World YWCA Attends the International HIV Youth Summit in Mali
Young women working together at the Summit
Over 150 passionate and young HIV activists from across the globe met for a three-day summit in Bamako, Mali on April 15 – 17, 2011. The purpose of this event was to rally a strong youth led response on HIV which will lead up to the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York (June 8 – 10, 2011).
The President of the Republic of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, supported the event that was co-hosted by UNAIDS. The Summit aimed to build on the success of President Obama’s landmark forum with Young African Leaders (August 2010), and to build momentum for the representation of youth at the High Level Meeting. The Summit also helped strengthen the existing youth networks in Africa and internationally, and to make links to the vast AIDS community. The meetings guided young people and youth organisations to explore ways to hold leaders accountable to the commitments they make at high level meetings and to enable young people to take on new leadership roles in the global AIDS movement. “I am ready to take the call to action coming out of the Mali Youth Summit on HIV to the High Level Meeting at the UN. Young people must take the leadership of the AIDS response, and they must be given the space to lead,” said President Touré.
The Summit focused on mobilising youth for the global AIDS response and to promote a “New Generation of Leadership.” An important factor of the Summit was to enforce the online and offline social mobilisation for the declaration of young people worldwide. Young people face serious obstacles to access and influence decision-making in the field, and the Summit provided youth with the opportunity to connect with the AIDS community and to have a voice.
The International Youth Summit supported youth and prepared them to lead the HIV prevention revolution. Social media and information technology play an important role in reaching out to young people and promoting safer behaviour to fight HIV related discrimination and stigma. Many young people still do not have access to information, or know the basic facts on HIV. Working with young people and teaching them how to use these tools will enable them to reach out to a larger audience. The Call to Action that was drawn up at the Summit will influence the final document for the High Level Meeting in June 2011, which could be used to empower and hold policies accountable for future progress.
Jenta Tau, World YWCA Programme Associate for Young Women, represented the World YWCA at the Summit. “The summit was a real eye opener for me. It helped me to think outside the box and I developed a strong commitment to fight against HIV. I realised that reducing transmission of HIV and accessing treatment is not an individual task, it can not be done over night. I discovered that it is a process that requires commitment from each individual to take action on the issue. Some of the facts I found unbelievable, for example the fact that 3,000 young people are infected with HIV each day! I now feel that taking leadership as a young person is unique and extremely challenging. Despite our diversity, I felt that the time at the Summit was productive and reached out to many voices, each with the same goal. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn and share my experience. Now is the time to act, tomorrow cannot wait!”
The International HIV Youth Summit provided a platform to support and develop the leadership of young people in the fight against HIV and AIDS. “Jenta Tau was the voice and face of all the young women in the YWCA movement,” shared Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, World YWCA General Secretary. The Mali Call to Action, which was the outcome of the 3-day Summit, was strong and focused and it recognised the importance of coming together as one voice. The International HIV Youth Summit offered a fresh and dynamic way for young leaders and youth organisations to push for a new generation of leadership.
Read the Mali Call to Action
