Three GOJoven Belize fellows will attend the conference: Elmer Cornejo, Iris Carbajal Reyes, and Errol Longsworth. Roberto Morales’s Digital Story Where are you… will be screened at the conference Cinema Corner as well. Congratulations, GOJoven Fellows!

Read more about PHI’s participation in the Women Deliver Conference here.

The Mexico 2011 team develops their Leadership Action Plan

Congratulations Mexico 2011 team, for the various mentions in the Diario Respuesta news magazine about their Leadership Action Plan, Red Space. GOJoven Fellow Sandybel Robaldino said of the project: “in Red Space we analyzed current conditions, and the central problem to resolve is the increase in cases of HIV in adolescents between 15 and 19 years old by contributing to the strengthening of their communication skills in sexual and reproductive health topics, and help them assert their sexual and reproductive rights.” Take a look at the links below to see the important work this team is doing to educate the youth of Quintana Roo about HIV prevention and other SRH topics:

Previenen contagio del VIH

Educación, solución para el aborto

Urge mayor promoción para la prevención del VIH

Yamileth Caceres and Summit Foundation Program Officer Kathy Hall at the Puntos de Encuentro Youth Camp

Yamileth Cáceres (Honduras 2012 Fellow) represented GOJoven at the Central American Youth Camp, “Making Alliances in Diversity,” implemented by Puntos de Encuentro, in Estelí, Nicaragua from January 20 to 31, 2013. The main objective of the camp was to create a space in which youth and adults of diverse identities and social movements of Nicaragua and Central America could create alliances oriented toward questioning and intervening against all forms of discrimination, mistreatment, abuse, and social exclusion. At the same time, the challenge for participants was to form relationships based on equality of rights, dialogue, respect, and solidarity. Yamileth said that attending the camp was a very good experience: “My plan is to change my lifestyle, to be more conscious of the social inequalities that we are part of, and carry this message to others so they can also unite with the cause toward a more equal society…Above all, I consider that the key to success is to never stop learning about all of the people around us.” Well said, Yami!

GOJoven Fellows attend a press conference after the National Meeting, on September 24, 2012

The Youth Leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health Program of the Public Health Institute held the third in a series of national meetings (the second of this year)  in Guatemala from September 21 to 23, 2012, and a press conference on September 24, 2012. All GOJoven fellows from the 2004 to 2012 cohorts were invited; 28 fellows attended.

Achievements: Fellows who participated in this meeting were able to:

• share their vision about the expected results of the GOJoven program, and the activities to develop in Guatemala at the community, departmental and national levels, highlighting the consolidation of the networks in Guatemala at the national and regional level from a perspective of forming partnerships and advocating for Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH)
• consider the needs of the GOJoven Guatemala network, including the fact that the human resources should be graduated GOJoven Fellows with the commitment and willingness to support the GOJoven network
• consolidate the “Supporting Network” between those same fellows, developing trust, dependability, the ability to effectively use technology and, with the support of legal personnel at the national level, implement positive strategies and develop innovative proposals based on strategic planning

Fellows complete an ice-breaker at the Guatemala National Meeting, September 2012

Impact results include: the voiced commitment of the GOJoven Network through a press conference, publicizing the alliance between GOJoven and OSAR (Sexual and Reproductive Health Observatory) in order to work together to reduce adolescent teen pregnancies in Guatemalan communities; a delegation of GOJoven Fellows’ active participation in seven focus groups in order to give strategic input into a meeting about the progress of the Cairo Program of Action; participation of GOJoven Fellows in a consultation about integrated sex education, “Sexuality: an integrated look into the human rights of youth and the road to Cairo +20,” held by the “Güipil Weavers” platform, which is implemented by associated organizations of UNFPA Guatemala.

Elmer Cornejo on the radio

In December, 2012, GOJoven Fellow Elmer Cornejo (Belize 2009) wrote a series of TV spots for the Centaur Cable Network in Belize on a variety of Sexual and Reproductive Health Topics, including the recent ICPD Global Youth Forum in Bali, Indonesia. Transcripts are available in PDF below:

PDF: Global Youth Forum

PDF: Same Sex Marriage

PDF: HIV Testing

PDF: Behavioural Survey Study

PDF: World AIDS Week

Fellows pose for a group photo at the second 2012 National Meeting in Honduras

The Youth Leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health Program (GOJoven) of the Public Health Institute held the second national meeting of 2012 from October 5-7 in Comayagua,Honduras. All of the GOJoven graduates from 2004-2012 were invited, with the 2012 team participating in an additional national training on October 3-4; in the end, 27 fellows attended the meeting.

Achievements: fellows who attended the national meeting were able to,

• identify opportunities for collaboration among different fellows in order to improve communication and strengthen the fellows’ network
• renew their commitment to the program
• identify new tools to advocate at the level of local governments and decision-makers
• share stories of personal and professional growth, and what it has meant for them to be a GOJoven Fellow

Fellows discuss sexual and reproductive health at the National Meeting in Honduras, October 2012

About impact results: the fellows discussed the importance of sustainability of the impact of the program for 2013 and 2014, the results of which discussion are,

• the creation of a structured coordinating scheme for the next six months
• the creation of a facilitating team in Tegucigalpa that will direct the sustainability process for the program
• the selection of a representative in each region through a nomination process
• the identification of “Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy” as an urgent issue the GOJoven Honduras team will be working on in the coming two years
• the creation of an action plan with results and activities for each region, which regional teams will be implementing in the next six months

Danessa Luna (second from right) joins the Resource Teams for the GOJoven and AGALI programs and presents her work at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA on November 27, 2012.

Danessa Luna, the founder of Asociación Generando in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, shared her work on empowering and teaching adolescent girls to defend their human rights with the  Public Health Institute (PHI). Danessa’s NGO provides comprehensive services to women who have experienced or are at risk for sexual violence, including legal support, psychological and medical care, social support and temporary shelter to women who are victims of violence. Another facet of the organization’s work focuses on educating women and girls about their health, sexual and reproductive rights, violence and fostering new leadership in young women. Danessa has a long history of collaborating with PHI. She graduated from GOJoven’s Training of Trainers and continues to be a key trainer for the GOJoven program in the areas of gender, violence prevention and sexual and reproductive rights. In 2011, Danessa was selected as an Fellow of the Adolescent Girls Advocacy and Leadership Program (AGALI), and for the past two years, the AGALI program has funded Asociación Generando to establish one of the only women’s shelters in Guatemala and also to provide girl-centered services at the shelter for adolescent girls seeking refuge from violent situations at home.

Asociación Generando also advocates with the Guatemalan government to implement the law against femicide, which is an increasing problem in Guatemala. On April 9, 2008, Guatemala passed the Ley contra el Femicidio y otras Formas de Violencia contra la Mujer [Law Against Femicide and Other Forms of Violence Against Women or “Femicide Law”] and although the passage of this law is considered very positive on a symbolic level, Danessa shared with us that impunity for these crimes continues and that the number of femicides continues to rise year after year.

A graduate in Sociology at San Carlos University in Guatemala, Danessa is currently a Fellow of the International Fellowship Program (iLEAP) inSeattlefunded by the Seattle Foundation, where she joins a network of change leaders that are committed to building strong global partnerships for social change.

If you are between the ages of 14 and 25 you can participate in the Forum virtually. You can register as a virtual delegate and follow the conference presentations online and contribute directly using web, mobile and social media to submit your recommendations on the Forum themes.

Moderators will ensure that the recommendations from virtual delegates are heard and as an official delegate, your name and the country you are from will be included in a report to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

To register as a virtual delegate click here

As the representative of the GOJoven Regional Network, Gabriela will have the opportunity to lay the groundwork for creating strategic alliances between GOJoven and international and regional platforms and networks working in ASRH advocacy.

During the Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala national meetings Fellows were asked to provide feedback on the potential impacts a GOJoven regional network could have in the next phase of the program.  This input will be incorporated into the GOJoven strategic plan in 2013-2014.