Regional NewGen and YKP Guidance Training in Bali, Indonesia
Back-to-back pieces of training on Youth LEAD's NewGen Leadership Course and YKP Guidance Manual in Bali, Indonesia
The regional training aimed to develop the leadership capacity of Young Key Populations (YKP) and discuss the strategies to improve the HIV services pertaining to YKP. The training employed two standard manuals of Youth LEAD to design and deliver the session. Firstly, the NewGen (New Generation Leadership) manual was utilized to develop the leadership capacity of the YKP participants. Youth LEAD developed the manual in partnership with academic institutions and UN agencies. It has been rolled out in more than 10 countries of Asia Pacific and has largely supported the building of national networks of YKP and stirred up the YKP movement in the region, as a whole. Secondly, the YKP HIV and SRHR Programming Guidance aided the discussion on developing the strategies to improve the HIV services. Youth LEAD developed the Guidance in 2018 with support from the technical consultant, regional networks on KP and PLHIV and UN agencies.
The NewGen Regional Training took place from 14-16 October and was designed to build the advocacy and leadership skills of young key populations at higher risk of HIV exposure and to build the institutional capacity of community youth networks and other youth-led and youth-serving organizations, equipping them to better meet the needs of young key populations at higher risk of HIV exposure. The training aimed to help equip participants with meaningful skills to integrate relevant topics and methodologies from the training into their existing leadership, advocacy and community support programs. The training helped train young people with the necessary skills to be trainers and train other key population communities at the country-level.
Following the NewGen, the YKP Toolkit Training (17 -19 October) took place and highlighted the unique needs of young key populations in the Asia-Pacific region, and guiding and inspiring the development of comprehensive regional and national programs for SRHR, including HIV of YKP in the Asia-Pacific region. The YKP Toolkit was designed to train and guide young people in developing proposals related to programming for YKPs in the Asia Pacific for different donors, including the Global Fund.
The training came up with two different types of plans and strategies. Firstly, for a stronger and more stable YKP network. The advocacy for HIV service delivery is not effective without a stable group/organization or network as it is also a source of sustainability. Youth LEAD will co-finance these work-plans for a stronger network through the Robert Carr Fund and other existing sources in 2020. Secondly, the participants came up with action plans and strategies to improve HIV service delivery, targeting the prevention and treatment of YKP. The strategies varied from countries and also depended on the maturity of the existing YKP network. In addition, the exchange of ideas between countries and experienced YKP leaders who supported the new countries to develop strategic plans was very fruitful.
This training particularly focused on new countries such as PNG and Timor Leste as these countries currently have no YKP networks or programs. Thus, the work plans developed during this regional training will be taken back to their respective countries and further developed during a Youth LEAD facilitated in-country training, assisted by the participants as co-facilitators. The regional trainings were made possible through the multi-country Global Fund grant titled SKPA (The Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia) managed by AFAO which aims to develop the leadership capacity of Young Key Populations (YKP) and discuss on the strategies to improve the HIV services pertaining to YKP.
Edited by: Vanessa Monley, Programme Officer at Youth LEAD