Country Highlights - Day 1

Today is the 2^nd of September which means that our first day of the 10DoA campaign has finished. It was a great start of the event with so many innovative, interesting and youngish happenings in each of the 42 countries which participate in the campaign.

We will share with you the remarkable daily briefs from the first day, sent to us from 6 different countries (Pakistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Sudan)

PAKISTAN

During the 10DoA Pakistan is represented by the NGO called Blaze Youth Development. The young activists decided to count on something traditional e.g a training session on SRHR. They have conducted a training session on SRHR held in District Resource Center Vehari on 1st September 2012 and it was 3 hours late. 17 young people, stockholders and Civil Society members have been participated. The training has started with a session facilitated by Mr. Khurshid Manzoor (Blaze Youth Development) who introduced the agenda and explained and share the main message and goal of the 10 Days of activism campaign with all participants. The next session continued with Mr. Irfan Taj (Blaze Youth Development) who joined the stage and did exercises and gave information on SRHR.. In the end Mr. Ijaz Ahmad (Blaze Youth Development) conducted the Question Answer session among the youngsters about their sexual education and health knowledge. The session was much informative and young participant show their interest about it. The 

feedback of all the participants was in the favor of sexual and reproductive health education.

MOROCCO

Y-PEER Marocco has started the 10DoA with a really useful Training of Trainers for their community. Their aim in collaboration with three local associations was to raise the awareness among the young people about SRHR and more deeply information about peer education. The training was based in Elkbab which is a rural area, which was helpful because we tried to so the major aim is to improve the level of sensitization among the rural youth.

ALGERIA

1st of September, after weeks of preparation, 10 days of Activism campaign has officially started gathering young people from many corners of Algeria to unite their voice and speak up youth leadership in reproductive health and fight against Aids. Today, peers met online to discuss the advocacy activities planned for the coming days. Y-PEER Algeria is extremely motivated and engaged to achieve the national and international goals of the Aids response. This year was marked by the launch of CrowdOutAIDS, the strategy of UNAIDS with and for youth. Peers are getting ready in these first days to lead advocacy meetings with decision makers and partners to implement more effective interventions among youth. Art is on top of activities also. Y-PEER Algeria is presenting creative and wonderful paper art illustrating CrowdOutAIDS principles.  The musical team is meeting to record Y-PEER campaign song: “Nothing for us without us”. PTMTC (Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mother To Child) is on the top list of the new engagements of Y-PEER Algeria. The team is working on an advertisement spot as well as specific flyers and brochures to lead outreach activities and promote the screening test.

LEBANON

The organization called ‘Think positive’ based in Lebanon decided to use the Theatre based techniques for peer education for a great starts of the 10DoA Campaign.

They have organized a play which was done by youth activists. The scenario was really marvelous because during different sketches they succeeded to recreate real stories from villages in Lebanon, where the youth don't have the total opportunity to express their feelings and talk about sexual issues and needs. We had the great support of many adults and other volunteers thanks to them the whole thing was possible. Also we are warmly welcomed in Houla where the play took place. We have received many positive feedbacks from the audience. What is more some of the adults supported us in our goal but they warned that there are old traditions and that kind of villages and it is really difficult to break the stereotypes of the people there. 

SUDAN

The Jers Center for Development started their 10DoA campaign by organizing an Orientations Session on Human Rights focusing on Adolescent and youth Reproductive health Rights

The first session included about rights and international conventions by focusing on articles of interest to young people's health and rights.

The second session included different questions about sexual and reproductive health, HIV/ AIDS, needs of young people and how to overcome obstacles and laws that prohibit and restrict work among youth in these issues. In addition we discussed how to include the needs of youth and adolescents within the priorities of the state, also the young people views about youth-friendly the services and how to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and STIs.

The event took place in Sudan and finally we came up with the following recommendations to our stakeholders: 

• Providing youth-friendly centers provide information and services in sexual and reproductive health
• Activating the research work and publication of statistics correct 
• Involvement of young people in the planning and execution with their problems
• Configuring of youth advocacy coalitions
• Advocacy and lobbying to return the deleted material from the Children's Act 2010 FGM/c
• Business training workshops for religious leaders and make them aware of the importance of health and medical side
• Broader community awareness 

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines guys and girls organized really interesting workshop.

The Seminar-Workshop is all about Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) focused on Adolescent Sexuality and Reproductive Health (ASRH). The venue was at Cagayan de Oro College-PHINMA, one of the schools in the city. The participants are the Student Leaders of the school expecting them to relay the information, ideas and learning to their subordinates and the Youth Volunteers of UNFPA. The event was successful and well-participated with the help of National Youth Commission. Topics which were on the agenda are: understanding adolescent; romantic relationship, teen pregnancy, HIV and AIDS

Kenya

In Kenya, young people organized an amazing activity, a Beauty & Talent vetting event. The event was basically aimed at enlightening the youth on the 10 DoA theme “Nothing For Us Without us.” Through the event young people demanded need of youth friendly center in Nyeri, Kenya targeted to the policy makers. The event was a success in which many young people participated and got entertained. Adding more fun element to the event, top 4 finalists were selected in the beauty pageant category and top 5 in the talent category.

An initiative was taken to collect at least 10,000 signatures to petition the policy makers to build them a Youth Friendly Center, which would be carried out throughout the 10DoA and beyond that, till the center is established. The demand is for such kind of youth center which could address young people’s concerns and problems related to the issues on Sexuality and Reproductive Health and which could advantage young people in rural areas through mobile services.

Kyrgyzstan

To identify real SRHR need of young people, total 22 volunteers including 10 DoA national coordinators jointly conducted survey at parks of Osh and Bishkek cities. A report with the outcome of the study would be launched by the end of the month. The activity could successfully reached around 100 young people in Bishkek and Osh cities.

Albania
An outreach activity was organized by Center for Population and Development in Albania in coordination with youth volunteers of youth center “PO”. Leaflet related to sexual rights of young people was designed and printed so that to be distributed by young volunteers during the activities of 10 days of activism. The leaflet is intend to serve as a tool to raise awareness of young people on their rights related to sexuality appealing them to fully enjoy their sexual life, have comprehensive knowledge about our body and sexuality and protect themselves from unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV.

Jordan

A Non competitive Sport Activity day with the titled “Standing with young people refugees in their right to participate” Young Men Day was organized by Y-PEER Jordan. On the event, educational sports were organized in the Gaza Refugees Camp in Jerash City. The objective was to support in advocating for rights of young people in camp so that they could be engaged by showing solidarity from young people outside the camps. Many organisations including Y-PEER Jordan, UNRWA staff and volunteers and Generation for peace organization came together to accomplish the activity. 45 Young men who participated were delighted with the experience. One of them said “ it’s been almost 6 years since I had the chance to gather in such activity with my brothers in the camp”. The activity created a safe environment to discuss roles of young men in relation to their community and their needs as young people being a critical situation.

Another activity in Jordan at sport hall in was an edu-tainment session for people living with disability, including visually impaired and with speech impaired. Activities included silent show, silent films , some sports activities and Y-PEER booth in which different SRHR related questions were asked and distributed Y-PEER promotion material as prizes. The objective through these activities was to share successful stories for encouragement of people with disabilities. Approximately, 100 girls/women and 20 boys/men with disability participated in the program which was organized by 30 volunteers.

Uzbekistan

In Termez city of Azerbaijan, young people conducted an outreach awareness raising activities about HIV and  AIDS, to the visitors of the central park ‘Alpomish’. Interaction was done with people in which it was found out that most of the people interacted have very less or incorrect information about HIV and AIDS. During the outreach work volunteers were asked different questions by the participants. Altogether 74 young people were shared useful information.

Turkey

Y-PEER national network in Turkey organized 2 SRH training in Izmir and Ankara as part of 10 DoA. Altogether 13 and 12 students respectively from 7 universities participated this training. 

During the training, the trainers explained people how to be involved to 10 DoA. After this, young people came up with plan to make a movie about young people’s situation on SRH in İzmir to raise awareness through social network.  Similarly in Anzara, participants planned to open a booth to inform young people in during 10 DoA.


Romania

In Bucharest, 8 young leaders from organizations active in the SRHR field came together for joint activities. They drafted a petition aimed at the Government asking for comprehensive sexuality education to be delivered in the Romanian schools. They also discussed the best strategy to acquire signatures for the petition and to implement the plans. They established a network of young activists in the SRHR field, who will meet constantly from now on.

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Shakhnoza Khassanova

Name : Shakhnoza Khassanova  

Age : 27

Country : Kazakhstan

Hello, everybody! I am glad that you are reading my story and I hope it will inspire you to become active and to join us in promoting youth rights in sexual and reproductive health. Now I am working as a psychologist at Legal Center of Women’s Initiatives “Sana Sezim”. How did I appear there? When I was at University I had to make an internship related to my specialisation and the NGO “Sana Sezim” was organisation which provided me with great amount of knowledge and experience. Therefore, I have stayed there as a member of Volunteer Club of the organisation. We had built tight relationship among members of our Volunteer Club, we had been working with the projects of the organisation in three areas of its activities in prevention of human trafficking, the access to justice for women and labor migration. I had been already employed in the Organisation, when national tragedy took place in 2006 in the Shymkent, when over the 100 children have been infected with HIV through the negligent blood transfusions. It caused a significant psychological blow to the local population and has sparked a rising level of stigma, discrimination and public backlash against those infected or associated with HIV/AIDS. Families which were affected by this tragedy have left their houses in order to seek anonymity. This event has prevented other families from receiving medical treatment, psychological counselling and integration into their communities.

The media was escalating this catastrophe countrywide; the numbers of infected children were rising with every new press release, governmental and non-governmental organisations including “Sana Sezim” took their step in solving the problems caused by the tragedy. At that moment the NGO “Sana Sezim” has gathered young people of our Volunteer Club in order to conduct peer-to-peer trainings for youth at schools to eliminate the negative effects of discrimination and stigma which was the result of HIV incident. And I was assigned as coordinator of this Volunteer Club and the leader of all this action as I was already old-timer there.

The employees were calling me head coach, who have been transferring information to the members of Volunteer Club and in cooperation with other two PCVs conducting training for them. The main objectives of this group were to receive knowledge from 2008 PEPFAR Conference about HIV/AIDS Awareness, Abstinence, and encourage faithfulness and empowerment to become community leaders. Moreover, the group was seeking to create a multiple effect by educating 80 youngsters through peer-to-peer trainings on HIV/AIDS, volunteerism and leadership in order to strengthen the Shymkent youth community. Finally, the group was aiming to build capacities of the Shymkent community by expanding knowledge based trainings by involving trained participants (direct beneficiaries) and community members (indirect beneficiaries) on the Game Day “Your Health is Your Right”. Throughout this day the youth have been taught about HIV/AIDS prevention, the deconstruction of discrimination and stigma against people living with HIV and the enhancement of the skills of leadership and volunteerism among the youth of Shymkent. It was important to gather young faces, to provide useful activities for them, to show what goals can be reached by cooperation and enthusiasm of them. Our Volunteer Club has risen generation which promotes our values in other cities of Kazakhstan while studying at Universities. They always visit us and promotes help, when are back to Shymkent.

We are directing our work on future informational campaigns, trainings and actions on HIV/AIDS prevention. The NGO “Sana Sezim” is also a member of ASTRA Network in Poland, which focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights. I am responsible for cooperation with this network and promoting future cooperation of NGO and its Volunteers Club in the field of activities of HIV/AIDS awareness while informing Kazakh youth on HIV/AIDS topicsOne of my activities also include attending the conferences organized by ASTRA Youth and transferring achieved knowledge localy. Collaborating with other ASTRA Youth leaders we are developing future plans for activities and campaigns.

Everybody has right to the reproductive health. Most often, people are lack of knowledge regarding this topic. I am inspired by the efforts made by young people who are members of our Volunteer Club. I believe that we are lead by one motto and we have message to the world community: “Your Health is Your Right”! 

Get known about it.”

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TOUSEEF AHMED

Name : TOUSEEF AHMED  

Age : 18

Country : Pakistan

It was all dark; I was sleeping with a conscious mind to get up early in the morning for Tahajjad, and there were other Madrassa students lying with me. Suddenly the air was filled with the noise of guns, grenades and rocket launchers. It was swat in 2007. We all were praying that this curse will be over but it didn’t. Every day was a hell. We were all locked and our families worried. They gave us leaves and I came to Gilgit at my home sweet home. But the scenes and voices of war were always there with me.  The situation of Gilgit Baltistan was also pethetic, struck with secteriam voilence and smell of innocent blood in air. At that time I didn’t know what social work is but I started to help others, being kind especially with children and in discussions promoting peace. It was all haphazard, no plan.

After that I joined Y-PEER as a peer Educator in Gilgit Baltistan, attended training, contributed in many events. These activities were grooming me and my idea of society for youth.  Then I become a member of door step peace and did other activities on my own named, peace cafe, disaster Risk Mangement, Interfaith harmoney gifts distribution on Chrismes in Christian Community.

For meaningful participation of youth I knew that I have to play my role, I attended Asian Youth Peace Conference in Lahore organized by Y-PEER Pakistan. That gave me more clear Idea. Why in my area females are dis-respected and ignored, I came to know there is not even a single women in peace committee of Gilgit Baltistan. Youth are misguided by voilent groups and no healthy and constructive activity is lead by youth. So, on way back to my homeland Gilgit, I started working with the Gilgit Baltistan Conference on youth with a small NGO in my area. And successfully on 23rd of June 2012, we organized a Conference on gender main streaming and the role of youth with 300 young male and female participants in collaboration with PEN (Publishing Extension Network), Youth Minister and other respectables in the guests. All the activity was organized by youth in my supervision. By this I tried to bring a small storm in the cup. So, I, in my capacity, did a lot in my area by replicating my idea and watching the results in my small newly named province Gilgit Baltistan.

My next plan is to work direcly for peace and against secterianism with the power of youth. May this be a successful and meaningful activity, too. 

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Nargiza Deidieva

Name : Nargiza Deidieva 
Age : 17
Country : Kyrgyzstan

Importance of youth participation in our life

The problems of human rights were, are and will be relevant in our life. My life was full of many different stories, which made me think about such problems.

In my childhood, I was observer of many scenes of violence. I lived with my relatives. Everyday my uncle and aunt were arguing with each other. My uncle often was saying: “Obey! I am a man and you are a woman, woman should be a slave of man!”. I think such scenes really affected me psychology. I started to think that it is true - a wife should obey to her husband. Sometimes my uncle beat my aunt, it was very scary. I realized that I couldn’t sit patiently when I knew that someone was dying or being the victim of violence. But what can I do?

After a couple of years I went to the training organized by Y-PEER. Y-PEER leaders opened my eyes to the truth! They told me that I could struggle against the violence. I felt comfortable when I was talking with Y-PEER members. They were interesting and important thing is that they were my age! Before that I was not able to ask questions about violence or human rights to anyone. Then I met a blind old lady. She was sitting in the street and begging. Suddenly a boy stole her money knowing that she is blind. It was hard to explain how I was shocked. I run after him shouting out loudly: “Catch the stealer! Catch him!!!” but no one cared about it. My efforts to catch him were barren. I came back to the blind lady and helped her to reach her house.  I cleaned her house, made her food and gave her some money. In the evening her son came home. He was drunk, he wasn’t able to say anything, and he felt down and immediately slept. The old lady told me her family story: “Her husband died when her son was 2 years old. They lived in poverty. Her son grew up and passed an exam to university, but they were not able to pay. He started searching for job, but no one wanted to take an uneducated worker. Son’s wife died. He started to drink a lot having no reason to live.” When she finished her history, I was heavily crying. I thought to join volunteer movement.

 And finally I became a volunteer. Together we organized and conducted many activities during my work there. The first activity was 10 DoA in the beginning of summer. We prepared a little sketch about gender inequality and important aspects of family life. Oh, it was awesome! Many people gathered to watch our little sketch! Lots of people realized that they have supporter (local crisis centers) in their life and that the government would always help and support them in any difficult situation such as violence against young and old people. But there were some people who didn’t agree with giving rights to youth, women and old people. They were saying that women are servants; young people cannot choose decisions because they are infantile, capricious and stupid and that old people have already spent their lives, it doesn’t matter what will happen to them, they are already corpses. It was not easy to explain them about justice and compassion. I suggested them to put themselves as violence victims. Some of them paid attention to my word, but others run away. After 3 or 4 such actions, I learnt how to speak to them directly and how to catch attention of people.

I participated in discussion activities with our Ministry of youth. We were discussing problems of our young society: rights, health, education and nutrition. I was horrified! They didn’t know about our problems, they thought that the system of education is good and everybody was following the laws etc. Ministry of Youth was very pleased to be informed about it, because now they know what kind of problems we have. Our plans are realized, society heeds our presentations and ideas. I am so pride that our society is growing progressively every day. I understood an importance of youth in our society. Youth is our future, future is our life, only we can create the future we want, only we choose what we should do – create or kill it.

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10 Days of Activism 2012 promo video

Check out the promo video for the 10 Days of Activism 2012!

Under the theme "Nothing for Us Without Us", Y-PEER (Youth Peer Education Network) in partnership with organizations and individuals from around the globe working with young people is launching the third annual "10 Days of Activisim" (10 DoA) campaign from 1st to 10th September, 2012.

From outreach to advocacy efforts, young people in 42 countries will raise their voices about their needs and rights that are critical to a rights-based, youth centered agenda at the national and global level. 

You can support and follow daily updates, articles, videos and photos from around the world on http://www.10daysofactivism.com.

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