Live and direct from Mexico!

We’re very happy to share with you our experiences and insights from Mexico! It’s lovely and warm here and we've found everyone so helpful and friendly.

I arrived last Thursday (31st July) to participate in the Mexico Youth Force pre-conference. High profile figures such as Dr. Pedro Cahn (IAS President), Peter Piot (UNAIDS) and Thoraya Obaid (UNFPA) gave speeches highlighting the importance of addressing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people by ensuring that young people, regardless of HIV status, have access to comprehensive sex education (focusing on risks as well as on well-being) and access to comprehensive services (including youth-friendly services, condoms and other contraceptives, and information about HIV in family planning clinics). It was great to hear them say that young women and men must take an active part in policy and decision making and in the implementation of activities because they bring innovative ideas and are open to change and to moving in new directions.

I participated in a range of interactive skills-building sessions. The sessions on gender, sexuality and identity were particularly engaging; they raised complex issues that impact on young people’s vulnerability to contract HIV and their ability to assert their sexual and reproductive rights. Using some simple and effective games, we explored what it meant to be ‘excluded’ (as HIV positive people, as migrants, as LGBT, as women, as poor people) and how as individuals we all have unique realities, perspectives and experiences that should be respected by all. We were certainly not short of volunteers wanting to take part in activities and to speak about their perspectives freely and openly – the Latin American youth are particularly vibrant!

On Sunday, we went on a LONG march - the 1^st International March Against Stigma, Discrimination and Homophobia’. We chanted (very loudly!) ‘Alerta, Alerta, Alerta, que camina la juventud unida por America Latina’ (which translates to something like ‘Listen up, Listen up, Listen up, we are representing the united youth of Latin America’. We also chanted ‘No hay libertad politica si no hay libertad sexual’ (‘There’s not political liberty if there’s not sexual liberty’) – important messages of unity, inclusion and action articulated by young people at the pre-conference in Mexico.

I’ll write again another time! Over to Jabu...

Georgina