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The youth academy offered leadership, planning and training on public speaking for young people.
The academy provided the space for young people to meet, connect and prepare their statements for the UNAIDS board meeting, held 10-12 December, particularly on the last day, which focused on children and adolescents.
“With UNAIDS, we mobilized the presence of 17 young leaders to attend this meeting,” said Gracia Violeta Ross, WCC programme executive for HIV, Reproductive Health, and Pandemics. “Our delegation was one of the few that included young people in a meeting about children and adolescents!”
The youth academy was held on the property of the All Africa Conference of Churches. It mobilized intergenerational leaders working on HIV for the exchange of knowledge and advocacy strategies. It also supported younger leaders to acquire the skills and best strategies used by older generations.
"My highlight from the HIV and Faith Youth Academy in preparation for the 55th UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board meeting was the intentional training on how to make purposeful interventions in high-level meetings,” said Jonah Ojjala from Uganda, who is an advisor to the WCC HIV and Reproductive Health Working Group. “This tool enabled us as young people to make interventions in specific areas which are affecting the young people directly—inaccessibility to HIV treatment, stigma, and exclusion in decision-making processes, among others.”
"The HIV and Faith Academy empowers young people with the leadership skills and builds professional confidence needed to take charge of issues that affect them, fostering a generation ready to lead with their unique voices,” said Oscar Otim from Uganda. “While the older generation often hesitates to pass the mantle and the required knowledge, the academy steps in to bridge this gap. With adequate funding, this transformative training can scale up, unlocking the potential of even more young leaders to drive meaningful change in the fight against HIV.”
"The HIV and Faith Academy guides us young people into these platforms where decisions are made, and holds our hand through it all,” said Allan Nyamari from Kenya. “This academy made us feel at home very quick.”
The efforts of the young people yielded positive results, as the UNAIDS Secretariat pledged to have deliberate inclusion of all necessary stakeholders including the young people in all the consultations for the 2025-2031 UNAIDS strategy.
