Washington DC Youth Force Day 2

The second day of the YouthForce conference gave participants the chance to mingle some more and exchange different ideas and good practices. The day began with session on advocacy and messaging, specifically tailored for the environment of AIDS 2012. The YouthForce advocacy committee shared in detail the 3 main messages of YouthForce and the way they should translate into action during the conference. 

 

As part of the session Will Neville and Rechel Cooke gave advice and tips on working with the general public and the media.

The importance of having a strong personal story and honest approach was highlighted. Body language and vocabulary used are a key factor and in a number of countries, including the USA, the existence of strong opposition groups means advocates need to be weary of secret recording and the danger of having your statement taken out of context or misquoted. All participants were encouraged to have an ‘elevator speech’ prepared in their sleeve so they can easily present themselves and their mission at the conference for about a minute.

 One of the sessions we particularly liked was “The effect of global politics and pharmaceutical power on access to medicines”. It is a topic which we do not engage in so often but is of great importance, affects the lives of many people and it is part of the holistic services package we wish to see in the world. Here is a short video that was presented and can introduce you to the topic:

  

At the end of the day, Annaïs and Maya held a session on Social Media and SRHR.  

The workshop firstly reviewed the development of social media and how it affects communication and the lives of young people. We looked at several case studies of SRHR being brought to the media and the responses it inspired. The session provided participants with a set of guiding questions to help young people build and develop a SRHR campaign through social media and offered YSAFE’s experience in running the IHBG Project. Chech out our IHBG Blog for some inspiting links and examples of SRHR on the web.

 

Srhr via Social media from jauatkales

The Hijacked Session 

The positive experience we had during the youth pre-conference was slightly shadowed by a shocking intrusion in our own session. While, as a wrap up, we encouraged participants to share their personal experience with social media and the challenges and benefits they found, one of the youth delegates and a member of the organizing sub-committees decided it is appropriate to interrupt the discussion and singlehandedly rant on social media while taking up the stage. The rant continued for half an hour, halted audience participation while mostly covering tips and information already given in the session. We felt, this was highly disrespectful to both us as presenters and the audience as active participants in the session. As we hadn’t had any previous experience with such situations, so we found ourselves quite shocked and puzzled. We tried to be respectful and avoid a conflict, especially at such an event that is aimed at bringing youth together. After the session, we expressed our and the audience’s frustration with the individual and subsequently received an apology and a promise it won’t happen again. We really hope that all youth conferences are a place we all respect each-other and our work.

We are not sure we had the best responce either so we thought about possible reactions to such a situation an here are some of our tips:

- Listen to the person and find the key message they want to convey. 

-Try to engage them with other members of the audience.

- Integrate their point into the session topic and reclaim the position of a moderator. 

- If all of those do not work, keep calm and politely ask the participant to step down.

- Don’t make a scene.

- Share your views with the individual in private and explain what are the reasons why you find their behaviour inappropriate/offensive/disrespectful/counter-productive. 

- Be firm but respectful.

We will be glad to hear from you and learn from your experience with such situations.

Washington DC Youth Force: Day 1

AIDS 2012 is taking over Washington DC and YSAFE is plugging in the event represented by Luize Ratniece and Maya Koumanova. To share our experience during the conference and help you get involved in the process, we are going to blog about the different activities taking place and our personal experiences during the conferences. 

Our first stop in Washington is YouthForce 2012. The AIDS 2012 Youth Pre-Conference (18-20 July 2012) is an event bringing together young people from all over the world representing communities and organizations working with or being affected by HIV/AIDS. The conference gives participants the opportunity to build strong messages, plan and organize campaigns and activities for the AIDS 2012 Conference and build partnerships and networks. Established in 2000, this year the youth pre-conference aims to come up with a Declaration for Change on youth and HIV/AIDS. The declaration will lay the foundation for how youth organizations, networks and activists will collaborate and mobilize over the next years to reach the 2015 goals of the Political Declaration on AIDS. Participants and people from all over the world have the opportunity to contribute through submitting, voting or editing ideas that will form the future declaration. To do that visit : Declaration4Change

During the first day of the pre-conference both YSAFE and IPPF as whole hosted and visited a number of sessions. We started early morning when YSAFE took part in the opening Turning the Tide Plenary, which highlighted the main topics related to SRHR, youth and HIV/ADS. Maya talked about the impact of sexuality education, and most importantly ensuring it is provided in a comprehensive and holistic way. Panelists from UNFPA, Dance4Life and Advocates for Youth gave overview on research and trends among youth globally, reaching and meaningful involvement of key populations and shared examples of youth leadership and advocacy (highlighting success in anti-stigma legislation in Nigeria).


During the day, Luize co-facilitated a session on peer education, specifically focusing on gender. You can find her presentation on our IHBG Blog:

Bringing Gender back ointo Peer Education

Annaïs, IPPF’s Social Media and Movement Building Intern, held a session on Comprehensive Sexuality education. Meanwhile, Lady and Anzaira shared their personal experience in the Philippines with the humanitarian emergencies, the issues related to SRHR they bring and the best ways of responding to those events. 

The event closed with a performance by Ugandian artist, Nsubuga Moses, sharing his experience as a person living iwith HIV/AIDS in Uganda and suporting and inspiring other people living with HIV/AIDS. 

Original Video by Stigmaless ft Supercharger can be found here!