Transitions: The Rights. Respect. Responsibility.^® Campaign
Volume 14, No. 1, October 2001

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By Stephanie Kvasnik, Project Coordinator, Youth Council, Advocates for Youth

Last year, Advocates for Youth formed the International Youth Leadership Council, composed of young people from around the world interested in working to improve the health and well-being of their peers. Members of the Youth Council participate in educating policy makers, the media, and the American public about the importance of increasing U.S. funding for global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and for international family planning. Council members serve as peer educators, advocates, and spokespeople on issues of adolescent reproductive and sexual health. They develop media campaigns, conduct policy forums, and participate in advocacy visits to policy makers.

In April, the International Youth Leadership Council launched a year-long campaign, My Voice Counts, to mobilize college and high school students to pressure the United States Congress to increase funding for international family planning and global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The campaign includes a petition drive, advocacy days in Congress, Web site organizing, campus rallies, a World AIDS Day march, and a national media campaign.

Students can sign up and obtain the My Voice Counts campaign kit, including letters to Congress, advocacy tips, fact sheets, petitions, and My Voice Counts stickers. For the kit, contact Advocates for Youth at 202.419.3420. The petition is online. Please feel free to copy and distribute it.

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Transitions (ISSN 1097-1254) © 2001, is a quarterly publication of Advocates for Youth—Helping young people make safe and responsible decisions about sex. For permission to reprint, contact Transitions' editor at 202.419.3420.

Editor: Sue Alford