BACKGROUND

— Youth Position Paper on the 2001 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS

Why leadership training?

The involvement of young people in decision-making that affects their lives is a right enshrined in the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment. Youth involvement, especially YPLHIV, in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policy, programs, service provision, education and outreach leads to improved program outcomes and relevance. It has been proven that YPLHIV are likely to respond best to providers and services which take into consideration their developmental issues and legal rights.

The idea of involving people living with HIV was formally adopted as a principle at the Paris AIDS Summit in 1994, where 42 countries declared the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV and AIDS (GIPA) to be critical to ethical and effective national responses to the epidemic. This type of call to action is also titled – “Nothing About Us, Without Us!”.

In the communities where we live, there is untapped leadership potential, as well as infinite opportunities, to make a difference. There is a need for people from all backgrounds and with all types of life experience to seize the opportunities that lead to change, to become empowered to be transformative leaders in their communities, to take the initiative to mobilize others and to make a difference. (Ontario Leadership Training)

Some people believe that leadership is something one is born with, an inherent quality, while we believe is takes a special situation, an opportunity, support and a passion to change their situation and the situation of others. Leadership is a quality that many possess, and a skill that may need to be simply supported through training and tools.  Each individual has their own leadership style and it is important to help them understand their unique style and how to tap into it.

The workshops in this training will help young leaders establish their roles as leaders and provide them with the tools needed to be effective leaders, within their school, community or the larger HIV, AIDS movement. The training focuses both on inherent personal leadership qualities as well as working within a collective movement to achieve common goals.  As YPLHIV/A we acknowledge that our experience and perspective as leaders are key to addressing the needs of our communities, creating awareness within the broader public and in challenging stigma and discrimination facing people living with HIV.

Young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) differ from children or adults living with HIV and need special services that may differ from those provided to children (under 10 years old) and adults (over the age of 25 years). “I believe my needs are different from those of children or adults. As young people, we are in an intermediary stage where we need dependable information tailored to our lived realities, which will enable us to make important decisions about our futures.”  – respondent, Living Positively report, 2008

Because of HIV’s association with behaviors that may be considered socially and culturally unacceptable by many people, HIV infection is widely stigmatized. People living with the virus are frequently subject to discrimination and human rights abuses. Together, stigma and discrimination constitute one of the greatest barriers to dealing effectively with the epidemic. They discourage governments from acknowledging or taking timely action against HIV and AIDS. They deter individuals from finding out about their HIV status. And they inhibit those who know they are infected from sharing their diagnosis and taking action to protect others and from seeking treatment and care for themselves. Experience teaches us that a strong movement of people living with HIV or AIDS that affords mutual support and a voice at local and national levels is particularly effective in tackling stigma. (UNAIDS)

Does HIV Look Like Me? International Society is an organization that was created by a young man living with HIV, who was seeking community, and role models to help him not let his diagnoses define who he was.  We believe that leadership by young people living with HIV is a key component to real change in the fight against HIV, and we strive to provide an opportunity,  training and the mentorship needed to ensure these young leader’s success.