http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/450037
In an initiative to bridge the gaps between groups that don’t usually connect, the World AIDS Campaign is convening 12 “leadership encounters” – small facilitated meetings away from the microphones and crowds of the main conference. By having these meetings, the campaign hopes the different sectors will find common ground and uncommon activities.

For instance, in the dialogue between leaders of the youth and media, MTV committed to convene a youth advisory panel. Other dialogues occurred between leaders of faith communities and men who have sex with men, and between commercial sex workers and the business community.

The World AIDS Campaign will compile a report of the commitments, and follow them up and report on them in Vienna at the AIDS conference in 2010.

But this isn’t the only group collecting commitments in Mexico. At the Youth Pavilion in the Global Village young people staff a “youth commitments desk”, asking for leaders to promise to scale up youth participation in their programs.

In 2006, the youth commitments desk at the Toronto AIDS conference collected 371 commitments. But making commitment doesn’t guarantee action. A team of youth followed up the 371 commitments and found a completion rate of 25%.
]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:30:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/450037 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/450033
Let’s be frank, this is no “save the children” kind of cause – generally people are afraid of these groups and don’t know much about them. I’ve had a lot of global experiences in my life, but I have never spoken directly with a sex worker or prisoner (to my knowledge). With so many sex workers here, I can surely change this soon.

Simple prejudices and impressions aside – the numbers tell a shocking story. Of global AIDS expenditures, only 1.2 percent is spent on specific responses to men who have sex with men. This totals $3 million out of the estimated $30 million needed according to UNAIDS.

“Less than 10% of high risk populations are receiving appropriate prevention.” Alex Coutinho, Executive Director, Infectious Disease Institute Uganda.

Outside of Africa – drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men make up the vast majority of those contracting HIV. It’s amazing after 25 years and billions of dollars we are not able to better address these populations. There is research and success stories that document what works in these populations, especially in Mexico and Brazil.

Youth are key to this struggle actually – we need a generation of young people that can fearlessly empower and protect the human rights of sex workers, prisoners and drug users.
]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:27:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/450033 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449979
In an initiative to bridge the gaps between groups that don’t usually connect, the World AIDS Campaign is convening 12 “leadership encounters” – small facilitated meetings away from the microphones and crowds of the main conference. By having these meetings, the campaign hopes the different sectors will find common ground and uncommon activities.

For instance, in the dialogue between leaders of the youth and media, MTV committed to convene a youth advisory panel. Other dialogues occurred between leaders of faith communities and men who have sex with men, and between commercial sex workers and the business community.

The World AIDS Campaign will compile a report of the commitments, and follow them up and report on them in Vienna at the AIDS conference in 2010.

But WAC isn’t the only group collecting commitments in Mexico. At the Youth Pavilion in the Global Village young people staff a “youth commitments desk”, asking for leaders to promise to scale up youth participation in their programs.

In 2006, the youth commitments desk at the Toronto AIDS conference collected 371 commitments. But making commitment doesn’t guarantee action. A team of youth followed up the 371 commitments and found a completion rate of 25%.
]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:08:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449979 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449241
At aidsdiary.org, listeners travel with her on her first visit to the doctor, hear firsthand about the decline of her T-cell count. The diary covers her progression to full-blown AIDS, starting ARV treatment, and finally having a daughter.

Presenting her story at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, she talks about how keeping a diary empowered her. “Ever since I knew my status my life has changed for the better. Ever since I started my diary I have felt more confident and comfortable and I am an inspiration to other young people.”

In a conference or thousands of experts, the most powerful presentations still come from personal testimony. In one of her entries, she reflects on the future.

”I’m just imagining what a world would look like without me in it. I’m not scared of dying but of leaving my baby behind. I want to see her grow a little bigger. HIV will try to rule my life on the inside but outside I will be boss. I want to study and have a good job, I want to go on with my life.”

Beyond the radio, Thembi also writes a blog http://thembisaidsdiarytour.vox.com/.

A recent concert hosted by the South African government, she reflects below on how AIDS messages still don´t effectively reach young people at risk.

”I felt like those images on those big screens with infected people had nothing to do with me. It reminded me of high school. When they would show pictures of thin, poor orphans that look like they are dying, and try to scare you out of having sex. But it never works because young, South African, at-risk kids do not see themselves in those images. They cannot imagine that it can happen to them.”

Her has been used as a teaching tool all over the world and aired on National Public Radio in the U.S., and in the U.K., Australia and Canada, reaching more than 50 million people.
]]> Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:31:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449241 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449237
At aidsdiary.org, listeners travel with her to her first visit to the doctor, hear about the first the decline of her T-cell count, her progression to full-blown AIDS, starting ARV treatment, and finally having a daughter.

Presenting her story at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, she talks about how keeping a diary empowered her. “Ever since I knew my status my life has changed for the better. Ever since I started my diary I have felt more confident and comfortable and I am an inspiration to other young people.”

In a conference or thousands of experts, the most powerful presentations still come from personal testimony. In one of her entries, she reflects on the future.

”I’m just imagining what a world would look like without me in it. I’m not scared of dying but of leaving my baby behind. I want to see her grow a little bigger. HIV will try to rule my life on the inside but outside I will be boss. I want to study and have a good job, I want to go on with my life.”

Beyond the radio, Thembi also writes a blog http://thembisaidsdiarytour.vox.com/.

A recent concert hosted by the South African government, she reflects below on how AIDS messages still don´t effectively reach young people at risk.

”I felt like those images on those big screens with infected people had nothing to do with me. It reminded me of high school. When they would show pictures of thin, poor orphans that look like they are dying, and try to scare you out of having sex. But it never works because young, South African, at-risk kids do not see themselves in those images. They cannot imagine that it can happen to them.”

Her has been used as a teaching tool all over the world and aired on National Public Radio in the U.S., and in the U.K., Australia and Canada, reaching more than 50 million people.
]]> Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:27:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/449237 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/448853
Youth of faith are conservative, moderate and liberal.
Youth of faith are infected, effected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Youth of faith are abstinent, sexually active, married and single.
Youth of faith are of every race, socio-economic class and ethnicity.
Youth of faith are women, men, men who have sex with men, gay, straight, transsexual, people who use drugs and sex workers.
Youth of faith do not all speak English.

Our values come from our faith, but our safety comes from our access to and understanding of comprehensive sex education.

Youth of faith will be and are meaningfully involved in all levels of the churches’ response to HIV and AIDS.

However, meaningful involvement of youth and children requires meaningful investment from us all. It requires young people to raise our voices, and it requires our elders to open their ears.

HIV is a virus, not a moral condition. Youth of faith strive to end stigma between faith-based and secular organizations to make access to treatment, care and prevention to increase the quality of life for all people living with HIV and AIDS.

We can no longer wait to be protected! We look forward to working with all of you to end this pandemic. Truly, our Faith is in Action.

##
For more information contact Daniel.Pieper@elca.org
]]> Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:50:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/448853 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/355105
I came back with one less suitcase, leaving behind a used lap top, a flash drive, two Flip videos, two digital recorders and a printer/scanner/copier. I am convinced that technology is what we rich country folks should lug over in our suitcases. I would have brought a bluetooth for Pastor John if I had known how much work he does on the phone while driving around the country in his green truck. His office is in his cell phone.

I shared my hotel with a bunch of Americans from Rick Warren’s Saddle Back Church, an evangelical mega-church in Southern California. After training 300 pastors, they were in town to officially certify that Rwanda is a “Purpose-driven Country”. Warren’s best-seller, A Purpose Driven Life is translated into Kinyarwandan and a lot of Rwandans have read the book. Anyhow, all the gung-ho Saddlebackers had brought a ton of soccer balls and Christian books.

The conference youth media team was earnest, an but as genius as they were, they faced a lot of obstacles. They watched me take notes on my lap top with amazement as my fingers flew over the keys… they type one finger at a time. I watched two of them work for thirty minutes on a paragraph for their blog to see the internet connection reload and lose their content. But they have made a cool photo diary.

A journalist from New Times, the Rwandan English paper, came to see what we were up to. He did several interviews, then went on his way. I asked him if he had an email address so we could send him our press updates, and he said he didn’t have one.

Finally on my last day in Kenya, I showed George, our media team leader this blog, and it literally took his computer 10 minutes to load it! This makes me really sad, because George is so tech-savvy, and he is going to edit all our video, but how can he do this with such a slow internet speed? He says he has a faster connection at home, especially at night when people are not using it. I have not posted pictures yet because even though the internet seemed pretty quick, uploading photos in Africa overwhelmed the internet connection even at my muzungu guest house.

So, my conclusion about communication for development is that it still must happen face to face. The Rwandan youth conference was a success because when you bring young people together, they have a good time. And what better way to build bridges across ethnic, geographic, economic and other divisions, then by spending a few days together singing, praying, talking about your country and learning from each other?

After spending a few days in Kenya before flying back, I have become convinced the young people of Kenya need their own summit. Like the rest of Kenya, I am afraid the power share of President Kibaki and Odinga is just too fragile — and there is so much at stake for this nation of 40 million people.

The post-election violence in Kenya after Christmas was done largely by young men and broke along tribal lines. Now when I talk to Kenyans they mention their tribes in a way like I never heard before. These divisions are dangerous if they are allowed to settle. If I can round up $20,000 USD I will be planning a Kenyan youth peace summit and we will invite youth from across the country from different tribes…]]> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:45:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/355105 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/352129
There was a lot lost from his testimony in translation. I think our translator, an orphan herself, was unable to fully repeat the words he was saying. He told us that after he was released from jail, he lived in the bush for months until his neighbors came and told him to come back. They even gave him food for his children. He was a small, sad looking man in a red flannel shirt, and while he was speaking some people got up and left the room. He was 16 when he committed these crimes. After he gave his talk he said, “raise your hand if you forgive me.” Most of the room raised their hand.

The day before this we traveled to two memorial sites. The first was a church in Ntarama that holds the remains of 5,000 people that were hiding in the church when a grenade was thrown through the wall. Their blood-stained clothes are kept in neat piles on the pews and there are rows of skulls. Some of the Rwandan girls started crying so hard they were hyperventilating, one girl vomited… So this is healing?

Just a few kilometers down the road from Ntarama is a larger site called Nyamata, one of the most famous sites of the genocide. It is a Catholic church that was run by a Belgian priest and Rwandan nuns who were later some of the first people tried for war crimes. They told the Tutsis, you can come here, you will be safe, and so 10,000 people gathered there. The altar is kept as it was, the white cloth covered in faded blood. Behind the church you can walk into the sarcophagus and look at rows and rows of skulls, many of them cracked from machete blows.

As an American, it is impossible to truly understand how Rwandans must feel seeing this. These are not my people; I am not looking at a memorial site in Washington State for a massacre that happened when I was 14 years-old. Many of the Rwandans I went with were seeing the sites for the first time. These skulls were their families. One young man told me, I lost my father, but I don’t know what happened to him, I am always looking for him everywhere I go.

These churches, like this man, are living testimonies to what took place. It is important to speak directly about what happened. Though the genocide is everywhere in this country, it is not often openly discussed. For this man to give testimony, however difficult, is to create a space where the genocide is discussed and denounced. They tell me there are no longer Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, there are only Rwandans]]> Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:44:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/352129 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/350367
This was the first day of the conference, so I was worried everything would go wrong, but the it was a great day. We have more than 80 young people from Rwanda, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and USA. Somehow they came, across language barriers and borders, and the way the information traveled is a fascinating exercise in word of mouth and community networks, but more on that later. After the singing, a young person from each church and country came up and told about their local youth projects and challenges. Everything was translated to English or Kinyarwandan on the spot. Did I mention that this portion of the schedule was unplanned?

Our speaker on peace and reconciliation came with his own powerpoint machine during lunchtime. While I was pleased to see he brought his machine, I was worried about the power supply, the screen, the technology…so many things could fail. Well, now I understand whey a trainer on peace and reconciliation needs a power point. When you talk about a genocide, the pictures of the people who have been killed, bodies stacked in the road, have so much more power than any words. The electricity held throughout, but a tremendous downpour — the kind that is inches of water in minutes– started mid-presentation and rain came through the roof and onto his laptop.

Unfortunately the conference center promised us both internet and a sound system and failed to deliver on both. So our youth media team can’t blog live as planned, instead they have to shuttle in the evening downpour to a hotel so they can upload pictures on their blog. (You can have a sneak peak as they just get started: http://rwandayouthgathering.wordpress.com.) But they are determined, so they will stop at nothing now that they have a platform.

They are cutting videos on the new Flip Video, a camera with a USB port on its side, cute as an Ipod, super easy to use, and takes double AA batteries for an hour of footage. Interestingly, the youth media team of the conference is almost all women. Now this doesn’t surprise me as my co-students in Strategic Communications are almost all female, but we had to struggle to make sure that this conference had gender balance. When you make a call for youth leaders in Africa you will get all men if you’re not careful. In Africa, communications is still a male profession, so building a youth media movement could really do a lot to empower women, as well as promote literacy and civic participation.

There is something really happening here, so stay tuned…

http://rwandayouthgathering.wordpress.com]]> Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:22:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/350367 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/312849
The United States has more than one face at the United Nations conference on climate change, which has drawn more than 10,000 people this week to the small Pacific island of Bali. While U.S. diplomats obstruct the negotiations, Al Gore tells the world to make an open-ended agreement since a new government will soon be on its way.

Young people, of course, are in the audience blogging. More than 200 young people from around the world have formed a youth caucus, representing dozens of countries and the future of the planet. At Its Getting Hot In Here they are posting their insights, pictures and videos (don't miss them singing to the diplomats as they enter the meeting).

The purpose of the conference is to create a new climate agreement by 2009 that would replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which currently limits emissions by all wealthy countries, but is not ratified by the United States. Thwarting any progress, the U.S. does not want to agree on any numerical targets, while European Union and others do.

The youth caucus will get their big chance to address the conference on Dec. 14, and they will be sure to cause a stir if their speech is anything like those of past youth interventions. Besides their big address, youth activists have held press conferences, side panels, and in one instance, they wore their swimsuits to the plenary to highlight rising sea levels. Of course, they are asking decision-makers tough questions whenever they get a chance.

Kelly Greenman, from the Florid Keys, came to Bali as part of the Sustain US delegation because her hometown is just one meter above sea level. "We've already experienced extreme coral bleaching as the water warms around the island, impacting the livelihood of divers, fish collectors, the tourism industry, and fisherman, " blogs Greenman. "When it comes to protecting my home from climate change, there is no room for inefficiency." At Bali, she is not alone. Claire Antrea, from the small island of Kiribati, an island in the Pacific, is already struggling with flooding. Kiribati, home to 91,000 people, is at risk of vanishing if sea levels keep rising.

However, environmental activists need to be in two places at once this week. Two powerful bills are soon headed to the floor of the Senate, and neither are offering much in the way of clean energy. Read how the Energy Bill and Omnibus Appropriations Bill will appropriate billions for coal, ethanol, nuclear reactors and unlimited caps on Iraq spending at Energy Justice .

Despite a bleak outlook, the Bali meeting has already set one important global precedent. The United Nations will pay $100,000 to offset the cost of the 3,370 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by delegate's plane trips.

Be sure to keep your eye out for a growing U.S. youth climate movement. A recent a gathering called Power Shift 07 drew more than 5,000 students to Washinton DC motivated to address global warming. There is surely more to come from this savvy coalition, which is gaining more media attention, and becoming more strategic.

Don't forget to link their blog to your facebook account.]]> Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:54:00 EST http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/312849 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/236617
I met Fred, a social worker with the KELC (Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church), who is passionate about educating young people about HIV and AIDS. He organizes groups that go into the slums and rural areas talk to youth about HIV testing. Sometimes they bring mobile VCT centers. He says if he had more resources to pay for transportation he could go more often and bring more youth with him, and he could pass out educational materials. I am always advocating for youth empowerment and participation and here was a young person doing great work, Fred has so much energy and capability. I wondered, how can we get the church to help him do more to help his fellow youth?

I was impressed by the range of income generating projects youth are part of. Two groups of youth I talked with in Rwanda have made CDs of their choirs (their choirs are amazing!) and used the money to start other projects, like a salon in Kigali. I was amazed that both the groups I talked to (one Presbyterian and one Lutheran) have the same problem /goal. They each visit people in hospitals or who are bedridden, and sometimes they find that they have no money to buy medicine or food or clothes. So then the youth go back to their church and ask for money to help them. But they are tired of always asking the church for help and they want their own fund.

In Rwanda and Kenya the church pews are filled with youth, they are the majority, it is a very young country.
]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:13:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/236617 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/236615
At the conference there was a special young women’s pre-meeting. Though there was this high commitment to youth participation, I think there still could have been more young women as the speakers and leaders of workshops, as well as more time for young women to meet each other share experiences. Like what often happens, the youth meeting was “over-programmed” – it served as a space for the key note people deliver separate speeches to the youth audience. It is so much work to bring young people together; when we finally get together we need to talk directly!

But the summit overall was an exciting convergence of ecumenical organizations, and it was nice to be in a faith-based majority at a meeting about women’s rights. The theme “Women and HIV” is crucially important – it cuts across many issues facing women, reproductive rights and access to care and information, poverty, sexual violence and discrimination. As we know young women ages 15-24 are the fastest growing population to be infected with the virus. Good for the YWCA for bringing us together on this theme, I hope the faith communities keep addressing it head on.
]]> Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:11:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/236615 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/43006 (I wrote this for UNA-USA, but just wanted to post here and mention that I found seeing this convention pass quite moving, and learned a lot about an issue I knew little about before.)

After five years of negotiations, persons who are deaf, blind, full and partially paralyzed, stood up as they could, clapped their hands as they were able, and celebrated.

They were cheering for the agreement on the final text of the first-ever convention on rights of persons with disabilities, which concluded at United Nations headquarters in New York on August 26. The convention will be presented to the upcoming 61st session of the General Assembly, and requires 20 instruments of ratification or accession from UN member states before it enters into force.

More than 100 countries are expected to sign, however, some key world leaders, including the US, do not plan to ratify the convention. They will choose not to ratify for a variety of reasons, such as concerns over technicalities and funding, and because they already have national legislation. Currently, only around 45 countries have legislation dealing with rights of persons with disabilities.

Since the beginning of the process, the US has taken the position that it does not need to adopt this international legal framework because it already has progressive disability laws, namely the American Disabilities Act. However, throughout the process, the US provided extensive technical assistance in the drafting. According to US Mission spokesman Richard Grinnell, the US fully supports the improvement of international standards for the disabled.

But for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as the US International Council on Disabilities (USICD), technical assistance is not enough.

"Disability rights is another way to show that every country should be treated equal, and there should not be any discrimination between able bodied and disabled bodies," said Tapan Banerjee, executive director of USICD. "Supporting [this convention] would be very much part of the US faith in democracy at large. We should take leadership, like we have taken on other human rights issues."

An estimated 650 million people live with disabilities—80 percent of whom live in developing countries, according to the UN Development Program.

Persons with disabilities, while protected under national and international human rights law, are often denied their rights, and are more susceptible to situations of risk, such as armed conflict and natural disasters. Disabled women are more susceptible to rape and sexual abuse, and other forms of abuse—such as denial of information or health care—can have extreme effects. The UN estimates that in developing countries 98 percent of disabled persons are unemployed, and 90 percent of children with disabilities do not attend school. In many places, disabled people cannot exercise their right to vote because they are not able to access the poles.

Representatives from more than 90 NGOs from around the world participated in the process that occurred in eight periodic marathon meetings beginning in 2001. In contrast to other UN processes, NGOs had the right to make direct interventions and contributions to the document. Credit for the success of the convention is largely given to Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Don MacKay of New Zealand, who conducted the delicate and strenuous negotiations. One outstanding thing about this meeting, said MacKay, was that everyone wanted an outcome.

The document has 50 articles, as well as an optional protocol, spanning topics such as inclusiveness, accessibility, freedom of movement, removal of stereotypes, participation and non-discrimination.

How the convention is to be monitored—a contentious issue—was decided in a meeting earlier this year. Two years after ratification, states parties to the convention will submit reports on measures they have taken to fulfill the convention to an elected independent committee of experts. Full participation of civil society, and in particular, persons with disabilities, is encouraged in the monitoring process.

A significant majority of UN member states participated in drafting the convention, and their attitudes changed as they participated in the process. Over the years of negotiations, the numbers of persons with disabilities on government delegations increased, and a paradigm shift in language emerged—from harsh references and a social welfare mindset to the view that disabilities are a human rights issue.

The agreement on the convention will also ensure that the UN itself can respond more aptly to the needs of persons with disabilities, as well as become an institution that can effectively champion their human rights.
]]> Fri, 08 Sep 2006 12:02:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/43006 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42134
I have been to many conferences, but this stands out as the most unified experience. Everyone is here; private sector, celebrities, government, churches, young people. It took something as tragic as the infection of 40 million people to bring us together.

To meet young people from around the world living with HIV and see their leadership and commitment is truly inspiring. They are speaking on panels to hundreds of people after taking medicines that make them dizzy. They are hauling their way through the gigantic conference center lost in the crowds.

I don’t meet people living with HIV on a regular basis. To see their dignity is humbling. They come from countries, like in Thailand, where there are limited ARV drugs because of patents and trade laws. To fight this, they are working in committees, literally dying in the process, so that they can have access to medicines.

I think the paradox of young people is captured in two statements from the most prolific leaders here:

"I know more about the YouthForce than anything else at the conference" said Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS.

“Youth are most neglected part of the pandemic,” said Stephen Lewis, UN Envoy on AIDS in Africa

So youth are absolutely visible here, the youth pavilion is buzzing, and everyone who is anyone is stopping by. But as the majority group contracting HIV, they are still misunderstood and neglected in policy, research, and support so that they can be leaders. There is still so much work to do.]]> Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:19:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42134 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42132
After the meeting, we delivered letters of a campaign to phamaceutical companies at their exhibition booths. The difference in how we were recieved was striking. Some were happy to talk to us, told us about their programs, and said they agreed with our 'ask' for more child-friendly formulations. Other companies literally left their booth when they saw us coming.

Later in the day, activists marched and chanted, looking for the CEO of Abbott for a public confrontation.
Security has been high all day, with long lines as they search our bags.

Just giving you a sampling of the spectrum.
]]> Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:08:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42132 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42131 from AIDS, but still have more to do to overcome their public reputation as
overly moralizing. While some churches set up VCT centers next door to their
sanctuaries, other religious leaders have turned HIV+ persons away at their
doorsteps.

Momora Gilbert, a young pastor from Malawi who is part of the African
Network of HIV + and AIDS Affected religious leaders (ANERELA +), has
received multiple trainings from the church, and now he reaches out to young
people about HIV, putting a human face to the virus.

“Youth come to the church and ask questions,” said Gilbert. “They encourage
me and I encourage them. When young people start to talk about AIDS, they
talk about themselves because they realize they are the most vulnerable and
that prevention is vital to them.”

The religious community is well-represented at the International AIDS
Conference, but youth and faith-based organizations still need a bit of help
reaching out to each other.

Leading the way, Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), stopped by the “Commitments Desk” at the Youth
Pavilion. The ELCA sponsored 12 young people to come to this year’s IAC, and
Hanson committed to bring more to next conference in Mexico. He also
committed to include young people in the development of the ELCA AIDS
strategy.

“Youth and young adults are leading the church in HIV and AIDS, and we are
following their lead,” said Hanson. “Young people want to be part of a
community where faith and spirituality matter, and they want to be part of a
faith community doing advocacy around poverty and discrimination.”

Taking a different approach, Phrama Boonchuay, the Director of Chiang Mai
Buddhist College, educates young people about living simply. “In Thailand,
in Buddhism, we educate our youth about consumerism. We have to convince
them about sexual education, and we also talk about consumption of food,
clothes and medicine.”

Addressing misinterpretations of what the church and young people can do is
important, says Rev. Jape Heath, General Secretary of ANERELA+.

“One of the major problems we have had with youth from the faith-based
community is to think that we can’t talk about prevention, because we think
we’ll encourage youth to have sex, but that’s stupid. Unless we can speak to
our youth we can’t expect them to make informed choices can decisions.”

]]> Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:55:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42131 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42067
But today, the UNAIDS Inter-agency taskforce on young people launched the manual, “Preventing HIV/AIDS in young people, a systematic review of the evidence from developing countries”.

The first study of its kind, it analyzes evidence from 80 cases, and classifies them in three categories: -Go! (stop asking for more evidence and get on and do it!)
-Ready (implement widely but evaluate carefully!)
-Steady (not ready yet for prime time: more research and development required)

Now young people can take the UNAIDS policy ratings to their governments and say, this is a ‘ready’ project, we should scale it up, or say this is ‘steady’ and must be remedied.

The manual was written to fulfill obligations set by countries in the 2001 UNGASS Declaration of Commitment, where governments agreed that 95% of young people should know how to prevent HIV by 2010. Unfortunately we are still no where near meeting those targets.

David Ross, the researcher presenting the manual, stressed that HIV prevalence rates are often used in statistics to illustrate national HIV situations. However, HIV incidence rates are the most important to look at because ‘incidence,’ or when the virus is contracted, happens the majority of the time when people are in their teens.

“Youth are most neglected part of the pandemic”, said Stephen Lewis, UN Envoy on AIDS in Africa, known for his outspoken leadership. “The huge impact we must make must be for 15-25 year olds.”

Lewis said he noticed a “renaissance of interest and commitment from young people,” who he has seen working all around the world with their peers. However, he stressed young peoples actions must be further supported for a larger impact, saying “the de-minutia of what one person can do comes from lack of support from the powers that be.”

Though he welcomed the UNAIDS study, Lewis was quick to point out that it does not effectively analyze the most at-risk youth. Because its survey sample only includes youth in school, there is no analysis about programs that reach out-of school youth, who are the most at-risk. Lewis emphasized the devastating lack of evidence about how to work with these groups, often made vulnerable because they may of lost a parents to AIDS, and called for more research to understand how to reach these populations.

New modes to reach youth are needed, such as text messaging, which is widely used in some parts of Africa. “We must embrace youth culture which we have disavowed,” Lewis told the audience. “There is little resonance with youth because youth have been marginalized in studies and in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I salute what you have done, but I beg you to do more.”]]> Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:13:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42067 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42052
One wearing a "Drug dealer" t-shirt, said it was a great conversation starter. A cop sees her and asks, "so you are a drug dealer?" she says yeah, dealing anti-retro viral drugs to children in fact.

We need all kinds of approaches to fight the spread of HIV. I love what these young fashion designers have done. From a red ribbon draped silk evening dress, to a superman-inspired fight AIDS cape, it a great showing of the creativity of youth.

Stay tuned for pictures!]]> Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:18:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/42052 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/41995
It is a battle over the information that reaches youth. Studies show that young people get information from their peers, media, religious leaders, and parents, and trust it in about that order.

But the meaning of abstinence seems to vary depending on policy. It basically means wait until marriage, but what good does that do for child brides, or women in polygamous relationships? How can all women be expected to “negotiate” condom use if in many parts of the world girls don’t attend school and their mother’s can’t inherit property?

If you look up the actual meaning of abstain it means ‘to refrain often’. Does abstinence mean you can kiss and fool around without penetration? Is that message out there?

Bottom line: efficacy of condoms has been researched 100 more times more than abstinence-only education. Nonetheless, no one argues that delaying sexual debut isn’t a good thing.

But honestly, it makes me bit sick to discuss this in the luxury of my western country. The clock is ticking, and adolescence is more dangerous than ever. Young people have a human right to information, and health, and those are in the 1949 Declaration of Human Rights. Need I really say more?]]> Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:44:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/41995 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/41956 The real question is, who isn’t here?

Bill and Melinda Gates, Barry White, the mayor of Toronto, Peter Piot of UNAIDS, Blue Man Group, an opera singer and a rapper all welcomed participants of the International AIDS Conference to Toronto. Even the hotel workers union, representing 100 countries and thoughtfully postponing their labor strike in our honor, participated in the opening ceremony at Blue Jay’s Stadium.

Those who endured the 6 hour event to its finale enjoyed a show from Our Lady Peace and the Bare Naked Ladies in the Blue Jay’s stadium. I’m not sure a more eclectic and amazing event has ever been held in Canada.

Snap shots from the audience: The sex workers all wore blue shirts and chanted in protest while Bill Gates spoke. Wife Melinda Gates spoke too, but she seemed nervous addressing 20,000 people. Booing from the crowd occurred throughout the speech of the Canadian Minster of Health, Tony Clement. He ended up with the blame that belongs to Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, who refused to attend the conference.

Apparently he is on vacation in the North Pole. Because he did not attend, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia also declined an appearance. To mark their dissatisfaction with their leader, people carried pillow cases that read, “Sleep in Steve? HIV never sleeps, time to deliver.”

The charismatic Alicia Keys, now apparently an Ambassador, as opposed to a singer, rambled long about her year-old foundation. Everyone, apparently, has traveled to Africa and claimed the pain as their own. No doubt, celebrities are important allies in the cause, but after so many speeches, we all longed for a song.

I’ve heard so many speeches that I am not sure I can take another one and it is only the first day. But Frika Chia Iskandar, a young woman living with HIV from Indonesia, stole the show.

After hearing her speak, I was frustrated I had spent so much time listening to the formalities and repetition from the officials. She addressed the crowd with grace, bravery and brilliance, challenging the audience by turning platitudes on their head, and calling for genuine investments to build communities. “We do not need to reduce stigma, we need to deal with it, and fight back,” she said. “I learned how to live with it and demand my rights.”

Young people were well represented in the audience and on the stage, but her words summed it up for everyone: “I was born the year AIDS was discovered, in 1981. Now I take three pills a day instead of ten. I don’t know how long I will take these medicines – 10, 20, 50 years? Is there hope for a cure? As a young woman from Asia, I am the new face of AIDS. I know I can deliver, can you?”
]]> Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:52:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/41956 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/33189
It is Saturday, and the facilitators had a 6 am deadline to give the text from their committees to the chairman, which means they worked all night. This is an around the clock event. There are lots of NGOs are wearing stickers that say “No Annex C.” Annex C is the implementation timeline of the General Agreement of Terms and Services (GATS), which currently has unfavorable implications for developing countries.

I am thinking about the difference between me and the people in the streets without the WTO accreditation. My privilege to be able walk into the WTO meeting – my privilege as an American – my privilege as a relatively rich person. But it is not that simple, there are farmers from West Africa here just like me, and NGOs have brought in people from all over the world, a girl from Zambia, women’s groups from the Philippines. It is much less of a secret to get into this meeting than anyone would expect: register with and NGO and get yourself to Asia. But so I am here, now what?

Often, the larger the meeting, the harder it is to derive an outcome. There are too many country negotiators, adding in NGOs won’t solve the problems of inequity, but it does increase the transparency of the meeting, making sure the world is truly watching.

The draft text has just been handed to me – so I am off to read -- more on all this later.
]]> Sat, 17 Dec 2005 04:05:00 EST http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/33189 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/33147
We had a panel last night on youth and fair trade, which went quite well. About 50 young people were there from around the world, and the energy, intelligence and care for the issues was moving. There is a spectrum of youth belief on trade - from the "inside approach" of a young Canadian working with business students at his universities, the "direct approach" of international partnership between students in the Phillipines and Hong Kong talking about trade relations between the two countries, and other students working on human rights advocacy in their own countries.

After the presentations, the expected "what can I do exchange" ensued. Addressing a question from a girl in the US, a young man from Nepal said "Make your trade minister responsible. While we sit here talking in this room about working together your trade minister is telling mine if you don't sign this we will cut your aid."

What a lot of work we have to do, to mobilize the people of our countries so that the trade minister knows we are watching their every move. If Nepal is to stand up to the US, for example, they need someone in the world to have their back. Ideally, the people of the US would say, let Nepal have their sovereign decision, but don't cut our life-saving aid to them. Aid is no gift in international politics, there is always a cost.

So the issues here are every complex -- you can sit in a briefing and quickly get lost with all the paragraph referenced, jargon and acronyms. But there is a lot to take in, and a young person can learn a lot here, as much as anyone. Ironically, the WTO is a great place to meet other NGOs and agencies, and learn about exciting new technologies. People here are smart, approachable and the facilities are good. Like any conferences, people meet, ideas are born, and projects grow. But I am impressed by the caliber of the people here, and the projects presented that address the urgency of peoples needs.

For example, I learned about all the new technologies that are being developed for bio-diesel, and regardless of trade talks, as we speak companies are making cheap, efficient, eco-friendly fuels out of palm, cooking oil, and other waste. Its only a matter of time before they hit our markets.

In another case, I met a woman from Laos who has a cooperative making organic cotton baby clothes. I think that young mothers shopping at the thousands of organic grocery stores in the US would love to buy these baby clothes. All we need to do to make it happen is to build a relationship.
]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2005 22:22:00 EST http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/33147 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/30407
The WYC was hosted by the Scottish Executive Government and the NGO Peace Child International. The Scottish Executive went all out - there were huge video screens, nightly entertainment, two free t-shirts and one free sweatshirt for every participant. There were about 600 participants, about 100 from the United Kingdom, as well as many local staff facilitators from the UK. The event focused on the “action projects,” where young people were sent out into Scotland to do a variety of community service projects, ranging from painting murals to exchange with youth NGOs in India, to packaging computers for schools in Africa, to local environmental clean up.

Besides the "youth action" projects in the community, the WYC had two outcomes, a team creating a "Tool kit" for youth action, and a drafting team struggling over language to put in an outcome document. Because the "outcome document" of the last World Youth Congress in Morocco became so politicized when each country was allowed one vote, this time there was no selection process for the drafting of the document, and nor real process to ratify the document on the final day. While voting can be divisive and counter-productive, ensuring that the drafting process is representative is very important, and should be planned and facilitated with care. Because there was never any direction to the youth delegates about how the drafting would be done, the most of the youth initially involved in drafting were from European and developed country perspectives. If the WYC is not an opportunity for the youth of the world to work together, at least in one small group, then what is it for?

In regards to the third outcome, the Tool Kit, it honestly seemed strange that Peace Child was creating a new tool kit while a hot of the presses tool kit on youth and the Millennium Development Goals had been expressly shipped to the Scottish campus from Global Youth Action Network, Taking IT Global and the Millennium Campaign. The Congress would have been a great time to have small groups of youth plan how they would use the Tool Kit they were already able to hold in their hands.

It would have been great to have a meeting on just the Global Youth Coalition on AIDS at the World Youth Congress – there were a lot of excellent young people in attendance, but it seemed the focus of the conference was to keep us entertained, not get us to work together. I don’t like to be negative – I made some friends, got some new contacts, saw the Scottish country side and officially aged out when I turned 25 on the closing day. But I can’t help but think about the resources that were put into that conference ($4 million USD!), while I know so many young people that struggle for the tiniest amount of funding and recognition.

See my article about WYC 2003
http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/16937/]]> Mon, 03 Oct 2005 16:49:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/30407 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/30157
I found myself at this high-powered event as a “volunteer table facilitator,” which meant that I introduced the discussions that small groups had after hearing short plenary, and had close contact with all the participants. The Clinton Global Initiative was a 3-day meeting after the United Nations General Assembly World Summit, where 170 heads of state and many other religious and NGO leaders came to NY. Clinton’s rationale was, let’s provide a forum after the UN Summit where people can really dialogue and we can also invite business leaders and other persons of influence. As a volunteer for America Speaks, an organization specializing in orchestrating community dialogue, I facilitated the “Poverty” track; other tracks included Climate Change, Religion and Governance. After literally running into celebrities like Barbara Streisand, Oprah, Jesse Jackson and Bill Clinton himself -- strolling the halls in his reading glasses,-- I was happy to run into one our NGO partners, Kathryn Wolford, Director of Lutheran World Relief.

We were able to exchange ‘can you believe this’ looks – and it wasn’t because of the frequent celeb spotting (I met Angelina Jolie and saw Brad Pitt too!), but perhaps because of the continuous emphasis of the role of business and the private sector which can make an NGO uneasy, -- or maybe it was the speech from Paul Wolfowitz, new President of the World Bank (who has also recently discovered that shock! the average US citizen believes we spend 10% of our national budget on international aid, but we really just spend <1%) – or maybe it was the simplification of poverty in general, where it was emphasized that with increased immediate spending we can end it, while there is also a bigger story to tell about justice – or maybe it was that women and persons of color were a bit too few and far between – our maybe it was just our shared conference fatigue.

But you have to hand it to him, Bill Clinton managed to get the powerhouses of the private sector in one room and have them talk about poverty. The emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility was clear, and people were eager to use creative approaches to encouraging pro-poor growth through business investment. Many exciting announcements were made such as plans to build cell phone towers in Gaza; start large investment funds to for microfinance; create an insurance fund to protect investments in Gaza; start City Year Louisiana; train journalists in Africa, and many more.

The innovation of the CGI was that all participants that came had to make some sort of commitment – and by the conference’s close, those commitments totaled $1.25 billion. In his closing speech, Clinton focused on religion, citing texts from all the worlds leading faiths on poverty and conflict resolution. It was an impressive ending, where it seemed he truly spoke from his heart, showing a sincere thoughtfulness and dedication. He has effectively used himself as a grand facilitator, using his personal reputation as a table of trust to bring NGOs and the private sector together. As was expressed at the meeting, it can be hard to create these partnerships because one side does not know the other, and each carries false impressions. You can expect to hear from Clinton again, and I think we can all look forward to that.
]]> Wed, 28 Sep 2005 15:28:00 EDT http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/30157 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889 http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/13888
Emily, NY, USA]]> Sat, 31 Jan 2004 12:20:00 EST http://EmilyFreeburg.tigblog.org/post/13888 40.7141667 -74.006388940.7141667-74.0063889