Contribute to GYCA Wire's World AIDS Day Edition

World AIDS Day, celebrated annually on December 1, is an international opportunity to continue raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and to educate communities on the disease as well as on preventative strategies. Expanding on last year's successful initiative, "Light for Rights," this year's theme, backed by the United Nations, is "Getting to Zero." This campaign, running until 2015, is centered on three core strategic goals: zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero discrimination.

A major international campaign, World AIDS Day provides various ways to get involved. Event-organizing is an efficient approach to educating and sparking continuous dialogue on the importance of World AIDS Day and its ongoing efforts to battle HIV/AIDS. These efforts are particularly important amongst global youth communities- where leadership and energy to make a change is strong. Depending on what works best in each community, young people can organize film screening, trainings, hubs for volunteer services, panel discussions, etc. that help provide a space to take action, ensure human rights are protected (ie. zero tolerance for gender-based violence), and worldwide preventative strategies, including treatment and care are met.

We hope you take advantage of the GYCA toolkit when organizing your World AIDS Day event! We would love to learn about your experience in event-organizing, so remember to report back! You can email a 1-2 page article (include pictures in separate .jpg, .gif. .bmp attachments), which will go into the GYCA World AIDS Day report. You can also send a 150-200 word submission (include pictures in separate attachments) to be featured in GYCA's World AIDS day newsletter!

Here are some key information to include in your piece: Date, time, location; number of attendees; what was the activity?; what was the main objective of the activity? (Be specific! outreach? awareness raising? VCT? education?); did you achieve your desired outcome?; what was successful about your activity?; do an evaluation with the team of people who planned it, discussing what went well and what should be improved for next time.

Also, remember to use our Facebook page to share the success of your event with others!

Send newsletter submissions to worldaidsday@gyca.org by December 8, 2011. GYCA looks forward to hearing about your event!

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Jean Luc Ugirashebuja - Central Africa RFP Introduction

I am a co-founder and Director of Ubuzima Program and Intern at Butare University Teaching Hospital in Rwanda. In 2011, I was elected GYCA Regional Focal Point for Central Africa. I speak French, English, Kirundi and Kinyarwanda.

I have been involved in youth HIV/AIDS programs for more than five years. I have worked for youth-led organizations and held different positions including Ubuzima' Program Director 2010-2011, Mobile VCT Project Coordinator 2008 at the Medical Students Association of Rwanda, Vice-Coordinator in Pyramid Program 2007 at Rwanda Village Concept Project, Rwandan Community Connector 2008 at TakingITGlobal, Grant winner for VCT Campaign Project 2008 at the Global Youth Coalition on AIDS/GYCA small grant program and grant winner for VCT Campaign Project 2007, 2008 and 2009 at MTV/Staying Alive Foundation.

In addition, I am the main author of two abstracts published at International AIDS Conferences in Mexico 2008 and Vienna 2010. The first abstract is entitled 'Home based campaign, an effective approach for HIV awareness and prevention in rural Rwanda', Abstract no. CDC0685 and the second is entitled 'Outreach programs, an effective approach to achieve universal access for HIV-specific services in Rwanda' Abstract ID CDE1287.

My goal is to ensure that young people are not only provided accurate knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS but are practicing safer sexual behavior and have taken a step forward in the process of solving the health, social and economic issues that they face.

As the GYCA central Africa Regional Focal Point, I have three priorities: capacity building; effective online and offline networking; and increasing national and regional interventions, while ensure effective advocacy and advertisement.

I hope that once our organization improves, and our Regional network strengthens through it, we will be able to effectively fight and overcome HIV. All will depend on us, on our ownership, on our hard work, on our innovations, and on our strong commitment.

Even though certain limitations pose a serious problem for us, we do hope that little by little, step after step we will overcome all challenges.

The future is bright, and time will tell!

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Salma Zaky - Middle East and North Africa RFP Introduction

My name is Salma Zaky Hassan and since 2009, I have worked for the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit at the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood of Egypt, basically on an intervention program that aims at providing sexual and reproductive health information for beneficiaries from all around the country through a free hot-line. I graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University of Egypt and am currently completing my M.A in Public Administration.

My involvement with Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS as a volunteer started with my graduation project about MDGs, and specifically HIV/AIDS in The Arab Region. I am also a co-founder of the Egyptian Youth Association for Health Development "EYAHD" which aims at empowering young people to advocate for their health rights by raising awareness and investing in their knowledge. Advocating for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, I have participated and implemented a number of capacity building training workshops on HIV/AIDS for local NGOs in seven different governorates of Egypt as well as Field Campaigns in slums and Upper Egypt.

While the region's countries share many common socio-cultural characteristics, sexual and reproductive health face wide diversity regarding levels of acceptance and education. For instance, Iran and Tunisia have Sexual and Reproductive educational programs at schools while in countries like Sudan and Somalia, people still practice Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and talks around Sexual and Reproductive Health issues remain taboos.

Young people in the MENA region generally have very limited access to HIV/AIDS basic knowledge and SRH issues. This is often due to the negative stigma surrounding such topics. My priority as GYCA Regional Focal Point is to raise awareness among young people about HIV/AIDS through raising funds from holding a number of big-events in different countries, especially those with the highest PLWH prevalence among young people. However, given the wave of revolutions in the region, this is a kind of challenge considering the recent shift that has happened amongst donors from supporting SRH issues towards more political issues.

On the other hand, as a result of a rapid increase of HIV/AIDS new infections in the region, different regional efforts and events take place targeting young people and groups of Most at Risk Populations. Mapping these efforts and sharing opportunities with different networks of the region, as well as investigating ways of involvement are key points to respond to new challenges.

I hope I can apply the success I achieved as GYCA Egypt NFP to my position as MENA RFP even with the challenges facing my work in such a hot region. I also hope I can effectively achieve my targets and improve HIV/AIDS levels of knowledge amongst young people in my region. I am grateful for being part of such a wide, respectable and incredibly active youth-led network "GYCA family."

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Sergio Lopez - Latin America RFP Introduction

I'm Sergio, but you can also call me "Kuko". I'm 18 years old, and live in Asuncion, Paraguay. I am currently the Secretary of the Executive Direction of SOMOSGAY, an association committed to the innovation of effective strategies against homophobia, improvement of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, and the defense of the rights of people affected by this virus and the advancement of human rights in Paraguay.

In mid-2008, I became an activist in mid-2008, by getting involved with community-based organizations. I've carried out tasks of logistics as a volunteer, among others, as I became part of the SOMOSGAY Youth Leaders Body. My work is to offer support on monitoring and follow up management of the organization's Youth Area, serving to meet the needs of functionality, supporting all activities of the organization in general management and daily agenda of the Executive Director, as well as to generate the dynamic execution of the work of his staff.

Currently, I am the new RFP in Latin America, succeeding our partner Manuella Donato from Brazil. I coordinate the NFP team in the region, and I have the good fortune to have colleagues and friends quite young and active. We carry out various activities and conduct monitoring actions throughout the region, through actions related to global youth issues.

Previously, as a GYCA National Focal Point in Paraguay, I created a very important team of quite diverse young leaders, where we could (and still can) generate strategic actions in my country, in line with the objectives of the coalition. I am also developing political advocacy on youth issues at country level with support from the Vice Ministry of Youth, from the Government, and also with other NGOs and networks working on trends of youth locally, regionally and globally.

As a RFP, I hope to gain experience and develop my ability of team-work, because I believe that what unites us all as GYCA members is the possibility of joint action, and to add voices of youth in the defense of our rights. I also hope to offer new spaces for new young leaders who can work on issues related to HIV, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Advocacy, Human Rights, etc., as themes related directly to young people around the world. I aim to be able to interact with youth leaders, seeking to unite more forces to work together worldwide in order to strengthen the work of GYCA and generate greater participation of and by young people on issues that have to do with our lives.

Thank you very much, GYCA, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this process, and I hope to collaborate on strengthening all the emerging young leaders in Latin America and other regions.

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From the South Secretariat

In the past couple of months, GYCA's South Secretariat has been engaging with youth organizations and networks working on HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people to organize the youth program for the International Conference on HIV and STIs Africa (ICASA). This year's 16th ICASA is being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 4-8 December 2011 and is bringing together professionals, young people, scientists, civil society and government organizations among others. The general theme for the conference is "own, scale-up and sustain."

The ICASA YouthFront led by GYCA has been preparing for the youth program under the theme "Accountability Now." This theme is driven by four key messages, which revolve around empowering young people to own the response, educating young people about sexuality and HIV, engaging all young people without discrimination and equality regardless of gender.

The Youth program for ICASA starts with a three-day youth pre-conference from 1-3 December 2011 in which young as well as adult experts and professionals will present on a number of topics that take stock of the work of young people across the continent and challenges the accountability mechanisms of these youth organizations.

The timely World AIDS Day will fall during the pre-conference on 1 December. There will be a candle light vigil organized by the youth to reaffirm our commitment to the response and also rejuvenate our energies for the response ahead.

Beyond the preconference, there will be several opportunities for dialogue and networking. For example, a youth pavilion will hold a commitments desk, and there will be sessions with topics for discussions, a youth networking lounge as well as an exhibition lounge. The youth specific sessions in the main conference aim to drive home our agenda for the conference.

The youth program position paper would be presented at the closing ceremony of the conference clearly stating the necessary commitments to taking up the response to HIV/AIDS on the continent following the conference.

The conference is a great opportunity to draw attention to and highlight the relevance of young people's role in the AIDS response. Join us at the conference from 1 - 8 December 2011 to push for youth leadership in AIDS response. Accountability NOW!

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Think Tank Meeting - Eastern and Southern Africa

30 young people from Eastern and Southern Africa who are the youth leaders in the response represented their communities and their countries were brought together by Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), in partnership with Southern Africa AIDS Trust (SAT) to a Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and HIV Regional Think Tank Meeting took place in Vaal, South Africa on the 24th to 26th of October 2011 .

Regional Focal Points for Southern Africa (Mawethu Zita) and for Eastern Africa (Yvonne Akoth) of GYCA are the birth of this Think Tank meeting where they were very strategic to convince SAT to partner with GYCA to conceptualize to these objectives:

1. Explore a regional strategy and youth coordination platform for responding to SRH&R an HIV issues in Southern Africa as a follow up to global dialogues;


2. Develop country specific coordinated youth actions in the region;


3. Enhancing the capacity of the participants to support country level actions;


4. Develop a strategy towards youth action on HIV and SRH&R at ICASA in Addis Ababa in December.

1. We are united in our diversity (gender, orientation, colour and needs)


2. We are committed in taking joint regional and national actions to play a meaningful role in achieving 3 zeros in our region


3. We are convinced that action on SRHR and HIV are inspirable and strengthen one another


4. We insist on meaningful involvement of youth (nothing for us without us)


5. Rights and youth choice must underpin all actions on SRHR and HIV


6. Youth need evidence -based information and education


7. Universal access to Youth Friendly Services is a common medium and long term goal to reach all 3 zeros in East and Southern Africa.

• Providing young people with information and comprehensive sexuality education


• Engaging young people to own their risks and prevention strategies


• Scale up proven interventions for HIV prevention


• Review, amend and establish laws and policies that respect young people's rights


• Young people effectively engage communities in shaping a positive social environment that promotes healthy behaviour


• Increase the number of adolescents and young people who know their status


• Strengthen monitoring, evaluation and data reporting on young people, particularly adolescents


• Expand comprehensive services for young people living with HIV, paying special attention to adolescents

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