It’s been five months since the Women Deliver 2010 conference where the world put a spotlight on maternal health and the approximately 350,000 women who die from complications due to pregnancy and childbirth every year. We need to keep that energy going! Need some inspiration and some ideas? Read on for 10 actions and opportunities you can take right now:
1. Watch a Video & Make a Video
Lulu Barrera, one of the Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders invited to attend the youth pre-conference at Women Deliver 2010, works with Amnesty Mexico and prepared an amazing video about young people, the conference, and maternal health. Watch it in English or Spanish.
Don’t have footage or a camera to make your own? No problem. Make your own advocacy video at MDGFive.com. MDGFive.com is an interactive website and online community uniting artists and activists in the fight to reach MDG #5 by 2015. MDGFive.com includes creative content by world-renowned musicians, poets, filmmakers and photographers. The site features a “remixer” that can be used to create short videos using a library of music tracks, spoken word, film and photos supplied by renowned mixed media artists from South Africa, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan and other countries.
2. Watch a Speech on Young People and the MDGs
The Youth Coalition’s Dr. Imane Kachani gave a moving speech focused on young people and the MDGs at a brunch event hosted by Women Deliver and partners. The event, “Accelerating Action on the MDGs: Delivering for Girls, Women, and Babies,” brought together government representatives, young advocates, civil society, corporate leaders, and more. Watch Dr. Khachani, a physician from Morocco, stress the need for young people to have access to life-saving contraceptives, sexual and reproductive health services, and comprehensive education.
3. Apply for a Fellowship
Applications are now open for the AIF William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India for the upcoming 2011-2012 program year! The AIF Clinton Fellowship for Service gives a select group of young American professionals the opportunity to serve with Indian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for ten months. Fellows work in the three pillar areas of AIF: Public Health, Education, & Livelihoods. Some projects also occur in other innovative areas. The AIF Clinton Fellowship Program aims to build the capacity of Indian NGOs while developing American leaders with a deep understanding of, and continued commitment to, India through an exchange of technical skills & intellectual resources that create meaningful transformative partnerships.
The early application deadline is Nov 15th, 2010 and the Final Application deadline is January 1st, 2011. Please visit www.aifclintonfellowship.org to download the application.
4. Nominate a Young Female Human Rights Activist
Do you know a young woman, under the age of 30, involved in human rights work? Please nominate her (or yourself, if applicable) for the Mary Robinson Award for Young Women's Leadership in Human Rights. The World YWCA established the Mary Robinson Award for Young Women's Leadership in Human Rights to recognize young women leaders and human rights activists. The first recipients of the award will be honored and celebrated during the International Women's Summit in Zurich, Switzerland from July 12 - 13, 2011.
The deadline for submission of the reviewed nomination is October 31, 2010. Download the Nomination form at http://www.worldywcacouncil.org/Mary-Robinson-Award. Email the completed form to maryrobinsonaward@worldywca.org
5. Participate in a Photo Campaign
Melinda Gates announced a campaign to coincide with TEDxChange and the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals. For the campaign, she’s asking you to join in answering the question: What is the future we will make?
• Download and print the sign (PDF 64KB)
• Personalize the sign with your own message. (Remember: Your sign must relate to one of the Millennium Development Goals to be included.)
• Upload your photo to the foundation’s Flickr group.
• Join the conversation on their Community Page.
Note: If Flickr is too tricky, you can send your photo via email--attach and send to digitaladmin@gatesfoundation.org.
6. Learn What Young People Have to Say About Sexuality
For the fourth time, World Population Foundation and Rutgers NissoGroep/Youth Incentives organized a bi-annual international conference, with this year’s theme: “Sexuality Under 18: How the social Environment influences Sexual Development.” Focus was young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, in particular those who are aged under 18. About 300 people from over Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and Europe attended and participated in the workshops.
7. Read about the Young Champions of Maternal Health
The Global Maternal Health Conference (GMHC 2010), organized by the Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) at EngenderHealth and the Public Health Foundation of India, brought together more than 600 maternal health experts in Delhi, India. The aim was to increase consensus and coordination around the evidence, programs, and advocacy needed to advance maternal health. The MHTF also introduced the winners of their innovative new program called the Young Champions of Maternal Health Program, the first-ever international fellowship to focus on supporting a new generation of global leaders dedicated to improving maternal health. The 16 Young Champions, selected through an Ashoka’s Changemakers.com online competition and a rigorous interview process, will spend nine months abroad working with and being mentored by an Ashoka Fellow with expertise in maternal health. The Young Champions hail from 13 countries, including India, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
- Read about the work they’ll do.
- The Young Champions attended the GMHC 2010 and participated in a panel. Check it out here.
- Read all blogs and news articles from the conference.
8. Learn about Youth Policies and Services in the European Region
WHO Regional Office for Europe recently released a publication called Youth-friendly health policies and services in the European Region. This publication presents experiences of how health systems in Member States of the WHO European Region respond to the challenge of meeting the health and developmental needs of young people. The main aim is to facilitate experience-sharing and stimulate actions in countries. Read it and share with your colleagues and networks.
9. Get Inspired by What Other Young People Are Doing
It's the United Nations International Year of Youth, and The International Women’s Health Coalition's partners are stepping up to insist that young people's voices be heard. Earlier this year at a regional conference sponsored by the African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights, young women from Nigeria and Cameroon hosted a dynamic panel on the roots and role of feminism in Africa. Check out the first video in their three-part series, What Does Feminism Mean to You?
Comprehensive sexuality education isn't just about body parts, condoms, and diseases. It's also about life skills, confidence, and community. Their Brazilian partner GrupoCurumim runs a youth program, Cunhatã, which provides young people with leadership training and accurate information about their health and human rights. Watch a video of Leo and Claudia, two of ProgramaCunhatã's participants, and find out what the program has meant to them.
Their 2010 Young Visionaries contest ended in March, but the contest winner, Sunita Basnet of Nepal, has been hard at work this summer to turn her vision into reality. Find out more about what Sunita's doing to secure the rights and health of women and girls through her two-part Akimbo series-Street Theater Raises Awareness of Inequity and Violence and Women's Health Clinic in Rural Nepal.
10. Get Involved at the National and Regional Levels
Jamaica: The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network is now accepting applications for this year's Yute X Conference to be held on November 24-26, 2010 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. The conference seeks to bring together over two hundred children and young people from across Jamaica and the Caribbean with an understanding of the issues affecting progress towards the MDGs. Applications close 3 November 2010. Join theYute X Facebook group today for Conference updates.
Canada: The Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YC) is a non-governmental organization comprised of young people (ages 15-29 years) who promote the sexual and reproductive (SRR) rights of adolescents and youth at the international and regional levels. They are currently seeking a Program Officer to coordinate the YC’s International Year of Youth strategy. This is a full-time position for one year, with a generous benefits package, and the possibility of renewal. The Program Officer position is based in Ottawa, Canada. Please note that applicants must be legally able to work in Canada. Applications from young people under the age of 30 are strongly encouraged. Deadline for submission is 31 October 2010. Submit a cover letter with salary requirements, CV, and a brief writing sample (no longer than 1500 words) to applications@youthcoalition.org
South Asia and Asia Pacific: The Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YC) is calling for applications from young advocates from the region of South Asia and Asia Pacific to participate in a training on the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). The main objective of this 3-day training is to provide 15 young activists (18-29 years old) with the knowledge and tools necessary to better understand and get involved in Global Fund mechanisms and structures at the national and international levels. The training will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from January 15-17, 2011. Please send the application form to events@youthcoalition.org before 12 November 2010 along with a recommendation letter from an organization or network that you are currently working with or have worked with in the past. Get more information about the Global Fund, and more information on the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights.
Entry Comments
There are no comments for this entry yet.