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By James Wagoner, President Vision is more than rhetoric. It is a set of core values that animate and direct an organization’s external efforts while defining and inspiring its internal culture. Advocates’ Rights. Respect. Responsibility.® vision has transformed our work over the last ten years. Young people are now at the very center of our programs and policies rather than being cast as mere “end users” of our services. A steadfast organizational commitment to evidence-based public health has been expanded to include a human rights framework for sexual and reproductive health. The concept of responsible sexuality has moved beyond the management of risk factors and disease to include a positive, healthy, and holistic integration of young people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. A strong vision can also act as a north star when navigating dark and turbulent seas. Faced with an adversarial policy environment, Advocates did not mute its voice or shy away from controversy. It will stay the course because the destination is clear, although (while there is hope) still in the distance. What’s the destination?
A society where sexuality is viewed as a normal, positive aspect of being a young person, of being human, of being alive-rather than as forbidden fruit to be locked away in a fortress of shame and denial
A society where young people are valued more than stereotyped, where youth are viewed as partners in prevention rather than accidents waiting to happen.
And, finally, a society where public policy is based on science and research rather than politics and ideology; where values, morality and character are used to infuse sexuality with meaning-with its truly human dimension- rather than misused to deny young people their rights to information and services that could one day save their lives. |
