| From: |
Lindsay Menard-Freeman [ profile ] |
| Subject: |
GYCA Focal Point Gabriel Adeyemo Presents crowdsourcedRecommendations to UNAIDS
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| Sent: |
Apr 24th, 2012 - 12:45:45 |
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Young people present first-ever crowdsourced recommendations for AIDS
response in UN history
*New youth-led recommendations to shape UNAIDS Secretariat's work on HIV
and young people
***
*
Based on the voices and views of more than 5000 young people from 79
countries, the recommendations resulted from CrowdOutAIDS, an innovative
youth-led policy project initiated by UNAIDS. Leveraging crowdsourcing
technology and new media tools, the five-month project enabled young people
to fully participate in the development of strategic recommendations for
the UNAIDS Secretariats youth agenda.*
*
*
*ABUJA, 24 April 2012*Youth leaders from around the world today presented
a set of youth-defined recommendations that will guide the UNAIDS
Secretariats work on HIV and young people through 2015. The
recommendations were received by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé at
an event in the Paiko community near Abuja, organized together with
Nigerian youth leaders and government officials.
I am so impressed by the dedication, energy and enthusiasm that young
people have shown through the*CrowdOutAIDS* initiative, said Mr Sidibé.
The recommendations they have presented to UNAIDS will help us mobilize a
new generation of young leaders and we will work together to stop new HIV
infections and AIDS-related deaths.
Presenting the recommendations to UNAIDS, Gabriel Adeyemo, a young Nigerian
activist, described*CrowdOutAIDS* as a high level meetingbut* *by and
for* *young people. It brought decision-making to the grassroots, to the
skilled and unskilled, learned and unlearned, rich and poor, to contribute
to an issue that affects all our lives: HIV," said Adeyemo, who is also the
West Africa focal point for the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
Globally, an estimated five million young people (15-24 years of age) are
living with HIV. About 3000 young people are newly infected with HIV each
day. According to recent surveys in low- and middle-income countries, only
24% of young women and 36% of young men responded correctly when asked
questions on HIV prevention and transmission.
Through* CrowdOutAIDS*, young people proposed six key recommendations for
the UNAIDS Secretariat, including:
1. Strengthen young peoples skills for effective leadership at all
levels of the AIDS response;
2. Ensure the full participation of youth in the AIDS response at
country, regional, and global levels;
3. Improve young peoples access to HIV-related information;
4. Diversify and strengthen strategic networks between the UNAIDS
Secretariat, youth networks, and other key players;
5. Increase the UNAIDS Secretariats outreach to both formal and
informal networks of young people; and,
6. Increase young peoples access to financial support.
We have worked together, using the simplest toolseach one of us in their
own corner of the worldto create spaces of exchange and draft this
important document in real-time, public online sessions, said Zahra
Benyahia, a *CrowdOutAIDS* drafting committee member. This is not the end.
Its the first step toward revolutionary youth leadership in the AIDS
response.
The full set of recommendations are presented in *Strategy recommendations
for collaborating with a new generation of leaders in the AIDS
response*the
first-ever crowdsourced AIDS-related document in UN history. The
recommendations, together with an internal organizational assessment on HIV
and young people, will inform the UNAIDS Secretariats New Generation
Leadership Strategy.
http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2012/april/20120424prcrowdoutaids/
--
Lindsay Menard-Freeman, M.A.
Program Coordinator
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, a program of the Public Health Institute
www.gyca.org
www.phi.org
(T): +1 917.677.9927
(E): lindsay (at) gyca.org
540 President St.
3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
GYCA is a youth-led global network of over 6,500 young leaders and adult
allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 173 countries world-wide. GYCA's
mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge, resources
and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions amongst
their peers.
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