Youth LEAD, in collaboration with the Youth Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, UNESCO UNICEF, UNFPA and UNAIDS, hosted the second regional NewGen Asia Leadership Course Training of Trainers (ToT) in Bangkok from 23-29 November 2013.
The NewGen Asia leadership course is designed to enhance the leadership skills and the capacity of young people from key populations at higher exposure of HIV (including young men who have sex with men, young transgender people, young people using drugs, young people selling sex, and young people living with HIV).
The curriculum was developed in 2011 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 along with UN partners UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNAIDS. The course is a skills-based training that focuses on important leadership skills such as advocacy, use of data, communication, and planning.
The first ToT took place in September 2012 at UNESCO Bangkok, and prepared thirty young people from key populations in Indonesia (including Papua province), Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka to deliver the course in their own countries. Since then, there have been country roll outs of the NewGen course in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
This second regional ToT was expanded to allow for the testing of new materials, information and activities on basic sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV and on strategic information. This new content was added after country roll-outs demonstrated that many participants needed more background knowledge on these aspects. New activities were incorporated into the course to provide basic information and also skills-building in negotiation and problem-solving to help people practice skills that they can apply in all aspects of their life.
Over twenty young participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Nepal and Thailand attended the regional training of trainers in November, with the intention to hold country level roll outs in their respective countries in 2014. The enthusiasm for the course did not waver over the course of the week, and the participants all agreed that “NewGen rocks!”
The NewGen Asia Leadership short course is a great example of how large-scale regional initiatives can have an impact at the grassroots level. As one participant from Nepal noted “this is the best experience I have ever had. I have been to lots of trainings but this one is different and it is the best. I can go back to my country and I can be a leader and pull people together for a cause because I know the qualities and how to be a leader”. Participants commented on how they would use the skills they developed back in their communities to contribute more strongly to HIV prevention and response work, and the country level roll outs in 2014 will further demonstrate this commitment.
For more information, please contact: Justine Sass (j.sass@unesco.org) or Thaw Zin Aye, Youth LEAD (thaw@youth-lead.org)
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