Youth LEAD successfully conducted a Training of Trainers (TOT) for The New Generation (NewGen) Asia Leadership Short Course from 2 – 8 September 2012 at UNESCO Bangkok in collaboration with the Youth Research Centre of the University of Melbourne and with support from UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO and UNAIDS.
The regional TOT was 7 days, including the 5-day course along with two training days to orient participants with the overall structure of the Leadership Course, and practice with facilitation of the sessions. The course aims to equip young trainers with the skills and knowledge to conduct the NewGen course when it is rolled out in their respective countries. The Leadership Training Course includes information on HIV, young key affected populations, and has a special focus on skills-based training; including advocacy, use of data, communication, and leadership. Thirty young participants belonging to key affected populations from five countries, namely Indonesia (including Papua province), Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka attended the training of trainers.
"Before coming here, I had very little information and skill; but undergoing the course, I feel empowered and have a vision now to bring together young KAPs [key affected populations] in my hometown and help them learn as I did. I feel the responsibility to inform my community" said Dea Mantiri, a young participant working with the network of people who use drugs in Indonesia. "Enlightenment is an understatement in this training course, not only for the participants but also for myself. As a youth facilitator, the training expanded my understanding about how to interact with people of different ethnic background. I learned that the problem of HIV goes beyond being a MSM [male who has sex with other males], a sex worker, a drug user, or a person living with HIV. It's because we are all young." Said Jeffry Acaba, one of the lead trainers supporting the ToT from the Philippines. "At the moment there is no particular young KAP network in my country, I want to use this training and take it to my country as a platform to bring together the young KAPs and start addressing the needs of the marginalized communities." said Dakshitha Wickremarathne, working with Y-PEER in Sri Lanka. "It was empowering, and enriching for me. With the skills set that I learnt during the ToT, I am confident that I could pass on my knowledge to my peers at the community level. At the same time, it was an enriching experience personally because the training allowed me to interact, and know fellow young leaders from the region. It made me realize that we are never alone in this fight, and that there are other young people elsewhere, who are also actively advocating for our rights and issues of the YKAPs." said Thu Yain working with SGRainbow, the sole social group for young gay and bisexual men in Singapore.
The NewGen Asia curriculum was developed over an 11-month consultation, writing and piloting process led by Youth LEAD in partnership with Associate Professor Helen Cahill, an expert in health education and participatory curriculum design from The University of Melbourne, Australia, along with UN partners; UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNESCO and UNICEF. Country level rollout in Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Sri Lanka has already been scheduled for late 2012 and early 2013; with a possible rollout in Singapore as well. Youth LEAD is a regional network of young key affected populations in Asia Pacific. Initiated in 2010 in response to an identified lack of young key affected populations’ (YKAP) involvement in advocacy, the network currently has 50 members in 17 countries. Youth LEAD is a key partner with the Asia Pacific Interagency Task Team on YKAP (currently co-convened by UNESCO and 7 Sisters).
Contact Skand Amatya, or Thaw Zin Aye, coordinators of Youth LEAD, through email at skand@youth-lead.org or thaw@youth-lead.org
Related Links:
NewGen Asia, Working with the next generation of leaders in the HIV response in the Philippines