The Global Youth Connect project hosted the ‘Global Youth Connect Meet Up Week,’ a significant linking and learning event attended by young SRHR advocates from different IPPF Member Associations working towards implementing this project. Through various interactive workshops, sessions, and forums, attendees had the opportunity to share experiences, learn, and unlearn from fellow young SRHR advocates working across different member associations. Notably, the key objective of the event was to spur invaluable learning experiences, facilitate networking opportunities, and build excellent collaborations amongst young people in cementing efforts towards achieving SRHR for all.
Daisy Kandole, Youth Officer at Reproductive Health Uganda, expressed her excitement about the tremendous success of the “Global Youth Connect Meet Up Week.” Commenting on the event, she highlighted the exceptional achievement of bringing together young people with diverse cultural backgrounds, providing a unique opportunity to learn, collaborate and unite around common themes surrounding SRHR. As she put it best: “It is truly remarkable to witness youngsters learning from one another and realizing that sexual and reproductive issues affect all young people, irrespective of their unique backgrounds and cultural heritage.”
Reproductive Health Uganda, which is the lead project implementer of the Global Youth Connect project, hosted the event, which provided a conducive platform for young people to connect and explore ways of working collaboratively. Through working together in teams and participating in a series of learning activities, the young people had the chance to foster robust bonds, and learn from one another, honing interpersonal and leadership skills along the way. The event featured various sessions facilitated by experts and offered learning opportunities not only on SRHR advocacy but also diverse topics like Digital Storytelling, which helped young people upskill and expand diverse capacities. Such interactive workshops mentored and empowered them to take bold action towards challenges related to sexual and reproductive health and rights among young people. The sessions also focused on team building; empowering young people’s voices; facilitating active participation and inclusion and also building global SRHR leaders
“We believe in incorporating experiences, knowledge, ideas and views of young people for better implementation of programs,” said Tom Kulumba Gender and Youth Manager RHU
According to Tom Kulumba, RHU’s Gender and Youth Manager, incorporating the experiences, knowledge, ideas, and views of young people is crucial for successful program implementation. By harnessing their unique insights, young people can play an instrumental role in bolstering the quality of programs delivery and ensuring that such initiatives serve the people they are designed to aid. This approach empowers and equips young people with the knowledge, resources, and platform to make meaningful contributions and drive reforms related to SRHR. Through adopting youth-led approaches, the voice of young people becomes more valuable and central in developing responses and interventions that cater to the sexual and reproductive needs of all communities.
The Global Youth Connect Meet Up Week employed a comprehensive, youth-centered approach that endeavored to engage young people throughout the various stages of programming. This platform fostered an inclusive and participatory approach, prioritizing young people’s voice in delivering better practices and methodologies that resonate with their expectations and aspirations in SRHR. Such a framework ensured that the event was designed with young people at the frontline, inspiring collaborative efforts toward SRHR equity, and encouraging participation and ownership as part of the process. By focusing on youth-led interventions, the event could help in shaping the region’s approach to sexual and reproductive healthcare, a fundamental step in ensuring quality service delivery with impact on the youth at the grassroots.
During this meet up week, young people created a Youth Declaration 2023 pledging to drive change for sexual reproductive health rights among them. The declaration focused on allowing access to accurate, comprehensive, and age-appropriate SRH information, committing to meaningful youth participation within the Global Youth Connect project while also fostering a vibrant network, strategizing on measures that ensure sustainability beyond the current phase, and organizing in-person meet-ups for enhancing productivity. The youth aim to create a dynamic space for them to learn from each other and collectively drive positive change.
“Participating in the Global Youth Connect Meet Up week has reignited our commitment as SRHR advocates to accelerate the uptake of sexual and reproductive health education and services for young people. The platform created by Global Youth Connect has provided an exceptional opportunity for us to learn, unlearn and share our experiences with like-minded individuals. We are now more confident than ever in our mission to empower young people and drive meaningful and impactful change in our communities,” said Abu Hussein, youth representative Global Youth Connect Think Tank
At the close of the one-week event, Jackson Chekweko, Executive Director of RHU, presided over the ceremony, applauding the young people for their participation and exceptional contributions towards the event’s success. As an essential aspect of recognizing their efforts, Chekweko awarded the young people bespoke certificates for their active roles played in the event. He urged young people to take that critical next step in becoming agents of change by actively applying the new knowledge, skills, and networks they had gained from the week’s activities. The event’s ultimate goal was to leverage these burgeoning passions to find solutions to SRHR challenges within their communities, empowered to critically engage decision-makers while opening up sustainable avenues to contribute to broader change agendas.
“In 1998, I had the privilege of representing the youth of IPPF in the Global Annual Meeting in the Czech Republic. Back then, even as a young voice, I felt a strong sense of responsibility to champion SRHR alongside many other vibrant young minds from across the world. Now, as we speak, I firmly believe that it has never been more pertinent for young people to claim the mantle and become forceful leaders at the forefront of shaping SRHR discourse in all its facets.” – Jackson Chekweko, Executive Director of Reproductive Health Uganda
The Global Youth Connect project, established by IPPF, is an innovative digital platform developed to provide young people across diverse backgrounds with the means to access accurate, age-appropriate information on all aspects of SRHR. The platform enables greater reach and accessibility to crucial information, chiefly enabling young people to take charge of their health and wellbeing in pursuit of positively impacting their communities’ sexual health outcomes. With a wealth of resources, including interactive and educational content, the platform aims to strengthen young people’s capacity to advocate for SRHR, increase the quality of life among target users, and foster equality around sexual and reproductive rights.
By Aidah Babirye Nakanjako,
Communications officer, Reproductive Health Uganda
