Mexcio Youth Force AIDS 2008. © IAS

The Youth Programme has been an important part of the conference since Durban, South Africa in 2000.  The Programme aims to strengthen the participation of youth and the profile of youth issues in the conference through activities such as a Youth pre-conference, a Global Village youth pavilion, youth-driven sessions, an electronic youth bulletin, the youth opening and reception, youth rapporteurs and a high-level youth leadership forum.

Objectives for the 2010 Youth Programme

~ Encourage consistent, effective and meaningful participation of young people at the International AIDS Conference and throughout the conference planning processes especially for young people from marginalized groups including but not limited to young people living with HIV, young people who use drugs, young sex workers, young men who have sex with men, young women and young migrants. 

~ Promote the participation of young people and the inclusion of youth issues in the main conference programme, in media coverage generated at the conference and in AIDS programmes and policies in general.

~ Work to ensure young people have the resources to access decision-makers with effective advocacy to protect the rights of all young people, especially the rights of vulnerable groups such as young people who use drugs, young sex workers, young men who have sex with men, young migrants, young women, youth in prisons and young people living with HIV; 

~ Support peer-to-peer capacity-building among young people in order to provide them with necessary advocacy skills and technical knowledge, support, and resources for meaningful participation during the conference and beyond; 

~ Demonstrate to conference participants, especially decision-makers and donors, that the participation of young people is beneficial, and advocate for the creation of youth-adult partnerships and greater investment in young people’s initiatives; and 

~ Hold people in power accountable for their commitments to promote youth leadership to mitigate the impact of HIV on young people. The Youth Programme will also create opportunities to generate new commitments to youth.

To see examples of Youth Programme at Mexico, see the AIDS 2008 Youth Website. Other useful resources are the  2006 Youth Pocketbook for Navigating International AIDS Conferences.

The Youth Programme will be a vibrant and diverse range of activities and sessions that address a range of issues and priority groups, as outlined by the Youth Programme Working Group. All submissions will be reviewed and selected by a group of international reviewers who are experts in the field.

See the Tip Sheet: Submitting to the Youth Programme

To keep up to date on the Youth Programme, check out the latest AIDS 2010 Youth Newsletter which is also available in Russian, German and Spanish. You can also sign up to receive future newsletters.

Contact Information: youth@aids2010.org

Dates to Remember :
1 December 2009 Youth Programme Submission opens
10 Februrary 2010 Youth Programme Submission closes