Y-PEER organized first 10 Days of Activism in 2010. You may check the stories and activities that were done during 10 DoA 2010. If you like to take part in 10 DoA 2011 which will take part between 1 and 10 July you can check 10 Things to Know about 10 DoA document at http://www.slideshare.net/FatmaHacioglu1/10-things-to-know-about-10-doa?from=share_email

2. CONTENT
EditorÊs Word
EditorÊs Word 3
3
10 Days of Activism
10 Days of Activism 4-20
4-20
Y-PEER in Important Events
Y-PEER in Important Events 21-23
21-23
Country News
Country News 24-32
24-32
Peers of the Month
Peers of the Month 33-35
33-35

3. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”
Dear Reader, ~ Margaret Mead
Yes! The maxim above is an authentic depiction of what Y-PEER
International has collectively achieved and affirmed during the 10
Days of Activism and beyond. Such is a strong message that
brings new meaning to our contribution to the International Year
of Youth.
Across the regions, we have witnessed the Y-PEER effect through
out the campaign, promoting dialogue and mutual understand-
ing. Nonetheless, the enthusiasm and energy of Y-PEER members
engaged in various activities set forth the stage to inspire, inno-
vate and reinvent youth revolution. Mario Balanay Balibago
Be inspired by the successful activities conducted by Y-PEERs in Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and
Libya from Arab countries which despite certain national issues, have proven that they re-
main active, committed and creative in reaching young people through peer education.
Learn from the innovative approaches of our members from Eastern Europe as they show-
case our success in the forefront of advocating for adolescent sexuality and reproductive
health issues. We also have prepared some stories from different Y-PEER countries with pho-
tos to enhance your reading experience. Newly joined countries in Asia and Pacific have
shared their stories about their launching initiatives, partnerships and the challenges of their
first ever training. And of course, update from the PAPeT in Chile from Latin America. All
these have paved way for rethinking, reframing and restructuring how young people should
be viewed nowadays. These inspiring stories motivate us to reinvent the design.
We are also proud to feature our peers of the month, who we are proud to call our models in
peer education. This newsletter covers the period between December 2010 and March
2011, and would not have been complete without the help of the writers’ team. They sub-
mitted articles and brought inspiration to the development of this newsletter and to Rana
and Hanane for the cool cover design. Special thanks to Ryan Dolan who always helps in
editing and uploading news and articles in our website, and to Lina and Toni of PETRI, as
well as to Odina for their help in editing articles, a big thank you to all!
More than hundred years ago, Jose Rizal, a scientist, doctor, writer, linguist and above all, a
national hero once said, ”The youth is the hope of our future”.
And I can strongly say, our Y-PEERians are trying their best to make that youth forecast come
true.

4. Once Upon a Time in Armenia
„Who Could Imagine‰ Samvel Mkhitaryan
sammxitaryan@yahoo.com
ARMENIA The boundaries between the scene and
the audience vanished in a moment re-
Once upon a time in Armenia, there was a placing the actors and audience together,
cute couple who started their relationship trying to find a solution to the accrued
on Facebook. On their first anniversary they problem. The mass-media was as well
met at the park which was supposed to involved in the event and soon the event
be one of the unbelievable miracles in was already all over the news.
their lives. That THING was supposed to
happen, a night that would change their And… this was a good start of the year
lives forever… for Y-PEER initiatives.
The play, entitled ‘Who Could Imagine?’
tells the story of a young girl who gave AZERBAIJAN
into the demands of her boyfriend, had
unprotected sex, was infected with HIV
and finally, was stigmatized by her com- Y-PEER Azerbaijan Rocks
munity. This was part of the Interactive
Forum Theatre Performance devoted to
in 10 Days of Activism
the celebration of World Aids Day and
performed by "Theatre for Changes", in And now we have a 10-day report from Y-
collaboration with the Armenian Forum PEER Azerbaijan. The campaign, imple-
Theatre, Y-PEER Armenia and with great mented by Y-PEER in Azerbaijan turned out
support from UNFPA Armenia. to be a massive success and was covered
by several forms of media, including TV!
As the story unfolded, information on how 1 December – 10 Days of Activism was
HIV can be transmitted was presented. kicked off in time with World AIDS Day-
Incredibly, the performance was warmly flashmob at Park Bulvar trade centre,
received by the audience. After depicting Baku. The visitors had an opportunity to
the sad ending, the audience had a view an improvised, collective flashmob
chance to get up on stage and develop game with the participation of a local
happier resolutions. Around 100 people break dance group “Floor Fanatix”. The
were reached, composed of mostly young event caused a big interest among those
people between 18 and 25. Soon, the passing by,- thus, all awareness-raising
entire audience became interactive and materials and red caps with inscription "1
ignited a discussion due to their interest in of December - World AIDS Day" were
the issue. swept away in the first hour of the action!

5. A special TV Program, organized by the 4 December – 40 refugee women from
National Assembly of Youth Organizations Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and other
of the Republic of Azerbaijan (NAYORA), countries attended the LET’S TALK AIDS, an
was dedicated to World AIDS Day, with interactive HIV/AIDS session organized at
guest speakers from the Parliament, Rep- UNHCR-supported International Refugee
resentatives of UNICEF and other United Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. Aimed to raise
Nations Agencies, Non Governmental awareness on AIDS, reproductive health
Organizations, Ministries of Health and and rights among the most disadvan-
Youth and other institutions, who under- taged population, the learning session
lined the importance of joining efforts to also fused understanding of culture as
prevent AIDS. Aysel Asgarova, Y-PEER FPC, they showed off their colourful customs
spoke about the work Y-PEER does glob- and wedding traditions.
ally and locally. Since young people do not
5 December – International Volunteers
approach their parents when faced with
Day party was organised with participa-
problems, she highlighted the need for
tion of famous Azerbaijani pop stars—
peers to give correct information. “I don't
Samira, Aygun, Azad Shabanov, Milan and
aim at frightening everyone with AIDS. I
Maryam Shabanova. Y-PEER FPC opened
just want to call everyone to be responsi-
the ceremony and spoke to around 200
ble both towards themselves and others.
young people who work in the field of
There's always a choice in life. So I call on
youth development and capacity-building.
everyone to make responsible choices
Kama Babayeva, Chair of Azerbaijani
and take responsible decisions."
Medical Students and Doctors Association
2 December – Fundraising training for informed everyone about the gravity of
young leaders, HIV infection
Western Univer- among young
sity. The half day people. She
course helped 20 emphasized
students know that “People
how to make living with HIV
successful dona- are among us.
tion requests, So, HIV should
influence others not be about
in a positive and discrimination -
effective way, it should be
and have effec- about care and
tive presentation understanding!"
skills. The reading of a
joint youth state-
3 December – Intercultural Dialogue
ment on young people’s reproductive
workshop at Slavic University, during
health and rights, adopted during Y-PEER
which participants developed an under-
GAB 2010 followed shortly. Moreover, the
standing of identity and how it is used
message of popular Azerbaijani singer
and understood; the ways identities are
Samira put everyone in frenzy. She said,
formed, changed and influenced; their
“Almost half of new HIV infections occur
own identities, including values and aspi-
among young people. It should make eve-
rations, and how they influence and are
ryone think and it should start with you!”.
influenced; the concept of ‘culture’ and
During the event, IEC materials published
how it is used and understood; the ways
by UNDPI, UNAIDS and Republican AIDS
cultures are formed, changed and under-
Centre were distributed to the youth.
stood and the connections between iden- Aysel Asgarova
tity and culture. ypeer.az@gmail.com

6. Two conferences about HIV / AIDS kicked
off for young people aged between 14 –
19 years old in the youth center, while
Y-PEERs in Le Souk Blida manned booths in
the University of Languages. In the after-
noon, members of the network attended a
concert with the theme: Le Sida, parlons-
en (Let’s talk about AIDS) which turned out
to be the biggest meeting place in Algiers
for various artists, NGOs working for HIV/
6-10 December – During the 2nd stretch AIDS issues, the Ministry of Health, and
of the activism effort, various activities the media.
were conducted across the country, such
as an interactive awareness-raising ses- Around 600 people who walked into the
sion on HIV/AIDS/STIs, contraception and booth were received by Y-PEER Algeria,
family planning at Agrarian University in and they left with increased knowledge
Ganja, Azerbaijan, a session on Intercul- on HIV / AIDS and prevention messages
tural Dialogue at Baku State University, an from the enthusiastic peer educators. The
interactive peer education session called activities gained popularity from the Me-
“LET’S TALK AIDS” at American Centre with dia, which covered the entire event. Inter-
focus on HIV/ AIDS/STIs, reproductive views appeared on national TV and ra-
health and rights, a fundraising training dios. In fact, the biggest newspaper in
for young leaders, Khazar University, and Algeria, El Watan also featured us!
a speaking engagement with the partici-
pation of a doctor from Republican AIDS BAHRAIN
Center among 45 students at various
universities. There were movie nights as
well showing “Philadelphia”, a movie
Y-PEER Bahrain Explores
which focuses on HIV/AIDS, stigma and in Mountains, Beach
discrimination, as well as a workshop on
Ahmed Fadhul
Gender Based Violence (GBV) with a gen-
maxi2000au@hotmail.com
der expert within “16 days of activism
against GBV” campaign. All these activi- The highest point on the landscape is, and
ties were done in cooperation with Azer- always has been, a special symbol for
baijan Student Youth Organisations Union human beings. Maybe it’s because the
(ASYOU) and Association of Former UN desire to find a way with a more promis-
Interns Azerbaijan. ing target plays an essential role. From the
top, you have a better view, and you will
also be observed by others. In this context,
ALGERIA an effective message against AIDS on a
hill or mountain top can either symbolize
Y-PEER Algeria the dreadful truth, or be an expression of
hope.
Lyes Ouakli Hits the Target Celebrating the World AIDS Day has never
wazyel@hotmail.com been as thrilling before, as Y-PEER Bahrain
organized an expedition event in Jabal Al
The celebration of World AIDS Day in Alge-
Dokhan, the country’s highest mountain,
ria was enjoyed throughout various excit-
in cooperation with National Aids Preven-
ing activities that reached an estimated
tion Committee and the World AIDS
2000 young people in just one day.
Awareness Expedition, as part of the 10

7. Days of Activism. “We started our activity All these events were graced by co-
early in the morning with beautiful camp- organizers such as the Southern Govern-
ing weather” said by Ahmed Fadhul, Y- mental officials, Ministry of Health, Na-
PEER Bahrain Focal Point in Charge. tional Aids Prevention Committee, Dr. Su-
maia Al Joder, representatives from World
Joachim Franz and his team, with the sup-
Aids Awareness Expedition, International
port from partners, carried a big flag with
Planned Parenthood Federation, Addicts
the AIDS logo, along with logos of Bahrain
Friends Society, Almoayyed Drug and Al-
and National AIDS Prevention Commit-
coholic Detoxification and Rehabilitation
tee’s. When they reached the top, they
Unit and Bahrain Reproductive Health and
built a tent there and conducted HIV/AIDS
Family Planning Association.
awareness campaign and health promo-
tional activity. This was very timely as
many locals usually hike during this camp- BOSNIA &
ing month. The activity attracted attention HERZEGOVINA
from the media, and was covered by the
National TV in Bahrain. As part of the ac- Y-PEER: The Spirit of
tivity, focal points, namely Ebrahim
Elnamlity and Abdulla Qamber, distributed Youth Activism
pins and talked to the public about Y-PEER Ena Fejzagić ena_f_9@live.com
as an amazing network. The celebration Haris Karabegović harisic_harica@yahoo.com
continued on December 24, Bahrain’s Na-
tional AIDS Day, in Coral Beach, where a
big tent was set up where people could Have you ever wondered what can be
easily access many educational materials. done in ten days when young people work
together? This is an attempt to give you
The main objective of the event was to just a glance at everything that was done
celebrate the National AIDS Day, minimize in the “10 Days of Activism“ in Bosnia and
stigma and discrimination on PLWHIV. The Herzegovina.
great opportunity introduced our network
to the public and showcased our method- Members and volunteers of Youth Peer
ology. There was a drawing competition Education Network in the three info-
for children and free medical consultations centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in the
along with free Hemoglobin, Sugar, Hepa- cities of Bihać, Mostar and Banja Luka)
titis C, and Blood Pressure instant check- engaged in a variety of events and
ing. Furthermore, people got a chance to reached over 7000 people through differ-
see some of the amazing handcrafted ent activities. Copies of the movie Transit
artwork from inpatients of drug rehab were distributed in the info-centers and
centers. movie nights were held in two cities, fol-
lowed by the successful discussion and
distribution of the promotional material of
interest. Other interesting edutainment (a
term coined from education and entertain-
ment) activities were a New Year's fair in
Bihać, where young people gave little
packages to the children and performed
informal counseling, especially regarding
sexuality, puberty, and adolescence. We
also had condom parties (mini and big
ones) a rock concert, where Y-PEER educa-
tors distributed promo-material.

8. working all moved in sync
in celebration of the Inter-
national Year of Youth.
Since the campaign “10
DoA” is really special,
different kinds of activities
were implemented
throughout the whole
country.
The event kicked off with
outreach activities in the
following cities: Gabrovo,
Shumen, Blagoevgrad,
The spirit of the activism was visible to Sofia and Stara Zagora. Through Y-PEER
most of the citizens through street actions volunteers, rich information about HIV/
in Mostar, where Y-PEER educators distrib- AIDS and STIs were presented to young
uted promo-material and displayed people, aiming to reach all, including
posters, billboards and photos regarding those at risk. What interested the crowd a
HIV/ AIDS / STIs and the correct use of a lot was the open discussion followed by
condom. There was a media promotion on the distribution of condoms.
television as well.
In Gabrovo, a discussion with volunteers,
Finally, in the city of Banja Luka, there was journalists, and representatives from Re-
a symbolic walk through the city centre, gional Health and Education Departments
distributing promo-material. All the activi- and Bulgarian Red Cross entitled “Are the
ties were followed by regular presenta- informed young people responsible in the
tions and workshops in the cities and aspect of HIV/AIDS?” took place.
urban area. The 10 DoA united the people
from info-centers and showed that there In Sofia and Rousse, a meeting of decision
are no barriers between young people in makers took place, which focused on the
different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, discussion entitled “Be responsible and
and showed the true meaning of Y-PEER Modern”. Other cities like Shumen, Veliko
spirit of unity, tolerance and hard work. Tarnovo, Dobrich, Blagoevgrad decided to
be more informal and organized different
BULGARIA street parades and concerts, which were
found to be very exciting for those partici-
10 Days of Activism and pating. In the city of Dobrich, YPEER Volun-
Beyond: The Y-PEER teers took the risk of being even less tradi-
Bulgaria Way tional and made a campaign called:
“Condom photo” (obqsni go tva kvo
The 10 days of Activism in Bulgaria were ozna4ava). All these events spread the
really busy this year. Fourteen (14) cities in message: We may be different, but we are
Bulgaria where young volunteers are equally tolerant!

9. Notably, there was a “March for the Sex- EGYPT
ual and Reproductive Rights of Young
People” as a part of the project I want to
know! which aimed to include SRH subject
10 Days of Activism :
in the school curriculum. This attracted a Y-PEER EgyptÊs Special
lot of interest, and was even considered Edutainment Campaign
the most memorable activity during the 10
days of activism. Gehad Elsayed
b.gehad2003@yahoo.com
That’s not all, there was also the longest The first part of our campaign happened
activity ever planned known as the Na- during the first 5 days of Y-PEER’s 10
tional AIDS Campaign, composed of three days of activism, which started with the
phases. The first two was completed dur- celebration of World AIDS Day and the
ing the World AIDS day (1st of December) International Day of Volunteers and
followed by the Celebration of Valentine’s reached 3227 young people in Cairo and
Day (14th of February). The last phase will Alexandria. Exciting activities under the
be on the Sunday of May known as the “edutainment campaign” continued from
International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. the 6th and up to the last week of Decem-
This year the campaign was named: ber. In youth centers and in schools, inter-
“Condomize Yourself”. This is organized by active activities such as a concert focusing
the National Program for Prevention and on HIV/ AIDS, STIs, family planning, smok-
Control of HIV/ AIDS and Sexually Trans- ing, nutrition, early marriage and drugs
mitted Infections, the Ministry of Health were conducted.
and Y-PEER Bulgaria. The final and the A training of trainers reached 40 young
most fruitful event was the launching of Y- people while a Y-PEER Training on Theatre
PEER Bulgaria website in Sofia, attended Based Peer Education Techniques reached
by lots of young people including the jour- 251 students. Furthermore, this was com-
nalists. The site covers offers the whole set plemented by a mobile unit activity which
of Y-PEER handbooks translated in Bulgar- provided an opportunity for all young peo-
ian language and feature peer educators. ple to receive access to safe use of ICT in
reproductive health issues and to activate
information technology to disseminate
awareness of reproductive health and
HIV/ AIDS.
Towards the end we recorded results of
12979 students in five governorates, pro-
duction of IEC materials with 150,000
Petar Mladenov brochures, 1000 posters, as well as roll-
petar_mladenow@abv.bg ups, pens, t-shirts, wristbands and key

10. son of the Gender Equality Council; Lali
Papiashvili, Chairperson of the State Inter-
Agency Council on Domestic Violence;
Jamie McGoldrick UN Resident Coordina-
tor and UNDP Resident Representative in
Georgia; and Lela Bakradze, UNFPA Assis-
tant Representative in Georgia. They all
filled the air with inspiring messages and
presented the award for the Best Gender
Media Works contest
(www.genderbasedviolence.ge).
medals, and 4 TV and radio interviews. All
29 Nov and 3-4 Dec: Conducted “Men to
these were made possible through the Men Discussions about Gender-Based
financial support of H&M and partnership Violence” in 3 different universities by
with The National Council of Childhood Eduard and Misha, active peer educators
and Beka, Y-PEER Focal Point.
and Motherhood, UNFPA Egypt, UNAIDS,
UNICEF, IFMSA and a few NGOs. And of 1 Dec: The peer educators and volunteers
course, the warm welcome of the educa- filled the well-ornamented bus with
tional administration helped in making the posters of "STOP AIDS" and different logos
activities successful. to conduct an informational and educa-
tional tour in 5 different universities during
GEORGIA the World AIDS Day celebration. Other
jovial activities were conducted such as
Y-PEER Georgia
an interactive quiz competition on HIV/
Stretches 10 Days of AIDS and contraception, as well as the
Activism distribution of IEC materials and condoms.
These helped in raising awareness on
Ten is not enough and so we made it 16! HIV/AIDS and prevention among young
That was Y-PEER Georgia’s way of cele- people, and stimulate demand for Youth
brating the International Year of the Youth, Friendly Reproductive Health services. But
which was kicked off earlier from Novem- the real highlight was the launching of the
ber 25 ‘til December 10. newly established Georgian Youth Devel-
opment and Education Association (GYDEA)
25 Nov: The official launch was celebrated
in Ilia State University, followed by a
through a conference on the Campaign
candle light ceremony, outlining the red
Against Gender-Based Violence. Respect-
HIV/AIDS ribbon in the yard of the
able speakers graced and supported the
university at dawn.
event such as Rusudan Kervalishvili, Vice
Speaker of the Parliament and Chairper-

11. KAZAKHSTAN
10 DoA in Kazakhstan:
Fun in Facts,
Rights on Reel
Malika Atasheva
malika.atasheva@gmail.com
The World AIDS Day commemoration
started the “10 Days of Activism” organ-
ized by the Y-PEER members of the Youth
All these were done with the support of Volunteer Leadership Centre “Dostar” in
UNFPA Georgia, CSMA, Georgian State the South Kazakhstan Economics College
Pantomime Theater, Tbilisi Municipality, with more than 60 participating students.
and representatives from government and Peer educators conducted a presentation
non-governmental organizations, media and dialogue session with participants,
and students. discussing the most important issues sur-
10 Dec: A conference: “Speak Up, Stop rounding HIV in their area, which later
Discrimination” together with IFMSA – helped students in presenting short skits
SCORP – Georgia and ELSA – Georgia was to demonstrate the scale of the HIV prob-
held in “AIETI” Medical School, followed by lem in the region. Furthermore, they en-
a closing ceremony and photo exhibition in joyed a video showing on HIV, as well as
the exhibition hall. After these events, a “Quiz Show” which earned prizes for the
numbers show that we distributed around winners.
3000 educational materials and condoms, With the overarching theme to advocate
and our campaign appeared on several for youth sexual and reproductive health
different national TV channels. For more and rights during the “10 Days of Activ-
news and updates, please check out our ism”, the Joint Youth Statement devel-
page on Facebook "GYDEA." oped during the Y-PEER Global Board Advi-
Aleksandra Nadiradze sory Partnership Meeting (October 1, 2010)
sandra_nadiradze@hotmail.com was disseminated. It was translated and
adopted into Russian and Kazakh lan-
guages and presented for the local gov-
ernment representatives, executives of the
Internal Affairs Department of Shymkent
and other districts of South Kazakhstan,
local NGO representatives, and business
women at the Social Market and Women
and Entrepreneurship Conference.

12. occasion of this day. This year, we did it
under the slogan “Light for Rights” and
“Our Year, Our Voice.” Main activities were
held in the city of Mitrovica in order to
raise awareness of the population about
HIV/AIDS and none discrimination of peo-
ple living
with HIV/AIDS. A day before December
1st, peer educators held lectures about
Being an active advocate during the event, HIV/AIDS in some primary schools in Mi-
Aida Darzhanova, Y-PEER Focal Point, said trovica, and two training sessions in Marin
“the ’10 Days of Activism’ was a really Barleti High School and Zenel Hajdini
successful campaign to advocate and Gymnasium in the city of Gjilane. With the
make local decision-makers consider wishes that this 1st of December be re-
youth and issues around their SRHR when membered by the people for a long time,
designing and delivering various we decided to paint a mural. It became
programs.” Alongside the activities and one of the highlights that marked this day
advocacy efforts on the places, Y-PEER in the city of Mitrovica, localized in the
Kazakhstan members increased visibility center of town as it is the most frequented
through posting messages on Twitter and place.
Facebook with important sexual and
The mural continues to get the attention of
reproductive health and rights facts to
citizens till this day. Activities continued
raise awareness among young people in
with the decoration of the city with red
Kazakhstan.
ribbons and balloons as a symbol of sup-
KOSOVO port for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Two
peer educators prepared two corners for
Y-PEER Kosovo Marks quiz activities, where interested people
could participate and learn more about
WAD in Mitrovica
HIV and AIDS, and receive condoms or
Bernard Tahirbegolli
b.tahirbegolli@gmail.com chocolates for their correct answers.
December 1 is the World AIDS
Day and has been celebrated
since 1987. In Kosovo, the first
case of HIV infection was reg-
istered in 1986 and since then
the number of patients has
reached 81. Every year, peer
educators organize aware-
ness raising activities on the

13. The activity was followed by the distribu- ity, free of judgments and ensure the spe-
tion of IEC materials by peer educators in cific needs of marginalized groups”, as
the city, while simultaneously providing quoted.
health education through brief information
It is also envisioned to have a world
to those who expressed interest to know
where young people are active and effec-
more about HIV/AIDS. Around 120 peer
tive participants in developing programs,
educators from different cities of Kosovo
policies and decisions that affect their
marched and cheered in the open sky and
lives and are supported as leaders of
came up with different messages written
change. So this is our year and we want to
on pamphlets.
our voice be heard.”
And that’s not all! There was an exhibition
Meanwhile experts warn that this number
held at the lobby of House of Culture
of 81 persons living with HIV could be
“Rexhep Mitrovica” which hosted a collec-
higher since there are still prejudices that
tion of drawings with different messages
impede the registration and treatment of
done by peer educators. There was a
patients. It has been said that Kosovo is
theater play “Stop”, shown by peer educa-
among the countries with a higher per-
tors from Peja City, and a concert held in
centage of risk, calling for greater aware-
the central area of Culture House, where
ness of the population about these risks.
young people from Mitrovica concluded
So we still have a lot of work to do to pre-
the exhibition. Singers Arta Balaj and Blero
vent HIV/ AIDS in Kosovo.
surprised the audience and started
spreading messages about HIV /AIDS KYRGYZSTAN
prevention and non discrimination of peo-
ple living with HIV.
Y-PEER Kyrgyzstan Goes
On-line Arman Alibaev
During this cultural and artistic program, alibaevs@gmail.com
Mergime Kajtazi, peer educator and coor- When the clock strikes 12:00, many things
dinator of Mitrovica Municipality, read the change: the people, the surroundings,
“Joint Youth Statement on the Sexual and especially the date. Just like the story of
Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Cinderalla, Y-PEER Kyrgyzstan was able to
People.” It was mentioned that one of the transform people’s minds as they became
encouraging reasons to raise young peo- the first youth-led network to organize an
ple’s voices is that this year coincides with activity to welcome and celebrate the
Secretary General of the United Nations’ World AIDS Day. Through “BOLT”, the NBT
Ban Ki Moon’s declaration of the 12 Au- program on national television, Arman
gust 2010 as a year of youth. “We foresee Alibaev and Janna Araeva, the focal
a world where all young people have points of Y-PEER Kyrgyzstan, discussed
access to a safe and affordable health HIV/AIDS issues, invited young viewers to
care including their needs, of confidential- join activities, and learn more about HIV

14. prevention. The TV appearance, which is And that’s not all, as the students enjoyed
the very first online WAD activity in the a show which promoted health messages
country, raised awareness of viewers, as in regarding HIV/AIDS Hosted by TV celeb-
young people were allowed to ask impor- rity Mr. Tony Baroud, the event featured a
tant questions and learn the correct special theater performance by students
answers. Towards the end, Y-PEER who took part in the theater based peer
Kyrgyzstan promised that this will not be education initiative. More entertainment
the end of the exciting activities they have was still on the menu as the final section
prepared under the 10 DoA in their was introduced to the audience, where
country. volunteers from the Lebanese Preparatory
School (LPS) danced to the beat of the Y-
LEBANON PEER song “Let’s Fight for Change” which
10 Days of Activism: was performed by Star Academy’s Maya
Festival of Talents Nehme, rising star Belime, and Y-PEER
Marya Abdul Rahman volunteer Nour Nimer. The event was
marya_abdulrahman@yahoo.com graced by UNFPA Country Director, Mr.
1,000 high school students from public Ziad Rifai, Assistant Representative, Ms.
and private schools of different cities in Asma Kurdahi, and other representatives
Lebanon participated in the much awaited from ministries, UN agencies, NGOs,
launching of the 10 Days of Activism in school principals and parents’ association.
Lebanon. Marked by the celebration of the LIBYA
World AIDS Day, and under the slogan
“Our Health, Our Right: Let’s Take a Stand”, Y-PEER Libya Visits
students received information about HIV School Ahmad Alwaheshi
and AIDS and had the chance to express alwaheshi@yahoo.com
themselves in various ways. During 10 days of activism, Y-PEER Libya in
collaboration with the Libyan National
The young participants were first escorted
Center for Infectious Diseases Prevention
by the Y-PEER ushers to the NGO fair,
and Control conducted an Educational
which was carefully designed to allow
Awareness Program among the ninth-
students to rotate among nine different
grade students at Abtal Alhejara "prep"
games, each organized by a participating
Janzour.
partner. To allow for a maximum
sharing of information, each game
discussed a certain topic related to
HIV/AIDS which included learning
about the modes of transmission,
prevention strategies, VCT centers,
stigma and discrimination, etc.

15. The program started with the administra-
tion of pre-test among 61 students and
their teachers to gauge their level of
awareness on HIV and AIDS. Using inter-
active Y-PEER techniques, we discussed
more about the virus, its nature, the way
HIV can be transmitted, ways to prevent
getting infection. The exercise Agree and
Disagree helped to make it easy for the
facilitators to share information about the
virus. Also, another technique was used to
help the group better understand the In this period, numerous activities were
suffering of people living with HIV in the organized which aimed to empower
community and the concept of stigma and young people with the knowledge and
discrimination and how this can be eradi- skills to make healthy choices. The cam-
cated. paign brought together 20 NGOs engaged
in promoting sexual and reproductive
Positive feedback was received from the health.
participants. In return, they were given It opened with a press conference. Luckily,
small presents as gift for the completion of Dani Dimitrovska, our Y-PEER ambassador
the session. The event was organized with was there and attracted the attention of
the great help from Dr. Wafa Khfaja of 10 media representatives who made
Libyan National Center for Infectious great stories for raising awareness for
Diseases Prevention and Control, Ahmad SRHR. A bus campaign on the city trans-
Alwaheshi and Sami Rashed from Y-PEER port was even successful with the slogan
Al-zawya. LIGHTS FOR YOUR RIGHTS, SEXUAL EDUCA-
MACEDONIA TION IN MACEDONIA NOW MAKE IT HAP-
PEN!!! We also organized a promotional
party within the annual music festival
Y-PEER Macedonia in Lights 'Taksirat' on December 1 to raise aware-
the City with Rights ness for HIV/AIDS protection. A mobile
HIV-testing van was made available to
Magde Nikolovska
magde.nikolovska@hera.org.mk
the party guests and we distributed 10,
000 condoms and 2000 brochures on sex-
With the support of the Joint United Na- ual and reproductive health and rights to
tions Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Y- young people in Macedonia. Edutainment
PEER Macedonia joined the global Y-PEER was the focus on the night of the 5th of
initiative “Ten days of Activism”, an aware- December as we organized film showing
ness raising campaign beginning with on sexual and reproductive health. Y-PEER
World AIDS Day (1 December) and ending Macedonia celebrated with the young
with Human Rights Day (10 December people that night, in an ambience full of
2010). creativity learning.
3 days later, we organized a debate on
Human and Sexual Rights in Macedonia in
order to hear young people’s voices. Fi-
nally, on the last day of the campaign, we
threw a party full of powerful messages
on Sexual Education in Macedonia, Now
make it happen, in line with the network’s
advocacy project.

16. MOLDOVA MOROCCO
The Best Campaign of Y-PEER Morocco in
Y-PEER Moldova Edutainment
Between World Aids Day (December 1)
and Human Rights Day (December 10)
2010, the Y-PEER family in Moldova has
aimed to be one of the best in organizing
and conducting activities for promoting
Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
through different methodologies among
youth, adults, parents, teachers and deci-
sions makers. e organized the following
activities: participation at the "Gala of
Awards for Organization and People
Working on HIV Prevention in Moldova”, 8 Back to back, like a show where good
flash mobs in 8 different regions, re- performances happen in one great act.
cording and broadcasting 2 radio spots, This term best describes the activities
participation in radio and TV talk shows, a conducted by Y-PEER Morocco as they
launched the 10 Days of Activism in the
round table discussion with the heads of
country, with World AIDS Day as the
Education Department from 7 regions beginning.
were Y-PEER has not been present till now, In order to demonstrate the preparedness
and four (4) social theater performances. and the capacity of the youth network,
These were just some of the activities Y-PEER Morocco organized a conference,
that contributed to achieve the goal of 10 graced by Dr. Fatima Zohra Serghini, who
DoA, during which we reached around talked about HIV /AIDS, local and global
2000 beneficiaries. statistics and the status of young people in
Morocco.
And the result? Of course this strength- After which the network promoted the
ened the capacity of the Y-PEER Moldova campaign, which was developed during
team. We also achieved more visibility at the Global Advisory Board Meeting in
the national level through participation at Turkey. As the event delved deeper,
public events and receiving two (2) diplo- Y-PEER also included discussions of the
mas as the best volunteer team at the International Year of the Youth and the
Let’s Talk Campaign for Arab States. The
“National Festival of Volunteers.”
participants enjoyed listening to the pres-
Even it was only 10 days, the success and entation led by Marouan Ben Larbi, Focal
impact is felt until now. After 4 months, we Point in Charge, who excitedly talked
continue to receive requests from new about the March at Taksim Square in
Istanbul, and how it captured attention
organizations, youth groups, schools and
from the local Turkish media. He also pre-
regions that are willing to became Y-PEER
sented the message addressed by
members. In fact, we are waiting for the Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director
next 10 days of activism in 2011! of United Nations Population Fund during
Anna Susarenco the GAB meeting.
anna_susarenco@yahoo.com

17. Despite the tight schedule, Y-PEER still NEPAL
managed to run booth activities aimed at
raising awareness of young people to-
wards HIV/AIDS, Sexual and Reproductive Nepal Joins Y-PEER;
Health and Rights and other related top- Launches in Kathmandu
ics, next to booths of other academic and
non-governmental organizations. Aside Shuba Kayastha
from the informational materials, such as ypeer.nepal@gmail.com
brochures with studies and statistics, con-
doms were handed out and reached al-
most 300 students. Y-PEER Morocco also
held a station for free HIV testing, atwhich
many students got themselves tested. All
these one-day activities attracted national
radio and press, which covered the entire
event on campus. Towards the end of the
day, another 25 students actively partici-
pated in an advocacy workshop.
As social networking sites are very largely
explored by youth in Morocco, we maxi-
December 3, Kathmandu - Finally, Y-PEER
mized utilization of Facebook for the pro- Nepal was officially launched two months
motion of events. We also spread informa-
after the first National Training of Trainers
tion, especially on fighting stigma and (ToT) on peer education. Around 40 invit-
discrimination among people living with
ees were present in the program, which
HIV, and the right of young people to be consisted of member organizations and
involved in making decisions. Because of
stakeholders including INGOs, NGOs,
the active work, the network was invited media personnel and young people. On
to Radio Tangier, Cap Radio, and even
the occasion, Y-PEER national focal point in-
received a call from Monte Carlo radio in charge made a presentation on Y-PEER in
Paris! Isn’t it a proof that young people
the global and the national scene as well
have the power to be heard by decision as the main objectives and the plans of
makers, and can make a great and pro-
the network.
fessional event?
Marouan Ben Larbi Mr. Bijay Thapa, UNFPA Nepal Assistant
nawramben881@hotmail.com representative commented on the impor-
tance of the national network in Nepal,
and highlighted how essential young peo-
ple are as change makers. Mr. Thapa’s
wish for Y-PEER’s success was followed by
the remarks of Dr. Giridhari Sharma
Paudel, Acting Director General, Family
Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN). Dr.
Paudel highlighted the current trend of
young people in their sexual practices,
and how peer education can contribute to
promoting safe sexual practices. He pro-
vided a glimpse on the peer education
activities of FPAN since a few decades.

18. There was also a skit presented by Y-PEER present a novel way to disrupt the mo-
Kathmandu group, showcasing roles that notonous activities and thinking of people.
peer educators can play in a community to they readily capture the interest of the
reduce malpractices. The program was target audience and participants espe-
then followed by the official launching of cially when hard-line facts and inconven-
the Y-PEER Nepal network by singing the ient truth is presented before them.
YPEER Nepal song by Y-PEER’s and guests.
So why sacrifice by going barefoot to edu-
cate people about HIV and AIDS? Simple,
Y-PEER Nepal is supported by the Family
nobody nowadays goes out of their house
Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN),
barefoot. By going barefoot, we caught the
UNFPA CO Nepal and International
attention of the people. By catching their
Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
attention, we created a forum to commu-
SARO. We look forward for more success!
nicate with them; they became eager to
listen, their eyes, ears and mouth were set
upon us. Hence, we had a higher chance
of getting our message across.
Going barefoot sends out a strong mes-
sage of solidarity for all people living with
HIV (PLHIV), especially young PLHIV, that
they are not alone in the campaign to end
stigma and discrimination brought about
by misconceptions and prejudice coming
from society. Moreover, it is also a mani-
festation of support for the pursuance of
universal access to treatment, care and
support. Why going barefoot? For me, it is
PHILIPPINES like stripping myself from the prejudice
that I held for PLHIV, embracing them and
Y-PEER Pilipinas in accepting them for who they are and be-
Barefoot Campaign ing one with them.
The Barefoot Campaign was attended by
Motivation is what fuels one’s desires to
fulfill a task given the constraints pre- the organization members’ representa-
sented along the way. The force behind it tives, together with their advisers at the
may vary from rewards, punishment, self G-Hotel grounds in Manila last December
fulfillment, revenge, self destruction, or 2010. Though everyone was tired from the
self actualization. To put it simply, there grueling sessions and activities, the moti-
are reasons behind the things
we do.
When people deviate from
the norms of society, it could
be either as a sign of protest
or in order to get attention.
Whatever the reason , I know
a simple campaign can moti-
vate one to think.. How? A
barefoot campaign, hunger Leo Christian Lauzon
strike, salt march and rally leovlauzon@gmail.com

19. vation to succeed in the campaign was reproductive health and rights, were con-
evidently present in the team, who eagerly ducted in 8 regions around Uzbekistan,
participated in the activity in the middle of reaching about 500 young people.
the night when everyone was already
asleep. At the end of the day, the lesson I Among other events held by local volun-
learned from this activity is that in our own teers were musical concerts, drawing
creative ways, we, young people can help exhibitions, and outreach sessions. When
change the minds and attitudes of people asked for the reason behind the success
towards HIV and AIDS. of their events, the volunteers pointed out
the joint efforts of partners, as well sup-
UZBEKISTAN port from the local government, Regional
AIDS Centers, and nongovernmental
Y-PEER Uzbekistan: organizations to the Y-PEER network.
United in 10 DoA UNITED ARAB
Odina Salihbaeva
EMIRATES
odina.salihbaeva@gmail.com
Nothing beats the concentrated efforts of
Y-PEER Uzbekistan as the team of peer
educators organized various events in
different regions under the 10 Days of
Activism Campaign, which started with
the celebration of World AIDS Day.
In Samarkand region alone, the team of
volunteers organized 4 major awareness
campaigns in 4 cities. Through campaigns
that focused on information about HIV and
Creative presentation of report from Y-PEER UAE
AIDS and stigma and discrimination, the
on their peer education session among students
team of volunteers from Samarkand and
of Female Higher College of Technology in
Bukhara reached around 1500 young peo-
Western Region.
ple. Furthermore, peer-education sessions
aiming to raise the awareness of both YEMEN
youth and adults, regarding sexual and
Y-PEER Yemen Conducts 3
Trainings in 15 Days
Here is our version of the 10 Days of Activ-
ism, which we actually extended to 15
days. Enjoy!
Dec 1-2: The first training, “Together to
Eliminate Early Marriage”, focused on early
marriage, SRH and peer education, and

20. was conducted in two targeted gover- Towards the end, a theater presentation
norates (Ibb and Mahweet) in Yemen. The was performed, where young people from
project, which was spearheaded by different NGOs were invited. The show
Mustafa Al-Mamari, and was whole- was touching, educating and entertaining.
heartedly implemented by the focal points, It had moments where the audience were
reached around 50 young people in rural rolling on floor laughing, and moments
areas. At the end of the training, partici- where they were crying. Five topics: Early
pants became local peer educators, with Marriage, Qat, Adolescent Changes, HIV/
the common aim of working together to AIDS, and Family Planning were depicted
eliminate early marriage. The project is in the play to represent Yemeni youth
considered as a great step in eliminating problems. The show was considered to be
early marriage and spreading awareness remarkable and creative. It was a great
on its’ disadvantages among young peo- success to see Yemeni female performers
ple and society. alongside their male counterparts. Those
females proved to us all that even in such
Dec 4-9: The second training reached 24 a conservative community, females can
participants from 7 targeted governorates. jump out of their black dresses and veils,
The training entitled “Advanced Y-PEER and shine with their talent and potential.
Training of Trainers in Peer Education and Additionally, the audience responded so
Y-PEER Local Focal Points”, was conducted well to the facilitation sessions after the
by trainers from Egypt (Wesam Hassan performances. We had 3 participants in
and Ramy Nasr) and Yemen (Yasmin Al- the training with special needs, and even
Sayad, and Ala’a Jarban). The training was so they were amazingly involved in the
remarkable and, participants were so training process, active with other partici-
active and enthusiastic. pants and in the performances. This was
made possible with the facilitation of Hala
Dec 11-15: “Theatre Based Peer Education Khoury (Jordan), Rua Al-Taweel (Syria) and
Techniques” was the third training, and Ala’a Jarban (Yemen). Thank you amazing
was conducted for the first time in the team of Y-PEER!
country. The 24 active and promisingly Ala’a Jarban
alaa2006_2@hotmail.com
enthu siastic
participan ts
from 7 tar-
geted gover-
n o r a t e s
learned vari-
ous theater
techniques
and enhanced
their perform-
ance skills.

21. Y-PEER Members Meet the UN Secretary-General
Ramy Khouili
khouiliramy@yahoo.fr
March 22, Tunisia - 15 young Tunisians have had the chance to meet Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the
Secretary General of the United Nations.
4 lucky members of the Y-PEER network were selected to attend the meeting namely:
Mayssa Rekhis, national president of the committee SCORP (human rights and peace) of
the Associa Med; Amel Amira Khedimi member of the JMSF (Young Doctors without Bor-
ders); Mehdi Ben Youssef, President of the TIMUN (Tunisian international model United
Nations); and Ramy Khouili volunteer within the Tunisian Association against STIs and
HIV/AIDS and Focal Point in Charge of Y-PEER Tunisia.
During this meeting the 4 representatives of the network had the opportunity to discuss
various topics relevant to the Tunisian youth after the Jasmine Revolution (politics, econ-
omy, civil society, youth participation, culture, education). One of the proposals of the Y-
PEER network had many echoes in the Tunisian media. It is a suggestion to create a joint
program of the UN Youth or UN YOUTH in the image of UN WOMEN.
The meeting was covered by several local and international media.

22. Y-PEER and Working with Vulnerable
Young People: My Best Decision Selma Dumpor
black_lady_0308@hotmail.com
In this very moment I feel like I'm part of Y- This experience not just influenced my
PEER network for ages, but the fact is that I work as a peer educator and trainer, but
became officialy part of the network in on my whole life. Sometimes I think about
2007. The truth is that I was at first in- many of my skills and realize that a lot of
volved as a volunteer. In that very moment them are here thanks to the fact that I
I realised that I can find myself in that found my space in this big orange family.
team. Also, my sister had been working as This kind of work gives you a lot of oppor-
a peer educator so I decided to try myself tunities. It's not all about hard work it's
in that role. I was accompanying this also about fulfilling yourself by accom-
group of peer educators and work with plishing all those experiences and working
them on the volunteer base. Couple on a field. For example even though the
months after that I went to the training for work with vulnerable groups was the
peer educators and became one. Soon my hardest one it gave me such knowledge
work as a peer educator started and from and experience that I find precious. I soon
that period till now it was just a progress. I realised what means the word vulnerable,
never stopped working. From that period I and how they are more likely to suffer
was part of many presentations, school negative consequences from society that
clubs, fairs, concerts, debates, or any other has no understanding for them. I realised
way that was find appropriate for promo- then, how important is this kind of work
tion of sexual and reproductive health and because no matter how much we give to
good way to approach to young people. I them, we certainly learn even more. The
also found difficult to talk to elders about effort that we make can improve people's
some changes that were happening to ability to handle negative externalities. As
me, so through this experience I had a I already mentioned being part of Y-PEER
chance to learn much more then I would gives you many opportunities. Through
be able to achive without it. Work as a work we have a lot of chances to meet
peer educator on sexual and reproductive new friends, to travel, to learn lots of use-
health significantly influenced my ful things and to find a way to become a
life. During this time I have worked with better person. In the end I can say that I’m
various groups. Together with my team, I very
worked on school presentations, work- much
shops, street actions, small theatrical per- proud on
formances, participated in a photo shoot my deci-
for the UN brochure twice, worked with sion to
vulnerable populations. Last year I was became
Focal Point for the info-center in my town, part of
but now I’m Focal Point in Charge for my this
country. I must admit that from all these team
activities, to work with abandoned chil- and that
dren cared for in children's home "Egyptian I find it
village”, means the most to me. Work with as one of
them tested all my skills as peer educator, my best
and I think I'm ready to upgrade to a deci-
higher level and set myself higher goals. sions.

23. UN Commission on the Status of Women:
Let the voices of the young women be heard
New York, USA – During the meeting of During the presentation, Aysel touched
UN Commission on the Status of Women upon the problems faced by the young
(CSW) on February 2, 2011, Aysel Asga- people in the region and presented the
rova, Y-PEER Azerbaijan Focal Point in
key findings of the report, followed by
Charge (FPC) presented the latest ASTRA-
Youth report “Reproductive Health and Q&A session. Moreover, Aysel had a
Rights of Adolescents in Central and East- chance to talk about Y-PEER and its activi-
ern Europe and Balkan countries”- http:// ties worldwide especially the Y-PEER advo-
www.astra.org.pl/ cacy tools such as the social theatre and
SRHR_of_adolescents_in_CEE_and_Balkan 10 days of activism campaign which spar-
_countries_AY_2011.pdf. kled a big interest among the comers. The
The publication presents interesting facts FPC of Azerbaijan also underlined the
on the situation of youth in the Central / pivotal role of peer education in promoting
Eastern Europe and the Balkans in the field comprehensive sexual education for youth.
of sexual and reproductive health and The event was attended by researchers,
rights which covers topics on sexuality
students and NGO activists.
education, STIs and HIV/ AIDS, abortion,
contraception and youth-friendly services
in 10 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bul- Aysel Asgarova
garia, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakh- ypeer.az@gmail.com
stan, Macedonia, Poland, and Ukraine.
Y-PEER IC , UNFPA Philippines meet UN Youth
“Love yourself more and do not
be an easy prey of your prob-
lems, who are always in dis-
guise to sexual activities” was
the message of Disney’s High
School Musical Star and Un
Youth Ambassador Monique
Coleman. The message was
said as a reminder to young
people during the brief but
meaningful meeting with the
RH Youth Leaders in the Philip-
pines attended by Ms. Arlene
Alano, UNFPA Info Officer, Jonathan Monis, AYNLA Representative, Doreen Murata, Chair
of UNFPA Youth Advisory Panel, Mario Balibago, one of the Y-PEER International Coordina-
tors, Emee Lei Albano, UNFPA Youth Advocate, Francisco Dela Tonga, Chair of Youth Con-
sortium for the Passage of RH Bill and Ms. Rena Dona, Asst. Country Representative of
UNFPA Philippines held last Feb. 23 in UNFPA CO, Makati City. Towards the end of her
visit, Monique was eagerly invited to the community to witness the lives of the poor youth,
to enrich understanding of their situation and to make it as an inspiration towards active
and meaningful advocacy for the youth. . Mario Balibago
mariob.balibago@yahoo.com

24. Y-PEER Bahrain in AMA maining classes every Monday for two
months. We continued on the 24th with
School Ahmed Fadhul more Y-PEERians involved in conducting the
maxi2000au@hotmail.com sessions. Our FPs Ebrahim Al Nam-
lity, Abdulla Qamber, Khalid Duha and
Qassim all showed great leadership and
In January 2001, Y-Peer Bahrain received facilitation skills which set a good exam-
an invitation from AMA International ple to the students.
School, a very well known private school in
the country, to organize a two-hour ses-
sion for intermediate students aged 17 - Second Panamerican Peer
20 years. As this was seen as an opportu-
nity to practice our beautiful work and Education Training
showcase our great exercises, we were Juan Andrés Papagno, Chile
more than happy to accept the invitation. papagno@y-peer.org
As a follow up to the incursion of Y-PEER
The first session was held on 17th of Janu- through the Americas, the 2nd Panameri-
ary 2011 attended by 40 students with can Peer Education Training (PaPET) was
their teachers. I, as the Focal Point in held in collaboration with the International
Charge (FPC) Ahmed Fadhul and Focal Federation of Medical Students’ Associa-
Point (FP) Abdulla Qamber started by intro- tions (IFMSA), now taking as venue the city
ducing the network and an ice breaker. of Cochabamba in Bolivia.
This was followed by the interesting exer-
13 medical students from Argentina, Bo-
cises and discussion of How Careful are
livia, Brazil, Canada (Quebec) Chile and
We with Our Health and Who's At Risk
Peru took a journey from January 3-5,
which were really enjoyed by the partici-
sharing 3 days of reflexive discussions,
pants. This was concluded by the game
practicing facilitation skills, learning many
and meaningful discussion about drug
PE methods, rehearsing theatre-based PE
addiction.
and developing the Y-PEER attitude to be
the best Peer Educators they can be!
The linking scope of the entire training was
the common socio-cultural context, so the
discussions were aimed to see the simi-
larities and differences of the problems
we want to work on among these coun-
tries and then try to come up with possible
strategies. We worked a lot combining
vision and present actions.
With all these, the feedback received from
the students was amazing. They were all
happy after the session and expressed
that they would love to join and partici-
pate in with Y-PEER Bahrain activities. Be-
cause of the positive feedback, the school
principal invited us again and requested
to continue holding sessions for the re-

25. Izumi Matsumoto, the other Chilean Focal Then again in March 2-3, a 45-minute play
Point and trainer of this PaPET, and yours entitled "Markb f Ard El bahr” literally
truly as the focal point in charge (FPC Chile) “boat at sea” was brought into life by 13
were very excited to see so many capable young actors, all trained by 4 focal points.
characters in the group that, although The play which tackles stigma and HIV/
inexperienced in Y-PEER, have great con- AIDS ran in Theater of Alexandria Univer-
science of the issues to address and ex- sity for 3 nights and reached around 650
perience dealing with youth. That’s why young people.
the level could have been more advanced Amazing training methodology: Two Y-
than a common PE Training and for this PEER Egypt focal points conducted sessions
reason these are all potential trainers and on partnership, Most At Risk Population
leaders to create, with a few more people (MARPs) and techniques for exploring
and help, a Y-PEER network in each of their values and attitudes for the eight social
countries. workers in high schools last March 12th
and 13th. The event which has a theme
After Revolution: Y-PEER "Raise the capacity of school social work-
ers" was organized by Caritas NGO in
Egypt Gets More Active Alexandria. This was followed by the
Gehad Elsayed training of trainers for SAIF (kindly spell out
b.gehad2003@yahoo.com meaning of SAIF) organization in El-
Y-PEER Egypt did not stop doing exciting Menofia last 17th and 19th of March 2011
and challenging activities despite crucial which was attended by 17 peer educa-
issues happening in the country. Between tors. For both events, the participants and
January to March 2011, we are proud to organizers found our methodology great
conduct activities which were really amaz- and are good to be adopted.
ing!
Post-revolution and our way to improve-
Theater play in peer education that works: ment: To strengthen the network, the core
Three young people were selected to rep- team held meeting with nine of Local Focal
resent AUC (kindly spell out meaning of Points and discussed further the upcoming
AUC) Alumni group at the theater based activities and the plan for expansion in
peer education. After which, 20 more new locations and the call for new local
young theater professionals were trained focal points.
to take part in a one-hour play called
“Be’eed Annak – Away from you.” The play
which tackles HIV and AIDS was shown in Y-PEER Georgia Supports
a theater in Cairo for seven nights. Each
night has a small group of youth; the total
Earth Hour 2011
Aleksandra Nadiradze
audiences were 250.
sandra_nadiradze@hotmail.com
Georgian Youth Development and Educa-
tion Association (GYDEA) showed support
to the international campaign "Earth
Hour", the largest global climate change
initiative observed by millions of people
around the world on 26 March, 2011.
Celebrating Earth Hour started in the
morning in Tbilisi with the launching of an
environmental photo exhibition in front of
Youth Palace.

26. The thematic photos of beauty of nature sentative, UNFPA Georgia Tamar
and environmental damages caused by Khomasuridze took part in all events
human beings were chosen on purpose to throughout the day.
remind people to switch off the lights in
the evening and to stand together with Earth Hour Georgia appeared on different
the world's people against climate national TV channels and there was LIVE
change. The photo exhibition was accom- broadcasting of our event on
panied with a street concert. www.livestream.com and video on http://
www.liberali.ge/
According to Deputy Head of UNDP Ms.
Georgia Inita Paulovica, “People all over „Time to Speak Up‰
the world are coming together to cele-
brate Earth Hour, to remind everyone that Media Advocacy Project in
the earth is only one for us, that we have Kazakhstan
to save and think about how we can Aida Darzhanova
make our lives much more greener. We Zauresh Amanzholova
organize an event to remind let's save
“Time to Speak Up” media advocacy pro-
energy, let's save nature and let's go
ject which included the three phases of
green."
implementation: research, training for
In the evening, at exactly 8:30, lights journalists, and youth leadership confer-
were switched off in the UN House and ence was put into action in South Ka-
the neighbouring Round Garden, where zakhstan Oblast with the support of UN-
live performances from Movement Thea- FPA during December 2010 and January
tre’ special fire-show and the Georgian 2011.
Technical University’ musical band were
enjoyed by people of different ages and Training for Journalists. The training for
nationalities while the candles and envi- journalists entitled the “Correct Coverage
ronment-friendly torches go on for an of HIV Issues in the Media,” an integral
hour. part of Y-PEER Kazakhstan’s Media Advo-
cacy Project was held in South Kazakhstan
Oblast on December 21-22, 2010. Eleven
(11) journalists from 3 rural regions of
South Kazakhstan Oblast and Shymkent
City attended and learned various aspects
of HIV issues through video showing of
educational documentaries on HIV/AIDS,
discussion of media techniques and ethi-
cal issues of HIV coverage in their profes-
sional practice, and many other aspects of
This event in Tbilisi was organised by HIV-related issues in relation to mass
GYDEA, the Ministry of Environment Pro- media. They also had the chance to inter-
tection of Georgia and with assistance view people living with HIV as well as the
from the UNDP and UNFPA. Minister of Deputy Chief Doctor of the South Kazakh-
Environment Protection Giorgi Khachidze,
stan AIDS Center.
Georgian Parliament Vice-
As part of practical knowledge implemen-
Speaker Rusudan Kervalishvili, UN Resi-
dent Coordinator in Georgia Jamie tation, the UN-certified trainer Marina
McGoldrick, Deputy Head of UNDP Geor- Maximova, an outstanding journalist of
gia Inita Paulovica, and Assistant Repre- the national “Almaty” TV channel, was

27. invited as facilitator. She led the two-day reproductive health based on the peer-to-
workshop, shared her expertise of HIV peer tools.
issue coverage in mass media, and pro- The second, ARTem was here, served as a
vided professional feedback for each place for young people’s creativity to craft
work of participants. art that promotes healthy lifestyles. Partici-
“I found this training very productive,” said pants and volunteers used various tech-
by the training participant, Aydana niques and practiced theater elements,
Eslamgalieva, youth socio-informative produced self-written songs and danced
newspaper reporter of “Molodezhka”. She the “Dance for Life” way. The third is the
added, “I used to write a lot of materials "Youth Leadership and Development"
for youth audiences and now, after this booth, facilitated with the help of the U.S.
training, I will be able to report even more Government Alumni Association and the
broadly and accurately about HIV.” U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan. Young people
learned the opportunities to the educa-
tional development such as exchange and
volunteer programs. The fourth booth
known as "Advocacy: Time to Speak UP"
taught the youth participants about the
basics of advocacy. They practiced pro-
ducing messages that would raise public
and local government’s attention towards
the issues of young people.
Afterwards, young people of Shymkent
Towards the end, all the participants re- and South Kazakhstan districts showed
ceived certificates and were able to pro- their interest in Y-PEER volunteer work and
duce HIV - related media materials. planned to join the network. This pilot
interactive conference format was a huge
"Be a Leader - Act Now" Conference success and will be used in organizing
The conference was formally opened by future events.
Malika Atasheva, chairperson of the Youth
Volunteer Leadership Centre "Dostar." A Y-PEER Lebanon: Activism
welcome letter for young people at the with a Twist Marya Abdul Rahman
conference from the Embassy Deputy Chief
marya_abdulrahman@yahoo.com
of Mission Pamela Spratlen was read
through the great presence of Balapan Double celebration means double the fun!
Ibrasheva of the U.S. Embassy in Astana. This explains how Y-PEER Lebanon cele-
Different from previous ones, the confer- brated the International Youth Day and the
ence incorporated a fully interactive set- launching of the International Year of the
up. Youth while enjoying summer with style.
Under the theme “Our Year, Our Voice”,
Four booths with different activities were
enthusiastic Y-PEER members took advan-
implemented by Y-PEER volunteers and
tage of the blazing sun and head their
partner organizations. The first booth was
way to the beach ~ the ideal hangout for
called Densaulyk Koshesi or Health Street,
young people where they organized a
where volunteers held mini-sessions on

28. Q&A competition on HIV targeting the Moldova organized a comprehensive
young people along the coast of Lebanon. training on Sexual Reproductive Health
To top it all, Y-PEER invaded the sound and Rights.
waves of a local radio station with a pow- From 9th to 11th of March 2011, active Y-
erful message: Information is the key to PEER Focal Points were fully involved in
prevention on The Comedy Revolution conducting a Training of Trainers (ToT) for
show hosted by brilliant stand up come- the 16 new young people who are willing
dian Nemr Abou Nassar on Mix Fm (104.4 to become among the best Y-PEER mem-
FM) radio station. The national network bers in the world.
also ventured into an initiative entitled The most complicated but fructuous part
Capacity Development for Integrating of the training, as it was almost totally
Theatre Based Peer Education in Education focused on areas surrounding sexual and
Sector. By partnering with the Visual and reproductive health, was to make the
Performing Arts Association (VAPA) and group aware of human reproductive sys-
with the support of UNFPA Lebanon, this tem, sexually transmitted infections (surely
initiative was launched in four schools including HIV/AIDS) and contraceptive
methods. In this session, trainers and par-
training 68 high school students on the
ticipants analyzed several major problems
Theater Based Peer Education approach.
that Moldova confronts with, such as:
At the end of the workshop, short play increasing infections with STI, as well as
presentations were shown by the partici- premature pregnancy, and abortions. After
pants tackling different health topics such which, the participants with the help of the
as substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, smoking, trainers, identified workable solutions to
domestic violence, bullying, and parents- ameliorate situation and translated it
children communication. The culmination through the action plan which contains
set up real quality performances! A total of activities to monitor the population, the
11 shows were organized in the four par- improvement of education and health
care, self-protection etc.
ticipating schools and reached 630 stu-
dents. Each theatrical performance is an- For visibility and promotion of the network,
chored with interactive discussions be- the last session of the training was dedi-
tween the audience and actors facilitated cated to basic journalism. Just like all re-
by Y-PEER peer educators. gional Y-PEER networks, Moldavian has a
national newsletter that features obtained
results and future plans.
Y-PEER Moldova Conducts
Hence, it is important for Y-PEER members
ToT in Chisinau Victoria Colesnic to report correctly recent success and
c_vicutza@yahoo.com various activity of the network in an article.
The necessity of an active, productive In this session, participants discovered the
team in the country was the reason for structure of the news, how to formulate
recruiting the new generation of peer edu- questions in doing interview and how to
cators in Chisinau, capital city of the Re- write these in an article.
public of Moldova. Because teens have to As expected, participants have planned
learn and understand the importance of training and other activities for the next
reproductive health which in effect leads months. Aristotel affirmed that youth is
to changing of attitudes to take responsi- easily deceived, because it is quick to
ble decisions regarding their health, the hope. Y-PEER members are veritably close
Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER) to hope, because they believe they can

29. change their peers’ life style into a healthy With the goal to prepare national youth
one. But they are not deceived; they teach peer educators and support the health
and empower young people to make re- education nationwide, the Training of
sponsible decisions. After completing the Trainer’s Manual was translated and ap-
training, they received diplomas and offi- plied into practice, hence, made our train-
cially became peer-to-peer educators. ing successful. Through the participation in
the training, 2 members from UN Youth
Mongolia Joins Y-PEER; Advisory Panel (UNYAP) who have experi-
enced conducting peer educators training
Conducts Various Activities felt that they gained more learning which
In June 2010, Mongolia joined the Asia helped them to deal better and to work
Pacific Youth Peer Education Network with a team as well as became better
through participation in the Advanced moderators in such events.
Regional Training of Trainers held in Pat- We took our role as moderators seriously
taya, Thailand. Since then UNFPA’s spe- as we listened to the terms and expres-
cialist and the trained peer trainer jointly sions aired by the participants especially
started the effort to found it. Soon in a during the session on power walk in work-
couple of months, Ү-PEER network was ing with especially vulnerable youth. It was
introduced at the ceremonial opening of memorable when a 14-year old boy who
International Youth Year on August 25 and picked the role of a handicapped sincerely
then launched a call for youth organiza- portrayed his role. He closed his eyes. He
tions to join. almost stumbled, holding tight the other
Shortly, we organized the first 5-day train- participants as they walked. He caught
ing of “Y-PEER Mongolia Training of Train- our attention especially afterwards when
ers” at Nairamdal International Children’s he said with tears in eyes, “I had seen
Camp from November 5-9, 2010. A total of physically challenged kids before, but I
28 participants representing “Child for never realized how hard it is for them.” It
Child”, “Mongolian Pupils Union”, took some time for him to get out of from
“Mongolian Red Cross Youth Association”, the role. His reflection became a good
and Adolescent Council of Future Thresh- experience for us; served as a test of our
old Adolescent Health Centers of the Dis- flexibility, skills, and psychological prepar-
trict Health centers of Ulaanbaatar were edness as well as to have a real and
trained as Youth Peer Educators. meaningful understanding of working with
youth. Since then, we
became more focused
up to the end of the
training. We improvised
especially when we do
the “steps to rights”
exercise where we
played piano music
before and after the
exercise to invoke par-
ticipants’ happy memo-
ries and to successfully