Newsletter Issue: May 2008

Speakers Corner

By Dwayne Brown
Advocates for Youth International Youth Leadership Council

"We don't know who to trust…only your 'best friend' knows your secret and only he/she can reveal it" said Bob Marley, a renowned reggae artist. Politicians, health care providers, guidance counselors, teachers, parents and pastors--are these individuals truly our 'best friends'?

In Jamaica, HIV/AIDS has become an irreversible, non-competitive inhibitor to the standard of living, social viability, and ecology of the body and composure of young people regardless of sexuality, ethnicity, class, race, or culture. Even at present, the thought of being infected scares me. The reality for my friend was different. An intelligent young man, who was ready to take on the world, never knew what was in store for him around the corner. On July 15, 2004, his exuberance, dreams and aspirations were robbed by his aggressors who raped him at the age of 18. Four months later he was diagnosed with HIV.

According to the UNAIDS 2006 HIV/AIDS statistics, throughout the world, almost 6,000 youth ages 15 to 24 are infected with HIV every day. What does this statistic portray about the young people of the world? Far too often we are uneducated and mislead by our parents and the leaders of our society about sexuality, sexual intercourse, and HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, Jamaica is seen as a Christian country, yet the churches fail to educate the young people within their congregation and surrounding communities about HIV/AIDS. As a result, we are not informed about how to make right and responsible decisions about our sexual health and we become more vulnerable and susceptible to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The proliferation of HIV/AIDS among Jamaica's young people is alarming. Being sexually active is common among our peers. I can vividly recall the silence around discussing sex and sexuality issues in school and church. It was in 1999, my final year in junior high school, when almost all the girls that I had grown up with in school had dropped out because of pregnancy. Who are we to blame?

Contemporary Jamaican society is one of disparity, confusion, and obscurity. The government has said that youth are the priority of the nation, but clearly we are not number one among the long list of government priorities. The breach of confidentiality by health care providers and the lack of youth-friendly services is a crucial concern among young people. The fear of the repercussions of being stigmatized and discriminated against is reflected in the young people's reluctance to seek health care.

Although the Jamaican National HIV/AIDS policy's non-discrimination clause states "In respect for human rights and dignity of persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, there should be no discrimination against workers on the basis of real or perceived HIV status," this is not the reality in practice in the Jamaican work environment.

Homophobia also plays a detrimental role once you are perceived as a "batty man," or gay, by wider society. Research indicates that homophobia in Jamaica is a powerful cultural influence which forces HIV/AIDS infected and affected young gay men from accessing medical care. I strongly believe that the political and wider Jamaican society needs to reform its approach to homosexuality in order to reduce the HIV transmission rate among young gay men.

When I look within my society, I see a lack of unity and a lack of understanding of the immense amount of struggles and suffering young people undergo. Which leads back to the question, "Where are our best friends?"

Subcommittee Update

Advocacy Subcommittee

The YouthForce Advocacy Subcommittee coordinated a month-long e-consultation to foster a dialogue with young people active in the global AIDS response about the most significant goals, needs, and challenges they see within their work. Their responses will form the YouthForce advocacy messages and will appear throughout the conference on visibility materials such as t-shirts, posters, banners and in the Youth Pavilion area. 125 people from participated in the e-consultation and identified four key themes that will be turned into key messages:

  1. Young people's access to sexual and reproductive health services, education and information.
  2. Meaningful involvement in the implementation of programs and policies.
  3. Stigma against youth living with HIV and marginalized youth (such as sex workers, injecting drug users, young men who have sex with men, et al.)
  4. The social drivers that increase young people's vulnerability such as gender inequality and poverty.
Pre-Conference

The Youth Pre-Conference has now officially reached capacity! As of the May 15th deadline the subcommittee received 259 applications which have been accepted and 62 of those applicants are coming from Mexico. Although the deadline has passed the subcommittee has continued to receive applications and are putting those applicants on a waitlist (capacity for the pre-conference will be 275 participants). Currently, the subcommittee is now focusing on the logistics of the pre-conference. One of the things that the Mexican subcommittee members are working on putting together is a welcome guide for participants that covers key information about Mexico City.

For more information about the pre-conference please go to
http://youthaids2008.org/en/action/preconference.html. Media and Communication

The Media and Communication subcommittee has been working hard on recruiting and selecting a group of ten Youth Spokespeople who will be representing the YouthForce at two press conferences and speaking with media about the Mexico YouthForce's exciting activities during the conference. The spokespeople will be announced shortly so stay tuned for updates!

In addition, we are developing press kits, the youth journalist training materials and expanding our reach through various online networks including TakingITGlobal, Facebook, Flickr and Quantum Shift! Read the Resources section of this newsletter to see how you can get involved!

Activities

YouthForce Live Chat

On April 24, 2008 the Mexico YouthForce held an English live chat which was followed by a Spanish live chat on TakingITGlobal. Panelists included Joya Banerjee , the Co-Founder and Program Coordinator of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA) and co-chair of the YouthForce Advocacy Sub-Committee; Katie Chau the Executive Coordinator for the Youth Coalition; Kirsten Jordan the co-chair of the YouthForce Media and Communications Sub-Committee and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator at TakingITGlobal; Aleza Summit, the Project Officer at the Global Coalition for HIV/AIDS, co-chair of the Mexico Youth Force Pre-Conference subcommittee and a member of the Youth Working Group for AIDS2008; Ricardo Baruch, the Youth Activities Coordinator International AIDS Society and Rodrigo Olin the Executive Director of Ave de Mexico and Co-chair of the Youth Pre-Conference subcommittee.

During this engaging online discussion panelist answered questions and gave updates about their preparations for the International AIDS conference happening this August. The main conference sub-committee is currently developing a youth pocket guide book for the youths attending the conference that will be available both on print and digitally. The pocket guide book will have exciting tips on how to prepare for the conference. The Advocacy subcommittee is currently in the midst developing the advocacy messages and are also following up on the adults commitments desk from 2006. The media and communications subcommittee is in the midst of developing press kits and youth journalist training materials. The Reception sub-committee is very excited to be preparing for the youth reception.

The Live Chat was a great success and the YouthForce would like to thank our speakers and everyone who attended!

Resources and Opportunities

Agente de Cambio

GYCA, MTV Latin America, UNFPA and Fundacion Huesped launched a scholarship competition for latino/a young people called "Agente de Cambio" with a TV advertisement currently airing across Latin America on MTV and at http://www.mtvla.com/sida2008. 1.6 million people are living with HIV in the region, and AIDS2008 will be the first International AIDS Conference in Latin America. Ten winners will receive a full scholarship to participate in AIDS2008 as a digital reporter, increasing the participation of latino/a youth delegates in YouthForce media coverage, especially on blogs and podcasts. The will participate in a training with MTV and YouthForce staff, as well as the Youth Pre-Conference. Applications will be accepted till June 15th from young people in Latin America at http://www.mtvla.com/sida2008.

Media workshop for young people living with HIV

Immediately prior to the upcoming 2008 International AIDS Conference, the World AIDS Campaign (WAC), with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), will hold a day-long media workshop for young people living with HIV.

The workshop will bring together approximately 25 young people, on the 30 of July 2008, to facilitate the identification of their message/s as positive young leaders, as well as share tips on how to work with the media. The first half of the day will focus on preparing the messages of participants, while the second half will be highly interactive, building participants practical media skills in areas such as written press, radio, television, blogging, among others. In this way, participants will have the opportunity to discuss their key messages as young leaders, while at the same time learning how best to share those messages according to the type of media and audience.

Interested in participating? All you have to do is send your application form to ahumadac@worldaidscampaign.org. No previous media experience is required. Applications can be found under the opportunities section of the AIDS 2008 Youth website, at http://youthaids2008.org/en/informed/opportunities.html or requested to the above email. Applications are open until the 12 of June 2008. We look forward to hearing from you!

AIDS in Focus Photography Contest

"AIDS in Focus" is a photography contest sponsored by the Mexico YouthForce.

The concept behind the contest is simple; we want youth to submit their photographs on what AIDS means to them and their communities. How does AIDS affect you as a young person? As young people between the ages of 15-24 account for more than 40% of new HIV infections it is clear that youth worldwide must have a voice in the fight against AIDS.

To submit your photographs please join the YouthForce group on Flickr and add your photographs to the group:

http://flickr.com/groups/youthforce/

Also, remember to tag your photographs with "AIDS in Focus" as well, so we know that they are a part of the contest. We also ask that you write a short description about the photograph that includes details about what the photo means to you, along with your name, age, and country of residence.

Questions about the contest can be sent to mediamyf (at) gmail.com

The top five photographs selected will be showcased on the Youth Web site and in the Youth Pavilion at the XVII International AIDS Conference taking place this August in Mexico City (www.aids2008.org). Winners will also receive a gift pack!

Speak Out on Aids!

The Mexico YouthForce is happy to announce the "Speak Out on AIDS Video Challenge. This will be a unique opportunity for youth not able to attend the conference to be involved and make their voices heard. Youth (under the age of 30) are invited to submit videos between 30 seconds to 2 minutes on their thoughts on how HIV/AIDS affects you and/or your community. Is it something that you think about? If you could attend the International AIDS Conference what would you want your message to be? This is your opportunity to speak out and have your voice heard.

The top five videos will be shown at the Youth Pre-Conference and will also be showcased at the Youth Pavilion and on the Youth AIDS site. In addition, the winner of the contest will have their video shown on an up-coming episode of Breakout (on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Additional prizes will include digital cameras for the top three videos. To learn more visit: http://www.quantumshift.tv/v/1211405313/ and http://youthaids2008.org/en/informed/opportunities.html

Become a fan of the YouthForce on Facebook!

You also can become a fan of the Mexico YouthForce on Facebook. Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/YouthForce/8802473399 and become a fan now!

Submit Your Artwork!

The Mexico YouthForce has started a Global Gallery Collection on TakingITGlobal (www.TakingITGlobal.org) and would like to invite you to submit your artwork on what HIV/AIDS means to you and your community. To view the collection please visit http://www.tigurl.org/hivaidsgg. Some artwork will also be displayed within the YouthForce Pavilion during the conference itself!

To submit your works please visit here.

Resources

Understanding the Issues

Want to learn more about HIV/AIDS? Check out TakingITGlobal's "Understanding the Issues" section where you can download the HIV/AIDS Youth Guide to Action, access more resources on the web, browse blogs and learn more about the issue. http://issues.takingitglobal.org/hiv

Game

Test your knowledge about HIV/AIDS through a fun game available here http://www.avert.org/hivquiz.htm

AIDS 2008 Youth Site

Check out the AIDS 2008 Youth Site where you can join in discussion groups, post blogs, submit art and much more! http://youthaids2008.org/en/

This newsletter does not represent the interests and opinions of the organizers of the XVII International AIDS Conference or its partners.

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