Advocates’ Youth Activist Network (YAN) consists of young people from across the United States and around the globe. We represent the beginning of a global youth movement fighting for every young person’s right to honest sexual health information and affordable sexual health services.

Join us as we work to change irresponsible policies that deny young people information that could help us protect our health and even save our lives. Help us to shape our world into one that recognizes adolescent sexual development as normal and healthy and recognizes young people as leaders in the fight for social and reproductive justice.

Join the Youth Activist Network!

Amplify is both the online home of the YAN and a fully-integrated hub for online activism and youth-led movement building. Dedicated to issues of sexual health and reproductive justice throughout the United States and around the world, Amplify will be a forum for activists to build their skills, forge connections, share ideas, and expand the scope of youth involvement on-line and on the ground.

The YAN consists of the following groups of youth leaders:

Campus Organizers

The Campus Organizing Team is made up of college students from campus organizations across the United States working to mobilize and empower other students in the fight for honest sex education, condom/contraceptive access, the rights of GLBTQ youth, and HIV prevention, among others.  Campus Organizers serve as activists, advocates, and spokespeople at the local, state, and national level.

Great American Condom Campaign SafeSites

High School Organizers

The High School Organizers are an amazing group of students from across the United States, each of whom is working to improve sex education within their own school system. With help from Advocates staff, High School Organizers mobilize other students to build support for honest and complete sex education among teachers, parents, administrators and other policy makers.

International Youth Activist Network (iYAN)

International Youth Leadership Council (IYLC)

International Youth Leadership Council (IYLC) is made up of young people with family ties to and/or interest in the developing world. These youth leaders work to improve US foreign policy regarding global HIV prevention and international family planning.

Council members serve as youth educators, advocates, and spokespeople on issues of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Council members develop media outreach campaigns, conduct policy forums, plan and run press conferences, participate in advocacy visits to policy makers, and attend conferences to further the goals of the International Youth Leadership Council.

MySistahs Online Peer Educators

MySistahs is a Web site created by and for young women of color to provide information and offer support on sexual and reproductive health issues through education and advocacy. Through monthly features, message boards, and online peer education, the MySistahs peer educators provide young women with information on activism, culture, sexual health, and other issues that are important to them.

State Activists

Advocates for Youth works with 65 state youth activists in 5 states (Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas) on Youth Leadership Councils which advocate for comprehensive sex education in their communities. Their goal is to mobilize people in their state to fight for honest, responsible sex education and to ensure that young people are listened to and have a voice within the debate.

Young Women of Color Leadership Council (YWOC LC)

YouthResource Online Peer Educators

YouthResource, a Web site by and for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) young people explores issues of concern to GLBTQ youth. The Online Peer Educators answer questions posed by visitors and point visitors to they resources they need. They also write articles for the YouthResource Web site.