Kupang. The piloting was started on the 25th April 2013 and will continue until the 3rd May 2013.

For further information on this event, please contact: Grace M Halim, UNESCO Jakarta at gm.halim@unesco.org

Source: UNESCO office in Jakarta
Related Links: UNAIDS Executive Director, Michele Sidibe, visit to Indonesia put spotlight on the ‘expanding domestic HIV epidemic’ with plenty of opportunity to bring societal change UNESCO & WHO Supports Indonesia MoH Survey of Young People’s Knowledge of HIV in Papua, Lampung, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, and West Java
UNESCO and UNFPA lends support to MoEC, MOH, BKKBN, and NAC in Indonesia to Development of National Guidelines on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) Education – Addressing HIV and STI Transmission

Good Policy and Practice in HIV & AIDS Education Booklet 7: Gender Equality, HIV and Education

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:56:00 +0200

UNESCO has released a new edition of Good Policy and Practice in HIV & AIDS Education: Gender Equality, HIV and Education, the seventh in a series from experienced practitioners in the fields of HIV, gender equality and education. This booklet emphasizes the need for evidence-based education responses to reduce both HIV prevalence and gender inequality.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, education is being used to address and modify not only the legal and policy barriers to sexual health, but also the societal norms that influence how sexual and reproductive health is discussed between teachers, parents and students. For Helen Cahill, an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the importance of effective pedagogy for health promotion cannot be underestimated.

“There is a significant prevention science evidence base about the kind of teaching methodology that works in health promotion education. Effective programmes use highly participatory strategies such as role-play and problem-solving exercises, as well as activities to promote a critical approach to the influence of social norms on people’s everyday choices,” explained Dr Cahill. Associate Professor Cahill and Sally Beadle focus on the need for increased family-level communication in their discussion paper ‘Talking about sexual and reproductive health: Promoting better communication between parents and children in Asia’ in the Good Policy and Practice booklet. Drawing from studies that indicate either a lack of willingness or confidence on the part of mothers to discuss sexual health matters with their daughters, Dr Cahill developed the Creating Connections programme, which aims to facilitate intergenerational dialogue about gender rights and sexual and reproductive health. The programme was piloted in Viet Nam and has achieved considerable results, with reported increases in the comfort levels of mother to daughter communication about sexual and reproductive health issues, including comfort discussing gender-based violence, which increased from 50% to 90%. Despite this success, Dr Cahill said there were initial fears that the participants would be too embarrassed to engage in role play activities concerning sensitive subjects. “Prior to the first programme in Viet Nam, I ran a 2-day consultation workshop with the Women’s Union. They tried every methodology. Originally they said that they thought the role play activities would not work because Vietnamese women may be too shy to work in this way. But then they tried the activities and found that they actually love role play because it helps them to work together to increase their skills and courage to speak about sensitive issues.” What is effective, Dr Cahill said, is a combination of different participatory, group building and critical thinking activities which work together to build people’s confidence to talk about gender rights and sexual and reproductive health. “So for example, we have games designed to introduce each topic area of a particular session,” explained Dr Cahill, continuing “They get people working together and laughing together and this helps to really create a protective connection in the group. Following that, we usually go into an information activity, and then a participatory group activity such as a role play where participants generate and enact advice for certain characters in a given situation.” One form of role play is known as Hidden Thoughts, which asks the mothers to unpack what the character in a scenario could be thinking or feeling but what they may be unable to say. This technique helps people to talk about the social norms that influence their behaviour. “Hidden thoughts will reveal what’s holding back the mother from communicating with her daughter is a mixture of things: This might be embarrassment, shame and lack of confidence in her own knowledge. However she also feels a sense of responsibility for her daughter, and a fear that if she doesn’t provide information, her daughter may come to harm.” “A good mother wants to look after her daughter and give her some information, but she also wants to be seen as respectable and not to be embarrassed in front of her community. She has hopes, fears and conflicting thoughts. The Hidden Thoughts technique helps participants to identify and talk about the barriers that prevent communication, and the hopes that motivate them to find the courage for action.” Following its success in Viet Nam, Creating Connections has been adapted to introduce programs for adolescent boys and for men, and has expanded as the Connections programme into Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar. More information about the Creating Connections and other emerging research in the field of HIV, gender and education can be found in the full publication of Good Policy and Practice in HIV and Health Education. View other booklets in the series and other publications in UNESCO Key Resources. Contact: Section of HIV and Health Education, UNESCO at aids@unesco.org
Related Links: Connections: Empowering Women to Talk about Sexual and Reproductive Health -- Training of Trainers Workshop, Septemper 2012, Myanmar UNESCO and UNFPA Jointly Support National Training of Trainers for Connections Sexuality Education Programme, 2-4 November 2011, Cambodia UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF supported a training-of-trainers workshop for Creating Connections, 14-18 March 2011 in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Connections: Empowering Women to Talk about Sexual and Reproductive Health Training of Trainers Workshop, 30 April - 3 May 2013, Myanmar

Youth LEAD’s Social Media Campaign - Launch of “Our Voices”

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:27:00 +0200

Injecting drug use, sex work, sexual orientation and gender identity, and condom use are some of the issues explored in “Our Voices”, a social media campaign made by young people for young people in the Asia-Pacific region. The campaign was launched on Friday 22 February 2013 by Youth LEAD, an Asia-Pacific Network of Young Key Affected Populations (including young men who have sex with men, young transgender people, young people who inject drugs, young people living with HIV, and young people selling sex) whose mission is to become the catalyst of change and empowerment for young people who are at higher risk of HIV exposure. A month after the launch took place, Rebecca Brown, Young Key Affected Populations Support Officer at UNESCO, met with Thaw Zin Aye, Coordinator, and Mike Nedelko, Fundraising and Campaign Officer, of Youth LEAD to discuss the impact of Our Voices and the role of social media as a tool in the HIV response. “There are so many advocacy strategies that work, and have worked previously, but there are new ways to reach young people…[and] as a youth organization we want to know the best way to reach them, the best way to simplify issues that we want to address, and consider why young people should care and support these issues,” shared Thaw Zin Aye. According to Youth LEAD, social media is an effective and practical way to educate a large audience by creating a narrative which can then be supported with accurate information to help viewers understand some of the issues around HIV. “Social media is important because youth have so many pressures, the declaration of their sexual orientation or other issue without guidance can be difficult for them, this is why there were so many people commenting on our video and asking for information,” shared Mike Nedelko.

Youth LEAD commented that they have come across programmes for youth that are designed in a way that assumes they understand the issues, but the broader youth population does not necessarily understand, or consider these issues high on their list of priorities. They believed a social media campaign that could reach young people without having to identify with a type of behavior or community would be powerful in building a network and breaking down the environment that breeds stigma and discrimination. “Through this campaign we intended to introduce people to the issues, rally support and build an audience base in the region so we have the capacity to focus this network of supporters on taking concrete action,” explained Mike Nedelko. The impact of this campaign has been a nice surprise for Youth LEAD. While they initially aimed to receive 20,000 views, they have received over 116,000 views of the campaign on YouTube to date. This includes around 14,000 ‘likes’ of the video and 830 ‘shares’ via Facebook. The launch of the campaign also increased access to Youth LEAD’s Facebook page, from 600 to nearly 4,500 followers. “The real impact is seen through the one-on-one conversations we had with people,” shared Mike Nedelko, “we had more than 120 of these direct interactions ranging from answering simple questions on HIV, to referring people to the relevant in country Youth LEAD focal points as well as dispelling myths and providing accurate information, which is very valuable”. Many comments on the social media platform reveal a lack of basic understanding about HIV, including misconceptions about modes of transmission and how to protect oneself. Through the campaign, Youth LEAD has been mediating online discussions and providing information and referral to in-country support services.

“…for once, a guided group that [sic] exists to inform and not discriminate. I must say that makes me :)” - comment from YouTube user

An example of this type of direct referral occurred with a young man from Indonesia who highlighted difficulties he was facing with coming out as gay, including experiences with school and his family. He asked Youth LEAD for information on support networks and other services within Indonesia, and they were able refer him to the Youth LEAD focal point in Indonesia. Thaw shared that, with the help of Youth LEAD and the availability of a network in which he felt safe and comfortable to act, he is now receiving the support that he requested. While most feedback has been overwhelmingly positive Mike commented that some feedback had been negative but that this was expected when Youth LEAD planned to reach out to an audience as large as this. He felt that “negative feedback can be even more valuable to the cause. It gives you the opportunity to respond with correct information. This can be very powerful if we want to change the face of HIV”. Youth LEAD is now considering how to mobilize the community that has identified themselves through the social media channels. The potential advocacy activities that could be achieved through this enthusiastic network are no doubt exciting for this organization, and they strongly believe that “strength through numbers can only be effective if we manage to mobilize all the supporters towards one particular goal”. UNESCO offered feedback and support to Youth LEAD, along with other UN partners, for the development of this campaign, and will continue to support them to address emerging issues including what appears to be critical knowledge gaps among young people. A final word from the enthusiastic and motivated team at Youth LEAD in response to how UNESCO and other young people could continue to promote the campaign is “share it, like it, join in the conversation and don’t be afraid to respond to questions people are asking on the net”. For more information; or to watch this video and join in Youth LEAD’s online debate, click here: http://youth-lead.org/
*Youth LEAD works with young people, aged 14 to 25, who are either directly affected by HIV or at high risk of HIV infection. Youth LEAD fights against discrimination and ensures young people’s human rights are respected by empowering them through education, networking, and advocacy. Through their network they are active in 17 countries, where they work towards providing skill-based education that empowers young people to guard themselves against human rights violations, ensure their health is a responsibility they feel confident managing, and link them to our networks of peers so that their needs can be registered by multinational organisations and governments. Related Links: Youth-led training builds leadership skills among young people affected by the AIDS epidemic

NewGen Asia: Strengthening the Voice of Tomorrow’s Leaders

Video on The Story Behind the Development of "NewGen Asia - New Generation Leadership Short Course"

2011-2012 Education Sector HIV and AIDS Global Pogress Survey: Progression, regression or stagnation?

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:13:00 +0200

Commissioned by the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team on Education convened by UNESCO this new survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of how countries’ education sectors are responding to HIV and AIDS, assesses progress since the last survey in 2004, and points out the policy implications of the current situation. The report reviews the data collected and highlights some of the critical action points that need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the education sector’s response to HIV and AIDS. More information is available at: www.unesco.org/aids

View UNAIDS' article on the Survey. Download the 2011-2012 Education Sector HIV and AIDS Global Progress Survey