International Initiatives
Mission
Advocates for Youth works in partnership with other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to assist in building capacity to create and sustain innovative adolescent reproductive and sexual health programs and policies. Advocates for Youth works primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa with partners in countries such as Jamaica, Peru, Botswana, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. The International Division also provides ad hoc technical assistance to youth-serving and youth-lead organizations around the world.
Strategies
- Promoting Youth-Led Advocacy for Science-Based International HIV/AIDS Prevention and Family Planning Policies—Advocates assists young people to build their leadership and advocacy skills to promote science-based policies for HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning for youth, as exemplified in the International Youth Leadership Council Project and youth leadership and participation in the United Nations World Summits.
- Developing youth leaders through the International Youth Leadership Council—Advocates for Youth sponsors a project called the International Youth Leadership Council, which is designed to develop youth leaders in the areas of international family planning and global HIV/AIDS. Council members have come from the United States, Africa, and Latin America, and attend colleges or universities full-time in the Washington, DC area. These young people advocate in Washington DC and at international conferences for improved US foreign policies relating to youth reproductive and sexual health.
- Building Organizational Capacity for Implementing and Sustaining Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health Programs—Advocates works in partnership with nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations and faith based organizations to build their capacity to implement adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs through training, technical assistance and sharing of resources, as exemplified in the JA-STYLE Project in Jamaica and former Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health Initiative in Burkina Faso.
- Managing the JA-STYLE Project (Jamaica’s Solution to Youth Lifestyle and Empowerment)—JA-STYLE is a five-year initiative, funded by USAID, designed to support the efforts of the Jamaica Ministry of Health to address challenges facing the nation’s youth in the areas of reproductive health, substance abuse, crime, and violence.
Advocates’ role consists of overseeing the NGO capacity building component of the project, which includes organizational capacity building and training of NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and other youth-serving entities in adolescent reproductive and sexual health program strategies, community mobilization, and youth-adult partnerships.
- Promoting Youth's Leadership in Preventing HIV Infection among Young People—Advocates assists youth-led organizations to expand their capacity to develop and implement science-based HIV prevention programs and support youth-friendly policies and funding, as exemplified in the YouthLIFE (Youth Leadership in Fighting the Epidemic) program.
- Improving Youth's Access to Contraception and Youth-Friendly Services—Advocates for Youth promotes youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, especially youth's access to contraception with programs such as the Youth Access Initiative.
- Promoting Access to Sexual Health Information through Information Technologies via the Web and Cyber-Café Initiatives—Advocates works with NGOs in Central America and Africa to host cyber cafés where youth gather, obtain sexual health information on the Internet, and build computer skills by participating in computer training workshops. Advocates also assists young people in accessing sexual heath information through the Internet by hosting www.ambientejoven.org.
- Latino Media Initiative—The Latino Media Initiative was created in 2001 to provide information, resources, referral, storyline ideas, and script review for writers and producers of Spanish language television. Staff works with writers and directors of television shows produced in the United States, Venezuela, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru to bring accurate sexual health information and responsible sexual health images to Spanish-speaking television audiences in Latin America and the United States.
Resources
- Web Site—www.ambientejoven.org is a Spanish-language site for young men who have sex with men (YMSM), and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youth. It provides sexual health information, features written by youth, online peer advisors, and links to GLBTQ groups and services.
- Training and Technical Assistance—Advocates' International Division provides ad hoc training and technical assistance to interested agencies in developing countries or US-based international NGO's on a wide range of adolescent reproductive and sexual health program areas, including youth leadership, advocacy, youth-adult partnerships, parent-child communication, youth-friendly services, community mobilization, life skills education, peer education, internet interventions, and organizational development.
- Publications—Materials include issue briefs, facts sheets, and guides on international youth reproductive and sexual health program strategies, available in English, Spanish or French.
Contact
International Division
P: 202.419.3420
F: 202.419.1448
Web: www.advocatesforyouth.org
2000 M Street NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20036 USA
|
Send this page to a friend