Y-PEER News Bulletin July 2016 - June 2017 by PETRI-Sofia

July 2016- June 2017 Issue

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY Y-PEER News Bulletin

Â© Y-PEER News Bulletin | December 2017

What

is the Y-Peer News Bulletin?

Y-PEER News Bulletin is a visual content-based document, which will report and illustrate activities administered by Y-PEER network on an international level, as well as the national one. Aim of the Bulletin is to enable network members and active Y-PEERers get acquainted and informed about various seminars, workshops, events and activisms taking place within their own communities, along with those occurring within their geographical region and beyond.

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CONTENT Abbrevations 5 In the Memory of Bulut Ă&#x2013;ncĂź 6 Updates From Selected Y-Peer National Networks: Afghanistan 8, Albania 10, Armenia 13, Azerbaijan 14, Bhutan 18, Bulgaria 21, China 23, Djibouti 26, Georgia 28, Jordan 30, Kazakhistan 31, Macedonia 35, Moldova 39, Morocco 41, Nepal 44, Palestine 48, Philippines 50, Syria 54, Tajikistan 57, Tunusia 60, Turkey 61, Vietnam 64, Yemen 66 Updates From PETRI - Sofia: Meet and Greet Daglar Cilingir and Eimear Sparks 68-69 Autumn School on Project Development and Management and Leadership Skills 69 Annual PETRI - Sofia Training of Trainers 71 Updates From International Center for Youth and Development in Amman: Meet and Greet Hamza Meghari 74 What has been done? 75 Updates From Updates From Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center 77 Updates From International Events: 10 Day of Activisim 78 Young and Refugee International Good Practices Conference 79 Youth, Peace and Security Youth Consultation Meetings 80 Youth in Power 81 Meet Our Editorial Team 82 Contact Us 83

ABBREVATIONS AIDS ASRHR EECA FPC FP HIV IYD LGBT LGBTQI MUN NCCA NGO PE SDGs SRHR STI TBT TOT UNDP UNFPA CO UNFPA UNHCR UNICEF UNV WPD IC GAB AB EECA AS AP IYD EECA RO AS RO AP RO ICYD

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Region Eastern Europe And Central Asia Region Focal Point in Charge (Part of The Structure of Y-PEER) Focal Point (Part of The Structure of Y-PEER) Human Immunodeficiency Virus International Youth Day Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Model United Nations National Center of Culture and Arts Non-governmental Organization Peer Education Sustainable Development Goals Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Sexually Transmitted Infection Training Theatre-Based Techniques Training Training of Trainers United Nations Development Program United Nations Population Fund Country Office United Nations Population Fund The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fund United Nations Volunteers World Population Day International Coordinator Global Advisory Board Alumni Board Eastern Europe Central Asia Arab States Asia Pacific International Youth Day Eastern Europe Central Asia Regional Office Arab States Regional Office Asia Pacific Regional Office International Center for Youth and Development

BULUT ÖNCÜ Bulut Öncü who was an incredible advocate for SRHR, alumni of Y-PEER Turkey and cofounder of Youth Approaches to Health Association, passed away due in a tragic car accident on 20 th February 2017.

“Bulut joined Y-PEER Turkey in October 2009 after participating in Training of Peer Education and became a sexual and reproductive health peer educator under “Reproductive Health Peer Education Project” (implemented by TOG and UNFPA Turkey). Following that, by November 2011, he became a focal point for Y-PEER Turkey after attending Advance ToT. Between July and September 2012, he joined UNFPA Turkey and worked as a youth consultant to support Y-PEER activities where he also coordinated 10 Days of Activism among many other things. Then he started to coordinate the project where he first started his SRHR experience: “Reproductive Health Peer Education Project”. He worked for Community Volunteer Foundation (TOG) between October, 2012 and January, 2015 and continued his duties under UNFPA Turkey between February 2015 and December, 2016. Since October 2009, he accomplished countless things to support youth sexual and reproductive health in Turkey as well as in the global arena. Hundreds of young people were informed on SRHR and became a peer educator and activist the field of youth SRHR. He coordinated many advocacy events.

He worked extremely hard for expanding youth SRHR work in Humanitarian Response in Turkey and also coordinated “Support to Young Refugees Project” starting from 2015. However, the biggest achievement that he believed probably establishing Y-PEER Turkey network as an independent organization under the name of Youth Approaches to Health Association – YAHA- (Y-PEER Turkey). Until his very last days, he was working on ideas to ensure the sustainability for the organization.”

We; Y-PEER Turkey, his relatives, friends and teammates, are in unspeakable pain. He was a dear friend for most of us. Not only have we lost a dear friend, but we also lost a great activist. He was planning to run in Runatolia Marathon on 5 th of March for Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) to support youth SRHR activities. As his family, friends and teammates we ran for him in Runatolia Marathon.

We love and miss you but we will never give up working for our goals! We promise to move forward.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER Afghanistan The glimpse of enthusiasm was lit when there was an invitation for us to join the national level ToT training and it all started in 29 Oct 2016, where UNFPA gathered 20 elite youths from the country with better work capabilities. The trainers were invited from Tajikistan for national level ToT in Kabul named Mr. Sharafdzhon Babokarimov and Miss. Mekhroban Poludi. During the 5 days training, participants learnt about HIV, SRHR, addict’s prevention and training techniques. The great minds of youths were gathered in one place for 5 days which made this training one of the best trainings in the country. Based on criteria, Y-PEER Afghanistan started their journey with the very first implementation in one of the most popular girls school named Aiesha Durani subjected as “Maturity Age” with participation of more than 40 girls between ages of 10-16 years old. The training was held in 14 Nov 2016 by the trained Y-PEER female members. As per the cultural diversity, male trainers were not allowed so we just adapted the team to the message be delivered by females. This experience was a mind boggling one for every Y-PEER member to gain more experience and confidence within themselves. At the end of the session, a huge appreciation was done from the school principle to teachers from each and individual member of Y-PEER.

Find more about Y-PEER Afghanistan on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/YPeerAfghanistan/?fref=t s

Successfully 2 of Y-PEER Afghanistan members achieved the chance to participate in the PETRI-SOFIA training on PDM (Project Development and Management) and advanced ToT (training of Trainers) within just the first month of its work. This training was also for 5 days covering from 23rd Nov 2016 till 27th Nov 2016 in Borovets, Bulgaria, where representatives from 19 countries with 38 participants joined the session. Afghanistan represented himself in their peak and achieved what they were there for.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER Afghanistan Striving for excellence, they have had TV shows in order to promote Y-PEER and its goals considering the message for the world in order to better promote and influence among people of the country. This has brought a good impact on both members and the locals. Going toward prosperity, they are planning to have bigger events to make it a way better for their future.

After several negotiations with UNFPA Afghanistan and Afghan Family Guidance Association (AFGA) the outcomes

were achieved and there was an MoU signed in May 01, 2017 and officially started their activities within the country. At the time the MoU was signed by both Y-PEER Afghanistan and AFGA, UNFPA Afghanistan assigned us to train 150 youths on SRHR/HIV which were proceed according to their supervision.

Y-PEER Afghanistan successfully implemented the first badge training which was

assigned by UNFPA for the year 2017. The training was followed by the agenda developed for the trainee by Y-PEER team considering all the specifics that were needed in Y-PEER education manual. This training was held for 3 days dating from May 23, 2017 until May 25, 2017 at Afghan Family Guidance Association (AFGA) main office. 27 participants including both male and female between ages of 15-23 were part of the training. For the first badge of training, there were 3 main Y-PEER trainers plus a backup trainer in case of need during the training was assigned for better outcome. Financial support of the training was done by respectful UNFPA and facilitated by AFGA which was managed in its good way. The second and third badge training was simultaneously conducted through a transparent selection process via an application form being launched in Y-PEER Afghanistan page. Among 503 applications filled, Y-PEER team selected 50 eligible candidates for the sessions. The training took place from July 05, 2017 till July 07, 2017. Within all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd badges, well feedback was received and we are looking forward to widen the network in all the country as we have the honor of being in the service.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER ALBANIA 12 th of August, International Youth Day Different activities took place on International Youth Day. Y-PEER and YMCA Tirana, with the support of UNFPA Albania, the Albanian Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth and the Ministry of Youth and Culture of Kosovo organized a marathon and a flash mob in Tirana.

Training of trainers On 14 - 18 September 2016 a Training of Trainers at the Ten Youth Center in Tirana was organized. 25 young people from different cities where the network is working (Vlora, Shkodra, Puka, Kamza, Elbasan and Tirana) took part in the ToT. The age group of participants was 17-24 years. The main aim of this training was capacity building of peer trainers on planning and implementing peer education programs and extending the Y-PEER national network.

Workshop for Advocacy and SDG’s The workshop took place on 24 – 26 October in Tirana. 28 young people were gathered from different cities. The main aim of this workshop was gaining knowledge about advocacy and SDGs in a community where young people develop their activities and work as peer trainers in the field of SRHR.

Peer Education Training Find more about Y-PEER Albania on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/Y-PeerAlbania-1435165850140937/?fref=ts https://www.instagram.com/ypeeralbania/ http://y-peer-albania.weebly.com / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOLdUXkO4s-eFFIgSg-xy1 g

The Peer Education Training was a part of the project “Capacity Building for the Y-PEER Network, Raising Awareness and Advocacy”, which is supported by UNFPA Albania and coordinated by the Observatory for Children Rights. This five-days training built the capacity of new and old members of Y-PEER from different cities of Albania in the field of peer education. This training was a result of different meetings, focus groups and other trainings. The participants in it are going to work in different cities and to recruit and train new peer educators.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER ALBANIA Theater Show “Don’t Break Her Dream” On the 6th of December 2016, as a part of the 10DoA campaign, Y-PEER Albania organized a theater show “Don’t Break Her Dream”. This activity was supported by UNFPA Albania and coordinated by the Observatory for Children Rights. This activity focused on early marriages. The goal of the activity was raising awareness about the issue in the community, among youth and parents. This was a call against this phenomenon that is common in rural areas in Albania. Through this activity the aim was reaching the government and advocating for: strengthening the Family Code, so that it forbids early marriages as a violation of human rights; fighting against poverty and gender inequality, as they are the main causes of the phenomenon; giving a greater importance to child protection; supporting mothers; conducting national studies that will include all areas of Albania; offering special services for youth; the phenomenon of early marriages to be treated as a intersectional case. The event was a call for stopping the harmful practice of early marriages and also for adolescent girls to have access to education, SRH services and information.

Y-PEER Reunion 2017 On 21th January, Y-PEER Albania organized a big event to celebrate the New Year 2017 with their members, partners and donors. In these activities more than 250 members and other young people who wanted to join our event took part. We presented our achievements for 2016. Y-PEER used this activity to raise awareness about SRHR among young people and to address more sensitive issues of the youth in Albania. After sharing info and messages for the participants, we had an event with a lot of games, music, and live song from our members. We distributed 500 condoms for participants and we did SDGs mannequin challenge

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER ALBANIA World Population Day-11 July 2017 On behalf of 11 July, Y-PEER Albania in Collaboration with Act For Society organized an one day training with Roma Community in Pogradec City. The theme of the training was Family Planning. In this training we spoke about contraceptives methods. A lot of question for our expert did by participants. “ I hope to come again to our community and to speak for sexual and reproductive health” said one young woman who had one baby at the age 18.

One day Training

“ The influence of the gender in choosing the right profession”

Our FP in Vlora City organized an one day training in his city. The main aim of the training was to raise awareness about the role of the gender issues on choosing their future profession.

Y-PEER took part on High Level Meeting “Structure Dialogue for Youth” as one the most powerful Network in Albania.

On the 9th of May, Y-Peer Albania participated in the meeting with the topic “Structured Dialogue for European Integration process”. This meeting was held in 2 parts: the first one in the Parliament of Albania with the participation of 50 members from Y-Peer network and the second in the ‘Plaza Hotel’ with the participation of Andi Rabiaj, the FP in charge; Klevisa Hoxha, the FP of Kamza; Dizaela Zani, the FP of Gjirokastra and Ditmar Kola,the FP of Shkodra. During the meeting, there was a discussion about young people and the information they have about Europe; their power in the future of our country and the problem of the non-inclusion of many young people from the districts. The representative of Y-Peer Albania, Andi Rabiaj presented Y-Peer to the participants of the meeting, the aim and the focus of the network and he emphasized the role of youth in different dialogues. The recommendations given from Andi Rabiaj were: 1. Youth should be more active in their community and with their peers to promote healthy life style 2. Youth should be part of the policymaking discussions on SRHR field.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER ARMENIA On 13th and 17th of April 2017,

Y-PEER Armenia implemented sessions on Sustainable development goals for raising awareness among young people in Yerevan concerning the major problems of the country. The target audience was young people aged between 16-25. The sessions started with presentations on Sustainable Development Goals, by UN speakers, participants were deeply presented to the objectives and implementation of the goals. Discussions were held and afterwards the participants gathered in groups and were assigned to discuss the priorities for Armenia within their groups and choose the main goals that mostly concern Armenia. Then a discussion was held and at the end of the day each group chose one goal to research on, stress out the problems and think of innovative approaches to implement the goal in Armenia, The second day started from another detailed presentation on SDGs was made. Then the groups had their presentations on chosen goals, they presented their research to others, stated the problems, and gave some ways of solving those problems in Armenia. At the end, Y-Peer presentations were made and participants recruited to the Y-Peer network willingly. The sessions were held by Focal point in charge Sargis Ghazaryan and Focal Point Ilona Demirtshyan. Our main supporter was UNFPA CO (Garik Hayrapetyan, Tsovinar Harutyunyan,Anna Barfyan, Tatev Hovhannesi, Armine Haladjian,Mher Manukyan).

Find more about Y-PEER Armenia the following links: https://ypeerarmenia.wordpress.com/about / https://twitter.com/YPEER_Armeni a

UPDATES FROM:

On the 6-7 May, 2017 Y-PEER Armenia had

a very important national training on leadership, advocacy, project development and management, global citizenship in Tsaghkadzor Armenia. The main objective was developing projects on selected goals for people living in villages and write project proposals, including the budget, ToRs and schedule. During the two days of the training, participants passed different modules such as Leadership, Project Development and Management, Global Citizenship, following various team building activities. After each module every group had time to work and develop their projects. Group, as well as panel discussions were held to give feedback on the work. Several activities, such as Crossing the line, Power walk, were held to build confidence and provide informal communication among the participants. After two days of hard work, discussions and research, the groups were fully ready with their projects. The training was concluded by a press conference where the groups had the opportunity to present their projects to others closing with a video, considered as an innovative approach. Below are the projects, all to be done in villages among young people. 1. Spreading SRHR in villages 2. Trainings and workshops on professional orientation and communication 3. Cultural education for young people in villages 4. Education: discrimination , gender violence, gender equality The trainings were held by Focal point in charge Sargis Ghazaryan and Focal Point Ilona Demirtshyan.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER Armenia has been having a lot of activities since July 2016 until now. Since Y-PEER Ar-

menia has had a lot of priorities for being reactivated (new volunteers , new funding, new plan of action) we started with promotional activities for raising the awareness about Y-PEER Armenia among the youth of all the regions aged 16-30. In July 22-25 we had our second national campaign on Sexual and reproductive health and rights and on HIV. We had more than 40 participants from all over Armenia. The campaign was in Gyumri , one of the cities in Armenia and the results were vital because we had given the participants a lot of information about the SRHR , Y-PEER network and so on. Some of them willed to join the network and that was so exciting for all of us. After this event we had one of the most important days of our network â&#x20AC;&#x201C; International youth day August 12. We tried our bests to make it perfect and we collaborated with UN house Yerevan. Our priority was social media and we basically focused on it. We raised a campaign and got the posters of Sustainable development goals. We were walking along the streets and were sharing the posters and fliers of SDGs. After the process and having high-quality photos, we shared them through social media and had good achievements of awareness. But the day was not over, we had our meeting in UNFPA office and had a wonderful event about SDGs and about the priorities of Armenia. The next big achievement and the event was during the Ten days of activism and it was the first time that we had more than 100 young people participating in the event. We have focused on gender equality and women rights; we have made posters about the violation on girls to demonstrate the situation all around the world. We were really enthusiastic that our network made some positive changes in our society. Moreover, we had success on finding new ways to get financed for the upcoming activities and we are looking forward February to start the process. Also, we are going to launch new call for volunteers and we want to make sure that our network is getting stronger and stronger.

In the end , want to thank Y-PEER team for supporting us for paying attention to us and to our activities. We really appreciate it.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER AZERBAIJAN Good Governance and Transparency: Youth Participation in SDG’s Goal 16 | August , 2016 The project is developed by Y-PEER Azerbaijan in collaboration with Transparency Azerbaijan (TA) in response to goals and vision of TA under Azerbaijan Partnership for Transparency project, raising youth awareness sub-component. The project is also in line with the ongoing development agenda of United Nations, and particularly Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, that targets to reduce corruption and bribery, develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. During 5 days, 19 participants (9 female, 10 male) attended the National Theatre-based Training on Good Governance and Transparency.

“Less is More with Your Activism” ,Training of Trainers on SRHR and Gender equality

Find more about Y-PEER Azerbaijan on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypeer.azerbaijan/?fref=ts https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ypeerazerbaijan/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ou9wFua5OAVS_eUHgu_qQ

The project “Less is More with Your Activism” was organized with support of Y-PEER Azerbaijan and Caspian PlatForum Education Center. The project consisted of a 5-day training of trainers (ToT) course aiming to increase awareness on sexual, reproductive health and rights, and gender equality, as well as strengthen the capacity of young people in order to allow them to contribute to the civil society by implementing new projects, conducting trainings. Training took place at Caspian PlatForum, during 14-18 November, 2016 with participation of 17 young people.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER AZERBAIJAN Accessible Education – Accessible Future 2425 November, 29-30 November, 2-3 December, 9-10 December, 2017 The project “Accessible Education-Accessible Future” was organized with support of Azerbaijan Youth Foundation. The project consisted of 8-day- training, aiming to increase awareness about disability, to build the competence of young educators, school children, trainers and future teachers studying pedagogical science at the universities in Baku. The training course was divided in two modules. Module one with participation of 45 school children focused on learning ethical principles of approaching to people with disabilities (PWD) and module two with participation of 40 young people focused on learning ethical principles and right methodology while working with PWD.

“Learn and Teach” theatre based training on gender related issues, 13-17 December, 2016 “Learn and Teach” project aimed to develop qualified peer trainers sharing their knowledge on the sensitive issues among their peers at school. The first part of the project consisted of 5-day theatre based training (TBT) on gender related issues, SRHR, early marriage and violence at “Physics, Math and Informatics Lyceum”. Target group was 14 school children aged between 1215. The target group was reached though the school administration, who supported the project and assisted to select the schoolchildren who were interested to participate in the training course. As a final product of the training schoolchildren prepared their own theatre performances on indicated topics and demonstrate it in front of their school director, parents, teachers and peers. The second part of the project was 2-day training on gender related issues, early marriages, human rights and violence against vulnerable adolescents and youth. It was implemented at № 21 Kalbajar 1 state school located in Barda town of Azerbaijan, which is located in the conflict zone near Nagorno Karabakh.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER AZERBAIJAN Training on “Project Development and Management”, 30 January – 3 February, 2017 The project “Less is More with Your Activism” was organized by Y-PEER Azerbaijan Network with support of United Nation Association of Georgia and Caspian Platform. The project consisted of a 5 days of training course aiming to increase awareness about writing and developing a project, strengthen the capacity of young people in order to allow them tocontribute to the civil society by implementing new projects, conducting trainings. To build capacity of young people living in Baku, Azerbaijan on project implementation, and training designing in order to increase youth participation in civil society. The main impact of the project will be contribution to civil society in Azerbaijan. The 5 days of training course took place at Caspian Platform, 30 January – 3 February 2017 with participation of 18 young people interested in learning training designing. Overall, they wrote 4 projects, all of them were group projects. It is shown that 70% of participants feel more confident and skilled in developing their own projects. They are all waiting for the annoucement of local grants. All projects show that the participants also want to increase civic activism. Most of the projects were about removing discrimination, gender based violence and increasing awareness about children rights. As a main outcome of the training, participants increased their competence on project development and management skills. Participants of the training are willing to share the information and experience they have gained. The participant were also interested in raising awareness not only among they peers but also adults and children. Majority of the participants are feeling more confident in their ability to write a project and then apply for the local grants. All of the participants expressed their expectation to be fulfilled and enjoyed their time during the training.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER AZERBAIJAN Training on “Teach against Violence”, 21-27 January, 2017 7-day training which encompassed 21-27 January was held by Y-PEER Azerbaijan through organizational support of United Nation Association of Georgia and Caspian PlatForum. Three days of the training were in the half-day format (4 hours), the rest of the days were held in full day format (8 hours). As topics of the training were Advocacy for Non-Violence, Conflict Management and Prevention, 17 participants (9 Females, 8 Males) of the event who were recruited through online-application form acquired basic and essential knowledge, as well as, skills related to aforementioned fields. Initial 4 days of the program was allotted to Conflict Management and mix of formal and non-formal education methods was applied. Participants received the knowledge on theories and models of Conflict Management and Resolution through formal education methodology, while they acquired the chance of experiential learning through the non-formal education. Besides the advocacy for non-violence, part was absolutely implemented through non-formal education, and human rights concept was brought up as a resilient ground for non-violent change and transformation. Participants, on their own, collected the needed applicable data, processed it, and wrote the proposal for Ministry of Education in order to advocate for inclusion of teaching non-violence into state educational programme. They also received the skills for organizing and holding press-conferences, finding appropriate stakeholders.

Movie days Since the beginning of this year, we managed to conduct movie days for raising awareness on gender, SRHR topics with technical support of Caspian Platform office. One of the films we have watched so far is the “Billy Elliot”, which reflects gender roles in the community. The other is the “Human” film, which is the most beautiful film ever made on humanity, showing all the humility and difficulties of all human beings.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER BHUTAN 6 th National Training of Trainers (NToT) The 6th National Training of Trainers (NToT) commenced from 3rd July to 7th July, 2016.Â The training was organized by Y-PEER Bhutan with support from Department of Youth and Sports, MoE. The training was funded by UNFPA Bhutan. There were 27 participants in total (14 female and 13 male participants) from different colleges and institutes. In this NToT, two Youth Center Managers were also involved. There were 5 facilitators who conducted the 6th NToT. The training covered the main objective of Y-PEER &quot;Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)&quot; and the significance of peer-to- peer approach, Peer Education in disseminating right information to the young people. The training was fun filled with important sessions and many energizers were used during the training.

7th National Training of Trainers (NToT)

Find more about Y-PEER Bhutan on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/ypeer.bhutan/

The 7 th Y-PEER National Training of Trainers (NToT) started on 26 th to 30 th October, 2016 at College of Natural Resource, Lobesa under Punakha Dzongkhag which went on for five days until 30 th October, 2016. This NToT like all the previous national trainings concentrated on the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Peer Education (PE). There were 23 participants from three different institutes such as Technical Training Institute of Khuruthang (TTIK), Bajothang Youth Center (BYC) and College of Natural Resource (CNR). This was thethird time that an NToT has happened outside Thimphu which is a pronounced sign to promote Y-PEER out of the Capital. There were 4 facilitators to conduct the training. The training was supported by UNFPA Bhutan.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER BHUTAN Sensitization Program on ASRHR for young people Y-PEER Bhutan conducted several sensitization programs with financial support from Robert Carr Fund and Y-PEER Asia-Pacific Center, Bangkok. 2.1 On 6th July, Y-PEER organized a sensitization program for 160 young girls who were athletesfrom 113 schools around the country at Luntenzampa Middle Secondary School, Thimphu; Bhutan. The sensitization program was on various ASRHR (Adolescent Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights) related issues which lasted for more than 2 hours. 2.2 On 8 th July, Y-PEER organized a sensitization program for 142 young male athletes from 113 schools at Babesa Middle Secondary School, Thimphu; Bhutan. Much the same to young female atHletes from 113 schools at Babesa Middle Secondary School, Thimphu; Bhutan. Much the same to young female athletes&#39; advocacy program the 6 th July, the sensitization program for young male athletes was on various ASRHR (Adolescent Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights) related issues which lasted for 2 hours. 2.3 On 15 th July, National Y-PEER network had a short consultation program with 40 Harmony Youth Volunteers for the time period of about 1 and 1/2 hour with regard to Adolescents Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (ASRHR) related matters and issues. The Harmony Youth Volunteers are volunteers under Department of Youth and Sports (DYS) under Ministry of Education in Bhutan and they are high school students from classes 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12 and a couple of hem have attended some kind of SRHR activities. Although the given time was brief, the discussion was very real and honest. This program was a dialogue to bridge the gap between the young people and the main stakeholders who are able to lobby the addressed concerns and challenges faced by young people in respect of ASRHR at a greater level, also to the policy makers. 2.4 On 10 th September, 2016 Y-PEER Bhutan held a three hour advocacy program for all the female students of ELC (Educating for Lifelong Citizenship) situated in Thimphu; Bhutan. ELC School is established this year to enhance systematic education which stresses in academic performance as well as the core values which every individual need in this modern era to be a competent person. There were 58 students out of which 13 are female. Madam Principal along with the thirteen young girls and four enthusiastic teachers attended the program. The program was very interactive and informative even though the participants were less in number. The sensitization program was on various ASRHR (Adolescent Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights).

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER BHUTAN National Workshop on SRHR and SDGs

In order to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences among the existing Y-Peer Networks in Bhutan, the first ever National workshop on SRHR and SDGs was organized at Bajothang Higher Secondary School in Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag from 27 th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 th December 2016. The main objective of organizing the workshop was to build the capacity of Y-Peer Members to deliver quality advocacy programs on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) as well as to provide them with the platform to share their experiences and concerns. About 80 members from eight Y-Peer networks were invited to take part in the workshop. The networks in attendance were from Paro College of Education, College of Science and Technology, College of Natural Resources, Gedu College of Business Studies, Sherubtse College, Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, College of Language and Cultural Studies, Bajothang Youth Center and TrashiYangtse Zorig Chusum Institute. The overall program was very interactive and educative for the participants. We hope that the Y-Peer members could go back with many new ideas and knowledge from this Meet. In addition to presentations on various issues of importance by professionals, the participants also got opportunities to actively participate in discussions and contribute to the sessions. The workshop was funded by Youth Lead, Robert Carr and Y-Peer Asia-Pacific Center in Bangkok, Thailand and was coordinated by the Youth Center Division, Department of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education and Y-Peer Bhutan.

8 th National Training of Trainers

The 8th Y-PEER National Training of Trainers (NToT) for 5 day commenced from 17 th to 21 st April, 2017 at Harmony Youth Center, Thimphu. The NToT concentrates on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Peer Education (PE). There were 27 participants including all the YC Managers, students from Technical Training Institute, Chumey, Jigme Wangchuck Power Training Institute, Gelephu, Khesar Gyelpo University of Medical Sciences, Thimphu, Choki Traditional Arts School based in Kabisa, Thimphu. The program was facilitated by 2 Youth Center Managers and other Y-PEER members who attended the earlier NToTs. The training was supported by UNFPA Bhutan.Y-PEER out of the Capital. There were 4 facilitators to conduct the training. The training was supported by UNFPA Bhutan.

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Y-PEER BULGARIA The Bulgarian national network is going strong, with the support of the NGOs and experts, that have been valued partners of the young motivated Y-PEER members since the time it was supported by the National Program for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS (funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria). Some of the highlights of the network include: - AntiAIDS Love Party in Blagoevgrad, part of the activities of the RAINBOW Club. The amazing Y-PEER members from the city have also taken part in a press-conference on December 1 st , a „We support HIV Prevention” procession that culminated in the lowering of the Red Ribbon from the roof of the American University in Bulgaria. During the whole year, within the Municipal HIV/AIDS, STIs and Tuberculosis Program, 80 new peer educators have been trained, and the now traditional St. Valentine’s and Candlelight Memorial Day campaigns were carried out. - The VOV-Club in Pleven continued their focus on vulnerable populations (dysfunctional families, young delinquents and young girls, housed in boarding schools) with interactive one-day trainings for 70 young people, parent support sessions and the distribution of 300 informational materials. As the members believe that the national, regional and municipal programs do not address adequately the vulnerable populations, the club will continue to build their capacity to work with those, left behind by other initiatives.  Y-PEER members from the municipal club “J.J. Cool A” in Burgas organized an evening for love poetry with the support of the “Bulgarian Writer” Association as part of their St. Valentine’s campaign. For the Candlelight Memorial Day, the young people lighted their traditional Red Ribbon of Fire in front of the Seamen’s Memorial. As always, the volunteers came together for the July Morning concert, the end of the Summer AntiAIDS campaign and the World AIDS Day and distributed informational materials, encouraged the use of protection and invited people to the mobile, free and anonymous HIV testing cabinets.

Find more about Y-PEER Bulgaria on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/ypeerbg/

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Y-PEER BULGARIA

-The “P.U.M.A.S.” youth club in Pernik joined the “It’s too early” National Campaign for the prevention of early marriages, school drop-out, gender-based violence and the inclusion of comprehensive sexuality education in schools. The volunteers organized discussions and peer education sessions, supported by an awareness-raising campaign and a promotional video. Another standout initiative of the club was their participation in the Vitosha mountain AfterFest, where amongst the relax areas and the pine forest, they presented their activities and informed the visitors about the risks of unprotected sexual contacts. As always, the motivated young people organized the St. Valentine’s Day, World Youth Day, Halloween and World AIDS Day campaigns with multiple activities in the city of Pernik. - The young people from Dinamika Centre Association (Club Domino) ditributed 1500 condoms and 1000 informational materials in 2016, while mainly focusing on their work with the young Roma community – one of the most vulnerable in Bulgaria. - “Zaraza” Club in Stara Zagora organized 3 AntiAIDS campaigns in 2016 in partnership with different organizations in the city. Each one presented its unique challenge to the public and engaged them in the club’s activities and dialogue. On World AIDS Day, part of the activities included a traditional Bulgarian dance (horo) in the shape of the Red Ribbon, while for Candlelight Memorial Day, the members planted flowers in the garden of the Medical University as a symbol of remembrance and commitment to the response towards HIV/AIDS. - The “S.U.P.E.R.” club in Sofia reignited the tradition of HIV/AIDS sessions in schools and trained new peer educators with the support of PETRI - Sofia. The motivated Y-PEER members also took place in the national World Youth Day, where they were invited by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to engage visitors with games and informational materials. The young people also organized their traditional World AIDS Day campaign in one of the capita’s shopping malls and took part in TV and online interviews on the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of youth in Bulgaria. Throughout the year, hundreds of volunteers and peer educators have additionally carried out peer education sessions and outreach work – a stable grassroots movement that the Bulgarian Y-PEER network is looking forward to keep and expand in 2017.

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Y-PEER CHINA July 18 th - 22 nd , 4 active volunteers atten-

ded the 21 st World AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa and brought the progress they had made in China. Through the filmscreening and a NGO booth, they displayed AIDS prevalence status in universities, effective intervention, and a huge national network based on projects, and received many positive feedbacks. August 9 th – 10 th , He Shanshan joined the Y-PEER regional meeting in Bangkok with a lot excellent FPCs and Youth Lead members. Many experiences were shared and solutions were made through discussions, and it is of great help in developing regional cooperation and collaboration, also with other organizations like Youth Lead. September 9 th – 11 th , Y-PEER China organized the 5 th National Summer Camp, the theme of which was “SRH and Rights &amp; Youth Leadership”. Altogether 69 volunteers were selected among 211 universities and finally participated in this summer camp and worked together to get the latest information and skills to build their leadership and manage the projects. September 26 th , the campaign on World Contraceptive Day aimed to raise the awareness of condom use and to make informed and responsible decisions. Volunteers from Y-PEER China advocated in this campaign and was interviewed by national television, making it a hit in public. October 18 th , Y-PEER China was invited by UNFPA CO to have a talk with Ms. Natalia Kanem, Assistant Secretary General of UN. In this dialogue, Y-PEER China introduced what they have done and the project outcome in universities, and advocated more support to youth as well. October 24 th , Y-PEER China was invited to the launch ceremony of UN China “Imagine 2030” campaign for youth in China, aiming to bring to attention and stimulate action among Chinese youth on implementing the 2030 Agenda with SDGs. November 21 st – 24 th , one volunteer from Y-PEER China was invited to the 9 th Global Conference on Health Promotion, bringing youth sexual and reproductive health into the attention of public.

Find more about Y-PEER China on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iLQ9ZvYAPo

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Y-PEER CHINA December 1 st â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10 th , Y-PEER China ini-

tiated the 10DoA campaign in China. More than 70 universities joined this campaign and fight against discrimination and stigma towards HIV-positive. Brochures and condoms were spread on campus; lots of activities like peer education, debate, and speech contest were organized. December 14 th , 5 volunteers, elected as the council member of China Family Planning Association in May, were invited to the second council meeting. They presented the working achievements and giving suggestions based on their first-hand experience. In March 2017, the principle of CFPA International department Xiao Liang, core member of Y-PEER China Qingfang Zhang, and responsible of peer education &amp; training division Chenyan Dong went to Hangzhou and Guangzhou to check work with the local youth networks and prepare for the following peer education training camp. In March 2017, Y-PEER China held the 2017 Youth Health University management project along with the peer education training project in Nanjing and Suzhou. There were two classes covering 200 people in each spot. This time, different from the camps before, the preparation team consisted of the members from the China Youth Network and Local Youth Network. The practice proved to be successful which promoted cooperation within the Y-PEER China. In March 2017, our Propaganda Group had finished the interviews with two professional teachers of SRHR, Lei Yu and Jie Li. Through the interview, we got to know about the current teaching situation and the experience of two teachers which enabled us to improve the future work.

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Y-PEER CHINA In May 2017, Y-PEER China held the third

Youth Health Campus Culture Festival successfully, over 200 universities among the China attended. The Youth Health Campus Culture Festival was a large-scale activity which involved so many ordinary Chinese university students, and we did it to spread SRHR ideas to more youth.

In May 2017, some members went to 5 universities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province to do the supervisor for the fifth Youth Health University Project. In May 2017, Local Youth Networks in

Wenzhou and Huzhou established, we Y-PEER China is still expanding to cover more teenagers in China for the SRHR issues. We expect to ignite more power of the Chinese youth.

In June 2017, through a one-month preparation, we finished our latest recruiting, at the meantime we announced the personnel adjustment.

In Jun 2017, our member Shanshan He, spo-

ke on adolescent health and development forum of UNICEF as the representative of Y-PEER China which was a big step to enable the world to hear more from China, especially the voice of Chinese youth.

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Y-PEER DJIBOUTI Celebration of the International Day of Youth based on the empowerment of young girls of Djibouti : The International Day of Youth was celebrated in Djibouti in collaboration with the State Secretariat for Youth and the Ministry of Women to promote the rights of girls. The aim of this action was to encourage girls to participate in all types of activities and create a recreational environment for them.

Opening of the match between two women’s teams by officials. To empower girls by providing them with an appropriate leisure environment and to have information and training on reproductive rights. The girls participated in sports competitions and received sports kits. It is also a means of encouraging the attendance of young girls from the community development centers for young people, which are more often attended by boys.

Information and training sessions on the reproductive rights of young people in neighborhoods :

Find more about Y-PEER Djibouti on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/Y-Peer-Djibouti-389053221175294/?fref=nf https://twitter.com/djib_peer

In order to reach a wider audience and to raise awareness among more young people, information sessions and training sessions on reproductive rights have been organized within the community development centers.

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Y-PEER DJIBOUTI Education Session on Access to Youth Contraception and Human Rights This action aims to ensure close proximity to quality services in favor of young people, and promote friendly centers of little known of the population. Many young people and people of all ages took part in these sessions.

Involvement of young Djiboutians in the implementation of the law on family planningÂ : The implementation of this policy on family planning is transversal and it is a first in Djibouti. It involves young people and guarantees them access to quality services, flexibility, specific training for young people, respect for neutrality and confidentiality, communication skills on SRH.

Interaction with young future doctors on the sexual and reproductive rights of young people We had several discussions with young medical students who asked us a lot of questions about reproductive rights for young people, human rights, maternal health, gender and gender- based violence. And promote the SHR and bring about change in morals and behavior. It was also an opportunity for these new members to take ownership of these issues and to become aware of the risks associated with their behavior

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Y-PEER GEORGIA 12 th of August, International Youth Day On 12 of August events regarding celebrating International Youth Day 2016 took place all over the world. The youth event “Georgia is celebrating International Youth Day” was held in Telavi organized by Georgian Youth Development and Education Association (GYDEA) in cooperation with public union “Bemoni”. Taking into consideration the ideas and interests of young people from Telavi youth working group has developed action plan. Working group includes the members of “Telavi Youth Club”. The concept of “Telavi Youth Club” is to provide young people with safe and supportive space where youngsters are able to learn about healthy lifestyle issues. The young volunteers of the youth club are supposed to share information with their peers on healthy lifestyle issues. On the International Youth Day the winners of competitions were awarded. The culmination of the event was “Water Balloon Battle” for healthy lifestyle promotion. Local young people and invited guests took participation in the event. 200 youngsters from Telavi were involved in the activities in total. According to their feedback events were interesting, creative, and joyful. Their engagement and activism is really appreciable. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxcqfeclvnQ)

Peer Education Training series in Telavi

On 12-14 of August 2016 Trainers of Georgian Youth Development and Education association (GYDEA) in cooperation with public union “Bemoni”, conducted Training of the trainers (TOT) within the framework of healthy living topics, including: • Healthy Lifestyle • Drug addiction • Reproductive Health and Rights During the training 16 peer-educators received information on issues such as: • What is the health; unsafe actions for health; health protection; Healthy food superiority and etc. • Consumption of psychoactive substances and their results; Abuse liability; Drug dependence, Psychotropic and new psychoactive substances; Alcoholism; Marijuana; prevention of substance abuse • Reproductive health and rights; Early marriage; Sexually transmitted infections; HIV/ AIDS; Stigma and discrimination; Theoretical and practical exercises were used, including outdoor activities in which participants were equally involved.

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Y-PEER GEORGIA Peer Education Program Georgian Youth Development and Education Association (GYDEA) launches the Peer Education Program in Georgia. Peer Educators of GYDEA organize informational sessions of the year at Youth Summer Camps in Anaklia and Manavi. The program aims to inform young people of the importance and urgent issues such as HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health and Rights and Gender issues. The program is supported by the United Nations Population Fund in Georgia and Association â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tanadgomaâ&#x20AC;?.

Workshop in Telavi, Kakheti GYDEA launched 3-days TOT Training of peer education in Telavi on July 10-12. As the initiator of the peer education network in Georgia, GYDEA strives for raising awareness of the young generation on sensitive social topics, such as, gender equality, gender based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV/ AIDS, etc. Students got relevant knowledge and skills to become the future trainers and educate their peers on the above mentioned issues.

Peer Education Training in Gurjaani, Kakheti GYDEA conducted 3-days TOT in Gurjaani on August 2-4 for local young people from the age group of 16-30. During training gender issues - difference between sex and gender, gender equality, gender roles and gender stereotypes discussed by the participants of the training, second day was dedicated to raise awareness about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, including Sexually Transmitted Infections, Family planning issues, contraceptives, on the third day participants gain information about HIV/AIDS. Trained peer educators are going to organize informational sessions for local young people. GYDEA is actively involved in international campaigns, GYDEA has contributed for #MyChoice campaign.

Find more about Y-PEER Georgia on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/GYDEA/?fref=ts

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Y-PEER JORDAN On 15th of July for the Fourth year con-

secutively, the biggest freezemob show in Jordan has been held for addressing the voluntary work and youth development in Jordan .

On 12th of June Y-PEER Jordan invited

all the network members to a Ramadan Iftar event where the the work plan was discussed and the new partnerships were presented as well .

On 10th of June all network members in

Zaatari Camp were invited for Ramadan Iftar event and before Iftar we distributed water and dates to many people inside the camp .

On 22nd of May Y-PEER held 2 basic trainings for new people who wants to become Y-PEER members In Zaatari camp and Amman .

In 25th of April Y-PEER Girls in Zaatari Camp launched an initiative under the name of (40*40) for women above 40 years old to introduce the Y-PEER network to them and spread awareness about the age of women after 40 .

The initiative took place in youth Center of our partner â&#x20AC;&#x153;Quest scope Organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. From 14- 16 April the annual meeting of Zaatari Ypeer members and the yearly work plan has been set.

Find more about Y-PEER Jordan on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypjordan/ https://www.instagram.com/ypeerjordan/ http://www.ypeer-jordan.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage &Itemid=1&lang=ar https://twitter.com/ypeerjordan

Saleh Hammad FOCAL POINT IN-CHARGE

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Y-PEER KAZAKHSTAN The First Youth Forum on Sustainable Development “Path to 2030: Reaching the responsible production and consumption” took place on August 26, 2016 in Almaty on International Youth Day. The initiator of the Forum was the UNESCO Office in Almaty, with the support of the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan, UNDP and the UN Information Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Among the partners were the International Fund “Global Success of People” and “Healthy Asia”. The main purpose of the forum was to give young people a platform for dialogue on global issues and to contribute to the decision-making process. In total 25 people aged between 15 and 29 years participated in the forum and presented projects based on their ideas. The forum was also attended by experts from international organizations, national companies, public authorities, who shared experiences with the participants to find solutions for the achievement of sustainable development goals.

A training of trainers for Y-PEER volunteers was organized on 20 - 22 September 2016 in Aktau city.13 participants from different colleges attended the training. The trainers came from Kyzylorda and Astana cities.

The official opening of Y-PEER centers in Ak-

tau and Zhanaozen took place on September 26 with the participation of the Director of UNFPA Kazakhstan.

Find more about Y-PEER Kazakhstan on the following link: https://www.facebook.com/ypeer2015?fref=t s https://www.instagram.com/ypeer_kazakhstan/ http://www.y-peer.kz/ru/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLn9iA8aECGTjpycdpPikWw

A training for Y-PEER volunteers was orga-

nized on 23 - 25 September in Zhanaozen city. 19 participants from different colleges attended the training. The trainers came from the cities of Kyzylorda and Almaty. According to the results of the pre- and post-tests, the participants’ knowledge and ability to conduct training had improved from 70% to 90%.

https://vk.com/y_peer_kz https://twitter.com/YPEERKazakhsta n

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Y-PEER KAZAKHSTAN The official opening of Y-PEER centers in Aktau and Zhanaozen took place on September 26 with the participation of the Director of UNFPA Kazakhstan.

A training for Y-PEER volunteers was organized on

23 - 25 September in Zhanaozen city. 19 participants from different colleges attended the training. The trainers came from the cities of Kyzylorda and Almaty. According to the results of the pre- and post-tests, the participants’ knowledge and ability to conduct training had improved from 70% to 90%.

Youth Leadership Workshop was held

in Almaty. On the 30th of November the UNESCO Office in Almaty and the Almaty College of Management and International Tourism (CMIT), with the support of the UN Information Office in Kazakhstan, held a seminar on the development of leadership skills among young people. The aim of the seminar, which was attended by over 60 students from CMIT, was to build the capacity of young people in the field of social inclusion, personal motivation, emotional intelligence, artistic interpretation and presentation, as well as creating their own business plans. The Y-PEER Network in Kazakhstan was presented at this event. The participants of the one-day workshop had the opportunity to get acquainted with modern concepts, techniques and research results from the country’s leading experts. This event can be considered as a platform for dialogue and exchange of experience between the corporate sector and ambitious young people.

16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence

activities were seminars for high school students of 10 schools in Almaty on the topic of prevention gender-based violence were conducted with the support of the Commission on Women’s Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the Akim of Almaty, together with the Akimat of Almaty district and Y-PEER Kazakhstan.

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Y-PEER KAZAKHSTAN On the 14th of December 2016 a Christmas Charity Fair was organized by Y-PEER Kazakhstan. It

took place at the United Nations Department of Public Information in Almaty. Volunteers cooked home-made food, in order to collect funds for an orphanage. This event has been organized for 3 years in a row.

The long-awaited Summer School of Leadership (SSL) 2017 in Aktau took

place, where 21 people from all corners of our country took part: Almaty, Semey, Ridder, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kyzylorda, Shymkent, Mangystau region. We were able to learn the spirit of teamwork, solving various tasks given to us by the organizers.

On 26 May 2017, in Ust-Kamenagorsk, Y-PEER volunteers Demina Anastasia and Aklasov

Chingiz with the help of the trainer Venera Zhaksilikova conducted a training meeting “Love or being in love” on the base of the college named after Kumash Nurgaliev. There was represented Y-PEER KZ, and volunteers told about the useful side of the work in youth leadership movement, talked about the meaning and relevance of such meetings on the topic of the security of the youth’s reproductive health in Kazakhstan. Participants got interested in the work of volunteers and expressed hope to meet with them again.

On 20th of May in 2017 Ganikizi Gaziza, the student of the 10th grade of the

Gymnazium No 1 named after A.S.Pushkin, performed at the conference in the format of TEDx for the students of town schools with the theme “Is it easy to be young?” This was the 4th performance at the city level, that is held in “Youth Recourse Center” and supported by Akimat of Shymkent and city Department of education. Participants of such TEDx conferences share their experience and ideas, which are worth sharing. Around 500 pupils of comprehensive schools of Shymkent attended to listen to the speeches of 3 speakers and Gaziza, who told about the importance of the volunteer activity of Y-PEER!

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Y-PEER KAZAKHSTAN On March 10, 2017 on the basis of the youth resource center

in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a training was held dedicated to leadership and motivation. The goal of the meeting of volunteers is “Work on mistakes” based on the results of conducted trainings and to formation of volunteer`s knowledge about verbal and non-verbal kinds of communication, and the importance of non-verbal behavior in the work of the volunteer. The trainers received an excellent charge for meetings with the youth of the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk!

February 24, 2017 on the basis of the Resource Center for Repro-

ductive Health of Youth in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a meeting of students of the Ust-Kamenogorsk College of Service -Y-PEER volunteers and children from the Children`s Village facility was held. 10 senior students, attended this event. They received information about international movement Y-PEER Kazakhstan, volunteer work, refreshed knowledge in the subject of love and responsible relationships of young people, and they got opportunity to be speakers in the debate on this topic. The lesson was interesting and active, the participants experienced a range of emotions: from embarrassment to ecstasy!

13 February, 2017, volunteers of Y-PEER con-

ducted a training, dedicated to the theme of Leadership, for the students of KIMEP University in Almaty. 20 students from different courses attended the meeting. They discussed leadership and motivation, Y-PEER and its importance nowadays. Students expressed the hope to cooperate and to join Y-PEER organization.

21/01/2017 in Pushkin Humanitarian & Eco-

logical gymnasium #1, Shymkent was conducted the training on the subject “Prevention of STD and Reproductive Rights” for our Peers. By means of slides and exercises, we have sorted categories of STD, their symptoms, ways of transfer and consequences. We placed special emphasis on “the Rule of 4 (Abstention, Fidelity, Always CONDOM, Venereologist)” and on points of which it is necessary to think before entering the sexual relations. All together, we defined why sexual education is important.

January 06, 2017 – Y-PEER held a training for Afghan students at

KIMEP University dedicated to sexual reproductive health, volunteering and leadership. The event participated around 20 people from Afghanistan who are studying in different universities of Kazakhstan in Almaty. Participants got acquainted with the Y-PEER Kazakhstan, history, goals and projects.

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Y-PEER MACEDONIA Workshops on protection and prevention of HIV/AIDS Three workshops about protection and prevention of HIV/AIDS were organized and held in three different cities in Macedonia: Skopje, Veles and Prilep. The main goal of the workshops was to inform young people about prevention of HIV and the importance of making informed decisions for their sexual and reproductive health. The workshops were implemented by the Y-PEER educators Sofija Stojanovska, Daniel Shikoski, Dalibor Dimoski and Penco Andreev and attended by 40 young people. In Prilep and Veles the workshops were held in collaboration with the local branches of Red Cross, as a member organization of the Y-PEER Macedonia National Network. The workshop in Skopje was adapted and specified to accomplish the needs of 15 young people with hearing and speech impairments in the Special school for rehabilitation of children and youngsters with hearing and speech impairments „Partenije Zografski“ in collaboration with the member organization Krik.

10 Days of Activism The SDG’s workshops

In framework of the 10 Days of Activism campaign, Y-PEER Macedonia was also focused to ensure promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals. The main objective of the workshops was to familiarize Y-PEER member organizations with the SDG processes on national and international level and to receive an up-to-date feedback about the ongoing consultative meetings of adapting SDGs in the Macedonian context. The workshop in Skopje was held in the UNFPA conference room facilitated by Vjosa Ismaili and Kristijan Miloshevikj and was followed by 10 representatives of Y-PEER member organizations, who had the opportunity to get familiar with the possibilities to be involved in the process of implementation of SDGs. In Veles, the SDGs workshop was held in the primary school Jovce Teslickov and in it participated 15 youngsters from Veles, while in Kratovo the workshop was held at the Center For Regional Development and in it participated 14 youngsters from Kratovo.

Find more about Y-PEER Macedonia on the following links : https://www.facebook.com/youthpeer.org.mk / https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ypeermacedonia/ http://youthpeer.org.mk/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSGMdCNi9DlXNE0WBfmF5q w https://twitter.com/ypeer_macedoni a

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Y-PEER MACEDONIA Social Media Campaign 10 Days of Activism social media campaign aimed at empowering young people to speak up about youth needs when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health and rights and promote the importance of participation in achievement of post 2015. 10 DoA social media campaign reached approximately 15,000 reaches. The used hashtags were: #ијасимамцел, #10денаактивизам, #adolescentgirls4future, #10DoA, #YPEER, #ијасимамцел and new #10денаактивизам.

Informative booth In the student dormitory Kuzman Josifovski Pitu in Skopje, an informative booth was set aiming to promote Y-PEER Macedonia. Approximately 200 students have frequented the Y-PEER booth on daily basis and were motivated to follow network’s activities. Distributed materials: Y-PEER one pagers, flayers, and cups, t-shirts for the people that took photo with one from the

SDGs. Y-PEER Macedonia took part in the CSO’s Fair for Volunteers “Through Volunteerism to active Citizenship” Y-PEER National Network together with its member organization and partner, the Organization for Social Innovation “ARNO” participated in the fair for volunteers and NGOs titled “Through Volunteerism to active Citizenship”. The fair was held at the Youth Cultural Center in Skopje and its objective was to observe 5th December the International Volunteer Day. This initiative had more than 60 non-governmental organizations and more than 400 visitors. Young people had chance to talk to Y-PEER FP (Stefani) and take photo with one of the SDGs in order to participate in the social media T-Shirt Contest.

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Y-PEER MACEDONIA Youth participation in National Strategies for Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV

In the period between January â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 2017, invited by Ministry of Health and UNFPA CO Skopje, Y-PEER Macedonia participated in series of workshops for assessment, revision and design of action plans for the National Strategy for Sexual and Reproductive Health 2010-2020. The process aimed to align the National Strategy with regional and global initiatives in the area including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During the first phase in 2016, an assessment of the strategy was provided including recommendations how to improve the SRH in Macedonia till 2020. The second phase started with establishing a Group of experts that were assigned to work together and create action plan how to deliver the strategy till 2020. The members of this group were with different backgrounds, expertise and knowledge including decision makers, representatives from relevant institutions, doctors and CSO representatives. The recommendations provided in the assessment were base in the process of creating the action plan How to implement the strategy. In the period between 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2017, invited by Ministry of Health, UNFPA CO Skopje and WHO CO Skopje, Y-PEER Macedonia participated in the process of designing and creating National Strategy for HIV 2017 - 2021. The FPC from Macedonia, Kristijan Angeleski was representing the network in the whole process and participated in the working groups as youth representative. He was delivering the youth voice and perspective in different strategic areas reflecting on goals and activities covering youth as target group. Y-PEER Macedonia is advocating for youth participation in the decision-making processes on all levels within national strategies and politics, focusing on youth.

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Y-PEER MACEDONIA Capacity building of the member organizations In June 2017, Y-PEER Macedonia together with Organization for Social Innovation ARNO Macedonia, supported by UNFPA CO Skopje organized and hosted Advocacy workshop to ensure better platforms/mechanisms within ministries and state institution for collaboration with youth NGOs. The workshop was attended by 10 representatives from different regions of the country and from various youth organizations. The workshop was aimed at expanding and strengthening the knowledge and skills for advocacy in different national processes focusing on youth. The participants discussed their participation in different national processes and future youth participation regarding SDGs reflecting on national indicators that are important for youth. Regarding future advocacy thru youth participation, the participants highlighted that there is need to speak up about youth SRHR, including How to advocate for Comprehensive Sexuality Education to be included in the regular school curriculum.

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Y-PEER MOLDOVA Sexual Education course In 2016, Y-PEER Moldova piloted the Sexual Education course in two schools. The idea appeared when 1100 young people participated in an online campaign “I need sexual and reproductive education in school because ...” and 1011 said that they do need sex education in school. The course was piloted by Y-PEER Moldova’s trainers and it was conducted for 4 months (from September to December 2016) in the 8th and 9th grade in 2 schools from urban and rural surroundings. This initiative aimed to ensure systematic and structured access to reliable information and adapted to the age and needs of youth. As a result of this course, 64 young people improved their knowledge regarding their sexual and reproductive health and they know the main methods of contraception, pregnancy signs, how to protect from STIs and to whom to address if they have questions on sexual and reproductive health. The results of the pilot course were presented during a public discussion “Sexual Education- nothing special”

Campaigns For Y-PEERians, every campaign means dedications and hard work. Within the campaigns that took from July to December, more than 10 000 young people were informed about SRHR though informative sessions during the Informative Campaigns including: Informed and Protected Campaign in summer camps, Pro Health Campaign –Autumn edition and 10 Days of Activism.

Find more about Y-PEER Moldova on the following links : https://www.facebook.com/Y-PEER-Moldova-175140282540382 / http://ypeer.md/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHIiILZ5KnG02Sei1q6Jlg A https://twitter.com/YPeerMoldova

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Y-PEER MOLDOVA School of Trainers Autumn in Y-PEER Moldova started with the second edition of the project “School Of Trainers”. Around 30 young people participated in an intensive session regarding SRH during the first two trainings. At the last training that took place in September, 19 young people graduated the school and became national trainers of Y-PEER Moldova. Within the modules of the school the participants developed skills for facilitation and organization of activities for young people, especially informative sessions about sexual and reproductive health and rights, and social theatre techniques.

National Festival of Social Theatre For Y-PEER Moldova, November is the month of social theatre. That is why the tradition continues with the National Festival of Social Theatre project which in 2016 was held in the 7th edition. This year the scenes address three topics: Sexual and Reproductive Health, Violation of Sexual and Reproductive Rights, prevention of risky behavior among young people. During the preparation period, applicant teams benefited from training SRHR and in the techniques of social theater, organized by Y-PEER’s trainers. At the final performance within the Festival, 14 teams presented 14 social plays on different youth problems. As a result of the project, nearly 5000 young people are informed on sexual reproductive health, HIV prevention, and healthy lifestyle through social theater.

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Y-PEER MOROCCO In the month of December 2016, YPEER Mo-

rocco organized a National General Assembly in collaboration with the UNFPA. During this meeting, spokespeople from the ministry of health were invited to speak about various subjects, but more specifically: ‘Heath and Teenagers’. This initiative has given the YPEER members an opportunity to learn about new ways of understanding this topic, and to have direct answers about any question they might have on the issue. This gathering was also a chance to bring together old and new members of the networks as well as to elect YPEER Morocco’s new FPC and national team of 2017-2018. Who was voted as such : Core Team Y-PEER Morocco 2017 (Zouhir ADAOUI Focal Point in Charge, Soumia AOUAM Data Base, Communication and Media Officer, Abdessadek LAHSSINI Reporting and Training Programs Officer, Oumaima BOUKBAL Capacity Building and Fundraising Officer).

During the same month our networks participated in the International Day of Volunteers that

took place in Rabat on Friday, December 09, 2016 at Mohammed University 05. The first days of the New Year 2017 witnessed YPEER Morocco’s participation at the participated in the national meeting at the youth health center, where our focal points spoke about our network and contributed in the improvement of these centers. The session’s subject was ‘’ Sexual and Reproductive Health, STDs and more specifically the HIV virus”. Where we shared with them various information related to SRH and how they could, as peer educators, spread awareness among their peers as well as contributing in the 10 days of activism.

Find more about Y-PEER Morocco on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypeermaroc/ https://twitter.com/YPEERMorocco https://www.instagram.com/ypeermorocco /

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Y-PEER MOROCCO With our constant search of new partners and opportunities, YPEER Morocco arranged a meeting of collaboration with IFMSA on the month of March 2017 The Moroccan Y-PEER network has signed a memorandum with the IFMSA (International Federation of Medical Students), in Rabat. This Memo is an opportunity of an annual action plan to be worked on in collaboration with the IFMSA, particularly in the section of sexual and reproductive health. In which both parties can learn from one another and help achieve greater goals and reach more people, both spreading awareness and coaching new trainers. This month was also marked by the participation of Y-PEER Morocco at the National Forum about Youth Facing violence and Extremism for the Enhancement of Peace and Security. This Forum was organized by the Ministry of youth and sports in collaboration with the UNFPA and other different corps. The members of Y-PEER contributed effectively in the forum through giving instructions for the promotion of peace and security among youth. Thanks to their leadership skills, members of Y-PEER presented various presentations on social and familial issues leading youth to extremism such as unemployment, marginalization, and dropping out of school.

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Y-PEER MOROCCO Y-PEER Morocco has organized a training of two days in collaboration with the faculty of Sciences of Education for the benefit of students’ master of ‘’ the insertion of youth in difficulty’’. The main objective of this training was to equip master students with tools and approaches for dealing with youth through Peer Education methodology. It was also our aim to have such youth specialized in working with youth in difficulty to be part of Y-PEER. During the months of April to July, YPEER organized sessions of SRH for girls in rural areas in EL Kebab, Morocco about Sexual and Reproductive health, as well a Training of Trainers about the Peer Education Approach and The participation of Y-PEER in a TOT of Peer Education and life skills. Given the fact that the training was on peer education and life skills, Y-PEER Morocco was invited to share its ways of working by this approach of Peer Education in two regional trainings (Marrakesh and Tangier). The members as always participated effectively among other teachers involved as they enriched the discussions. Moreover, the representatives of Y-PEER were given the chance to deliver presentations on life skills as well as introducing a presentation about Y-PEER and its interventions to changing the social unhealthy behavior. For the challenges Y-PEER Morocco had during the period we were required to promote for peace and security taking into account that exams around Morocco were taking place. Thus, Y-PEER Morocco could not think on anything else more than promoting for Peace and Security online through Facebook and Instagram….etc. For this reasons, Y-PEER Morocco recommends that the seasonal calendar of each country should be taken into account instead of ‘’parachuting’’ action plans given the fact that this mobilization could be done in different setting in when/where Y-PEER is available to take actions.

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Y-PEER NEPAL Training of Trainers by Y-PEER Nepal: a) Y-PEER Training of Trainers for Social Mobilizers and Field Officers

Y-PEER Nepal provided Training of Trainers (TOT) of Y-PEER Manual for 20 social mobilizers and 4 field officers of Gorkha Districts from 1st-5th March 2016. The training was organized by SOLIDNEPAL & International Medical Corps. The objective of the training was that the trained mobilizers will disseminate their knowledge from TOT to more than 1000 adolescents in 24 VDCs and 1 municipality of Gorkha District which was affected by earthquake till end of 2016.

b) Y-PEER National Training of Trainer

This year NTOT was accomplished in Eastern and Western part of Nepal was held from September 23 to 27, 2016 and 30 May to 3 June 2016 respectively.

Y-PEER Nepal and SDGs a) Education Camps for Adolescents

Y-PEER Nepal conducted three edutainment training camp for 20 adolescents in each camp of age group 1419 years. The adolescents were provided with accurate and precise information on SRHR and SDGs with the skills of team building. Camp Dates: October 10-11, 2016, November 4-7, 2016 and December 16-18, 2016.

b) Orientation for differently able people (deaf)

Y-PEER Nepal in collaboration with Kathmandu Deaf Association conducted orientation on SRHR and SDGs for differently able people (deaf) on November 27, 2016.

c) Orientation on SDGs

Y-PEER Nepal have form team of 10 people as Y-PEER SDGs Task Force in 2016, and since then members have been orientating youths on SDGs in different school, colleges and districts.

d) SDGs and Sports

i) Slam Dunk for SDGs Y-PEER has been supporting different sports event. This year Y-PEER supported 9th Odyssey Inter-School Junior and Girls Basketball Competition from November 20 to November 27, 2016. The main themes of the sport event were “Slam Dunk for Sustainable Development Goals” and “Our Goal is to end epidemics of AIDS by 2030.”

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Y-PEER NEPAL ii) SDGS and Sports (7th Inter School President Running Shield-2072) Y-PEER International Network and YPEER-Nepal in partnership with District Sports Committee, Joseph High School Nepal & other partners organized “7th Inter School President Running Shield-072” from 24th to 26th January 2016 in Joseph High School and Handball Ground, Kathmandu. The main aim of the program was to enroll young people to come together through sports to promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) iii) SDGs and Sports (6A side football tournament) Y-PEER International Network and YPEER-Nepal in partnership with Study Plus Nepal, Saipal High School Nepal & other partners are organizing Inter School 6’A’ Side Football Tournament from 9th-17th January 2016 to promote SDGs

e) Painting Competition on SDG Goal 5 Gender Equality

f) National youth consultation on promoting youth participation in implementation of SDGs

The national consultation was organized in 18th March 2016 in Kathmandu to share information on SDGs and to get the priorities of youths on the goals of SDGs. The output of the workshop was submitted to Nepali youth delegated. More than 60 youths from more than 20 organizations discussed on the SDGs, role of youths, priorities and action points.

g) SAARC REGIONAL Dialogue on Promoting Youth Participation in the implementing of SDGs

Y-PEER was part of the important event which is the first regional event on SDGs and Youths organized on March 24 2016 in Kathmandu Nepal. Total 5 YPEERs will be part of the event which includes members from Y-PEER Pakistan, YPEER Bhutan, and Y-PEER Nepal & Y-PEER International Network. The Program was organized by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Government of Nepal and UNFPA.

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Y-PEER NEPAL iii) SDGs and Sports (6A side football tournament) Y-PEER International Network and YPEER-Nepal in partnership with Study Plus Nepal, Saipal High School Nepal & other partners are organizing Inter School 6’A’ Side Football Tournament from 9th17th January 2016 to promote SDGs

e) Painting Competition on SDG Goal 5 Gender Equality

Inter School Painting Competition on theme “Gender equality on my lens – SDG goal 5 “ was announced for students of grade 7-9 on early 2016 but it was postponed for 4th quarter of 2016 so that more schools and students can participate and Y-PEER can raise more resources for it. f) National youth consultation on promoting youth participation in implementation of SDGs The national consultation was organized in 18th March 2016 in Kathmandu to share information on SDGs and to get the priorities of youths on the goals of SDGs. The output of the workshop was submitted to Nepali youth delegated. More than 60 youths from more than 20 organizations discussed on the SDGs, role of youths, priorities and action points.

g) SAARC REGIONAL Dialogue on Promoting Youth Participation in the implementing of SDGs

Celebration of Days and Campaigns

a) Campaign for International Safe Abortion Day

As safe abortion being one of the important components of SRHR and must needed facility across the globe, Y-PEER Nepal contributed in campaign calling for the decriminalization of abortion across the world.

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Y-PEER NEPAL b) Y-PEER 2000 Days of Celebration

Y-PEER Nepal celebrated its 2000 days of establishment on April 30, 2016. We welcomed 120 adolescents who were trained to be peer educator of Y-PEER Nepal on SDGs.

c) People Thoughts on Sexual Violence

Y-PEER Nepal celebrated International Day for Elimination of Sexual Violence in conflict, June 19 2016, by asking people there thoughts on What Sexual Violence means to them? The thoughts of the people were presented in the social sites

d) World AIDS Day Celebration

Y-PEER Nepal in collaboration with YKAP Nepal celebrated World AIDS Day, December 1st 2016, keeping stalls and flash mobs.

e) International Youth Day

Y-PEER Nepal celebrated International Youth Day, 12th August 2016, in two different events. One of them was friendly futsal tournament with Youth agencies and UN agencies in Ground Futsal, Basundhara. As being member of SDGs Youth Alliance, Y-PEER Nepal celebrated IYD in Bungamati, with cultural program and panel discussion with different renowned faces to promote SDGs.

f) Celebration of 16 Days of Activism

Every Year, Y-PEER Nepal celebrates 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence from November 25 to December 10. This year Y-PEER celebrated with 16 days of online campaign sharing one photo every day of people thoughts, poem, and unspoken words to aware others about it.

g) Celebration of 10 Days of Activism

Every Year, Y-PEER Nepal celebrates 10 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence from December to December 10. This year Y-PEER celebrated with 10 days of online campaign sharing one photo every day with facts about SRHR, HIV/AIDS and so on.

National Workshop on Strategic Development

Y-PEER Nepal conducted their first strategic workshop on November 23 to 25, 2016. The main objective of this strategic development was to develop 5 year strategic framework of the organization, to strengthen the network and to establish new organizational structure.

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Y-PEER PALESTINE During the period between January and June, many activities were done amazingly, and many effective meetings were held between the core team and the members of the network locally. Also, some members of the network had participated in important discussion panels and interactive sessions in some civil society institutions. However, and due to the required one page overview, I would highlight the main activities of this period, which are:

My Choice Campaign:

Y-PEER Palestine participated in this regional campaign, which was held on the occasion of the Valentine’s Day, in order to raise awareness mainly about early marriage and about the right of choosing the life partner in life and the timing of getting married. Many great messages were sent by the members to support the campaign.

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign:

Y-PEER Palestine held a campaign for raising awareness about the importance of early testing and treatment of breast cancer in Bedouni areas. It included an interactive theatre show for Bedouin women and a mobile mammography car to test breast cancer in addition to distributing brochures about breast cancer.

”We Run for Youth Health” – Palestine International Marathon

Palestine International Marathon is an annual event that gathers many people from different nationalities who run for different reasons to support Palestinians. More than 70 people participated in this Marathon under the name of “We run for youth health”, which was organized by Y-PEER Palestine and UNFPA Palestine.

Y-PEER in Refugee Camps:

Y-PEER Palestine had conducted sessions in schools in different refugee camps in the West bank and Gaza Strip, about different topics, but mainly talking about the stigma for the youth who live in refugee camps. Also it contained information about the adolescents’ health and rights. This campaign consisted of a series of meetings with the same schools, starting from April until late May. Each school had almost 4 meetings which were complementary, to result in a specific idea which is to end the stigma of “the youth of the refugee camps” compared to youth who live in urban cities or rural areas.

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Y-PEER PALESTINE

Y-PEER Basic and TOT training:

Y-PEER Palestine had conducted a Basic and TOT training in west bank for a group of 20 youth who are passionate about working in the field of advocacy and raising awareness about SRH. A long selection process was needed to choose those 20 out from a number of applications of people who wanted to participate in the training. At the end of the training, a number of initiatives were ready to be implemented by the new members of the network which will encourage them to take the lead and be effective in their community.

Interactive informative sessions in public parks:

Y-PEER Palestine in Gaza strip had conducted a very interesting informative day which included interactive and informative sessions and conversations with people in public parks and streets. These sessions were mainly about youth health and rights.

Ramadan Iftar and Fun Day:

The new members of Y-PEER network had planned for an initiative to visit an elderly house as a part of the civic participation they are passionate about. On this day they had prepared a Ramadan Iftar for the elderly and an interactive show to entertain them with a magical touch of Y-PEER on the show.

Information Mobile Market:

As an initiative of the new members of Y-PEER Palestine, great work was done in the Popular Souk in Ramallah City, to spread health information and to raise awareness about health issues among residents. This mobile market took the form of the mobile markets that are common in the Popular Souk, but instead of selling products it distributed information letters for all people in the market. More than 500 health letters were distributed to 500 people and their families.

Find more about Y-PEER Palestine the following links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjX5p25R7M I

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Y-PEER PHILIPPINES Y-PEER Pilipinas in partnership with UNICEF Phi-

lippines received its first major funding grant under UNICEF’s Small Scale Funding Agreement (SSFA) for its project entitled “Standardizing Peer Education Using Life Skills Approach”. The purpose of this partnership is threefold. First, to establish a Training Competency Model on peer education nationwide. Second, to further develop the network’s capacity to train and sustain peer education initiatives for and by young people. Third, to provide more assistance for training requests from partner agencies, organizations, and networks by creating cadre of trainers in adolescent health and development. The one year project ran from the latter part of the year 2015 to 2016 with satisfactory results. It is a step forward for the network in the Philippines to secure grants and donors for its work on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people.

Y-CAP for SRHR, a new member organization of Y-PEER Pilipinas is a proud product of a trained Peer Educator of Y-PEER, Mr. Anthony Lopez and a seed grant he received from the Women Deliver Young Leaders Program.

Basic Peer Education Training on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) were conducted by Y-PEER

Pilipinas in partnership with Region I Department of Health and Ilocos Sur Provincial Health Department last June 22-24, 2016 at OveMar Resort Hotel in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Fifty (50) selected Youth Leaders from ages 11-19 attended the training.

With support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Philippines, 17

youth-led and youth-serving organizations gathered for a General Assembly last July 7-10, 2016 at Makati Palace Hotel in Makati City, Philippines. The registration of the network at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the increasing demand of other CSOs/ NGOs and government agencies tapping the expertise of the members to implement peer education activities necessitate a General Assembly to revisit the network’s plan and renew members’ commitment and support.

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Y-PEER PHILIPPINES The GA will also serve as a venue to design a responsive, feasible and visionary strategic plan that will provide a direction to all its members that is aligned to the SRH priorities in the country.

The training team of Y-PEER Pilipinas in Camp Benjamin at Alfonso, Cavite as they facilitate the Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) Training funded by the City Government of Tagaytay last July 15-16, 2016.

In partnership with Human Development and Empowerment Services

(HDES), Y-PEER Pilipinas facilitated a 3-day Peer Education Training on ASRH at Marcian Business Hotel. The participants are Peer Educators and Programmers of HDES last September 2016.

The Youth Peer Education Network (Y-PEER) Pilipinas, Inc. together with Atty.

Emma Day, Co-Founder of the International Child Redress Project (ICRP), and Children’s Legal Bureau organizing a workshop in Cebu City, Cebu on September 28, 2016 involving young people ages 10-15 and 18 to 25. The workshop is to explore the idea of starting a youth paralegal project in Cebu, which would involve youth paralegals assisting child victims of sex abuse to access their legal rights. A one-day workshop, using a human-centered design approach was applied to include young people in the design of the project including survivors of child sex abuse themselves.

The activity, Pedal for HIV’s Run Series:

Color Splash Edition 2016 is an effort to help end the stigma of HIV in the Philippines which happened last October 9, 2016 at San Fernando City, Pampanga. Its proceeds were for the benefit of “Ing Mamalakaya”, a support group for people living with HIV under the the care of Bahay Lingad Treatment Hub. The project was made possible by Y-PEER Pilipinas and its member organization, FPOP Pampanga.

Find more about Y-PEER Philippines on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypeerpilipinas https://twitter.com/YPEER_PHL https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ypeerpilipinas/ http://ypeerpilipinas.weebly.com/about.htm l

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Y-PEER PHILIPPINES 9.

Y-PEER Pilipinas and Save the Child-

ren empowered young people through Peer Educati-

on Training on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health on 27-30 October 2016 at Bakasyunan Resort in Tanay, Rizal.

10. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Philippines have conducted a three-day

Peer Education Training on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Emergencies (ASHRIE) for the first batch on November 23-26, 2016 at the Days Hotel in Tagaytay City. Second Batch is on December 6-9, 2016. It will focus on training young people how to conduct Peer Education in an emergency situation. Y-PEER Pilipinas sent a skilled facilitator and participants to said training.

11. Dolores National High School in Dolores, Eastern Samar invited BROOD, a member organization of Y-PEER Pilipinas to speak on meaningful youth participation during its School-Based Leadership Training for Student Council Officers with Former Y-PEER Pilipinas Vice-President, Mr. Leo Christian V. Lauzon as speaker on February 3, 2017.

12. Former Y-PEER Pilipinas Vice-President, Mr. Leo Christian V. Lauzon was invited

to speak at the Seminar on Teenage Pregnancy and Pre-Marital Sex for high school students at the EVSU SLS in Tacloban City last February 22, 2017 to discuss the topic on Teenage Pregnancy which is the pressing issue among the youth in Eastern Visayas aside from Early Cohabitation as pointed out by the Population Commission. 13. Y-PEER Pilipinas assisted in the conduct of the Youth Pre-Conference on April 4, 2017 at Samar State University Audio Visual Center and in crafting the Youth Pre-Conference Declaration that articulated the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people. This activity is part of the First Session of 2017 UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kauswagan Kalibutan: Creating Connections for Sustainable Societiesâ&#x20AC;? that was be held from April 5-7, 2017 in Catbalogan City, Philippines.

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Y-PEER PHILIPPINES 14.

Y-PEER Pilipinas shares the peer to peer

approach to ASRH Education at the Regional Teen Pregnancy Summit on May 22, 2017 at Vigan City, Ilocos Sur.

15. Mr. Carl Angelo Ortiz and Mx. Mario Balibago, Y-PEER Pilipinas Alumni was

in Melbourne, Australia last June, 2017 for the Burnet Institute for Professional Development Seminar for HIV Policy Leaders from Indonesia, China and the Philippines.

16. A four-day Training on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights with the Student Leaders of the Province of Ilocos

Sur was facilitated by Peer Educators of Y-PEER Pilipinas last July 27-30, 2017 at OveMar Resort Hotel in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. Teenage/Unwanted Pregnancy, increasing number of HIV infection among the youth and Gender-Based Discrimination/Violence. These are the issues of Youth nowadays that need preventio. Peer Education is the best way to learn prevention.

17. Responding to the clamor and pressure of young people to lift the ban made by the

Supreme Court of the Philippines on some of the provisions of the Reproductive Health Law particularly on the contraceptives such as the implanon, Y-PEER Pilipinas through Mr. Leo Christian Lauzon sponsored a resolution from the Regional Development Council Region VIII, the highest policy making body in every region of the Philippines, requesting the Solicitor General to act in behalf of the Filipino people to petition the Supreme Court to lift the ban.

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Y-PEER SYRIA My Choice Campaign ( February )

Y-PEER Syria participated in MyChoice Campaign, more than 15 young persons of both sexes from Y-PEER Syria network sent their selfies/pictures/videos with messages addressing early/forced marriage with the hashtags #MyChoice and #YPEER.

NUSS ( National Union for Syrian Students) Peer Education Training: ( March )

This training was held inside of Damascus University, the largest gathering of young people in Syria. 25 young persons from various faculties had the chance to participate in the 3 days of Peer Education Training.

Developing Messages in RH and GBV Workshop ( 28-29 April )

16 Young Syrian Y-PEERian participated in the “Developing Messages in RH and GBV Workshop” held by UNFPA Syria for two days, their participation enriched the discussion, the workshop aimed to raise the awareness of the participants, build a network between the various participant parties, and to exchange experience between them.

Peer Education in Humanitarian Settings Training (15-18 May) Find more about Y-PEER Syria on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/YPEERSYRIA/ https://twitter.com/ypeersyria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30hCMA7PgYs

25 Syrian young persons from several national NGOs, associations, and initiatives had the chance to participate in the 4 Days of Peer Education in Humanitarian Settings Trainings in Damascus, the training included sessions on: • • • •

Peer education. Sustainable Development Goals. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Gender Vs. Sex

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Y-PEER SYRIA • Drugs. • Most vulnerable people. • Stigma and discrimination. • Introduction to peace building. • Leadership. • Interactive theatre technique. The training methods used in sessions were: Group work, role play, brain storming, games, open discussions and case studies.

Theater-Based Peer Education Training (19-24 May)

25 trainees from two associations (MASYAF, OWUN ) were trained for six days in Damascus on using interactive theater techniques to discuss young social problems and issues like “early Marriage, Domestic violence, harassment, drugs and other topics”. By the end of the training, the trainees conducted interactive theater sketches, made in event and invited the community).

Peer of the Month (Every Month)

As a way to raise the spirit of the team, motivate the team members, find a space to thank the active members, and to introduce the network and its accomplishments to the people, Y-PEER Syria invented what is called „Peer of the Month “. Every month the Y-PEER Syria Core Team and the Active Peer Educators Team elects a member to be the “Peer of the month” according to specific criteria, and the elector has to write a justification for his/hers selection. By the first of the new month the network publishes a picture of the elected peer of the month with a definitive caption of him/her and listing his/hers accomplishments in the network.

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Y-PEER SYRIA Orange Day: Y-PEER team members in Syria organized an event for celebrating Y-PEERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements in 2016 with all Y-PEER Syria members. The event took place in Reda Saied Hall, Presidency of Damascus University, on January 5th 2017 and it was attended by about 200 young people who were trained by Y-PEER during the year 2016. As part of the event, two interactive theater sketches were played by Y-PEER Syria interactive theater team.

10 Days of Activism: Y-PEER Syria participated in 10DoA through three peer trainings in humanitarian settings and a social media campaign. The campaign displayed 10 photo posts raising awareness on HIV/AIDS and reached 28.500 people.

Interactive theater trainings and shows: Y-PEER Syria made two interactive theater trainings in the second half of 2016 and 10 interactive theater shows. 2 shows were presented in the end of the trainings, 6 shows took place on the International Youth Day and 2 shows were part of the Orange Day event.

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Y-PEER TAJIKISTAN Activists of Y-PEER Tajikistan

in collaboration with the Mission of UNFPA celebrated the Population Day of 2016. It took place on the 15th of July in the Youth Resource Center of UN in Dushanbe. International organizations, NGOs and youth took part in the event. The director of the UNFPA in Tajikistan Ms. Aziza Hamidova presented the work of UNFPA and the role of young people in its agenda.

On the International Youth Day (12 August), the Committee of Youth, Sport and Tourism of Dushanbe and the organization “Equal to Equal”, in cooperation with UN-

FPA Tajikistan, the organization “Peshraft”, “Vortex”, other national NGOs and representatives of the business sector organized a fair called “Volunteering as a career step”. The purpose of this event was to display the connection between volunteering and a successful career. The attendees of the event found different opportunities for volunteering and employment, information from experts about how it would help them have a successful career, to meet representatives of international and national organizations and companies. The event was a platform for exchanging experiences among organizations and volunteering initiatives. Representatives of more than 35 organizations and volunteering groups participated in this fair.

On 24-28 August Y-PEER Tajikistan organized a

Training of Trainers (TOT) on the topic “Equal education and advocacy for youth participation”. It was supported by young people who were trained in PETRI - Sofia and had improved their skills in other international trainings. The training was attended by 30 volunteers, coaches and partners of Y-PEER Tajikistan.

Find more about Y-PEER Tajikistan the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypeer.tj/ https://www.instagram.com/ypeer_tajikistan / https://vk.com/ypeer.intajikistan https://ypeer.wordpress.com/

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Y-PEER TAJIKISTAN On the 14th of October 2016 in Dushanbe UNFPA Tajikistan, in cooperation with local and internati-

onal partners, including Y-PEER, organized an event for the International Day of Girls. The event consisted of a thematic exhibition, a concert and an award ceremony for the winners of the “I am proud of my daughter” contest for essays, photographs and drawings. There were performances of taekwondo fighters, the vocal group “Haftrang”, the dance ensemble “Sitorai Umed”, the studio “New Era” and Rakhmanov sisters.

On the 18th and 19th of November 2016 Y-PEER volunteers conducted a survey in the framework

of the project “My voice, my rights.” The goal of this project was to promote access to CSE, youth leadership and SDGs. It was implemented with the support of IPPF and UNESCO. The survey was conducted mainly among 14-30 years old people. The answers of the respondents helped Y-PEER to develop a deeper understanding of the needs of young people in the field of reproductive health and education in the context of human rights. Taking into account the views of young people, specific recommendations, measures and actions were developed, in order to advocate for the SRHR of young people.

On December 17-18 2016

a youth consultative meeting was organized. This meeting was focused on what had already been done, including discussing the results of the survey. The meeting was also attended by representatives of UNFPA, a representative of a youth health center, as well as representatives of other organizations. Topics such as youth health, the SDGs, youth policy in the Republic of Tajikistan were discussed. The meeting resulted in the creation of a document with recommendations from young people in three areas: Reproductive Health and Healthy Lifestyle, National Youth Policy and Sustainable Development.

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Y-PEER TAJIKISTAN Within the 10 Days of Activism, Y -PEER Tajikistan, with the support of the Committee of Youth, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Tajikistan, organized trainings in 6 schools in Dushanbe. The participants were actively involved and asked many questions on topics such as HIV/AIDS, discrimination and protecting the rights of people living with HIV. Y-PEER Tajikistan co-organized a sports event for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (12th of December). The event consisted in a basketball game, dances, songs, parkour, beat box and other activities that involved young people with disabilities.

On December 10-11 the Y-PEER Tajikistan strategy

for 2017 was discussed during a meeting supported by UNFPA Tajikistan and attended by partners, including UNFPA Tajikistan, Huawei Tajikistan, the Taekwondo Federation, the NGO â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peshraftâ&#x20AC;?, Save the Children International and Future Generation Debate Club. The partners made their presentations and proposals for further cooperation and volunteers were actively involved.

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Y-PEER TUNISIA As part of a vision to decentralize Y-PEER TUNISIA activities and to focus on capacity buil-

ding for marginalized youth, the network implemented Orange rescue project a capacity building project for the adolescents of Defense and Social Integration Center in Naasen Ben Arous , Tunisia What is CDIS Naasen? It is a governmental organization, affiliated with the Tunisian Ministry of Social Affairs, is designed to partially take care of kids and adolescents who have dropped out early school and with history of violence . What is target group? Adolescents in this group inherently have less formal education than the average young person with difficult social situations, which may create an additional obstacle for such youth to integrate easily into the community, take care of their health and well-being and obtain formal opportunities and, by extension, may prompt them to choose more dangerous livelihoods opportunities. They live in an unstructured lifestyle without planned activities or compliance measures, which can create additional upheaval that leave these youth vulnerable.

What is Orange Rescue Project?

Find more about Y-PEER Tunisia on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/ypeer.tunisia/posts/368756583206813 https://twitter.com/ypeertunisia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BbzJw5kdqw

It is a 7 month program of training and coaching sessions (one session every 3 weeks, from October 2016 to April 2017) and aims to inform and educate adolescents about gender-based violence, adolescence and challenges, risky behaviors, STIs, AIDS and life skills. Until today, Y-PEER Tunisia conducted 4 sessions with the participation of its peer trainers. Wael, a 14 years old adolescent said “It’s my first time to attend such sessions and have the opportunity to understand adolescents’ health and well-being and get introduced to life skills.”

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER TURKEY World AIDS Day- 10 Days of Activism

10 Days of Activism Campaign of 2016 was carried out by ‘1st December Young Initiative’, chaired by Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) with the partnership of Community Volunteers Foundation and support of UNFPA Country Office. The “Take Care of Yourself Box” Game was played, also condom and material distribution, movie screenings, panels, workshops and 1 or 2-day trainings on SRHR took place in 19 Turkish cities between 25th November and 5th December. There were 54 activities including 20 trainings and 269 hours of voluntary service. 8602 condoms were distributed. 4239 young people were reached face to face, almost 6000 young people were reached by using online tools.

Reproductive Health Peer Education Project

Y-PEER Turkey has been working with the Community Volunteers Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund Turkey Office for more than 10 years to raise awareness and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among young people aged 17-25. The project aims to create a change of attitude towards safe and conscious behavior in young people and encourage them to use youth friendly health services. In 2016, 601 young people were reached with 35 sessions held on 14 city. In 2017, 146 young people were reached with 17 sessions and 29 young people were reached with “Take Care of Yourself Box” Game.

Support to Young Refugees Project

Support to Young Refugees Project is an empowerment project led by the partnership of Community Volunteers Foundation and UNFPA. Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) has been supporting the project by providing trainers and content. The project aims to empower 18-30 aged Syrian refugees in Turkey. Project activities are taking place in youth centers in Hatay and Diyarbakir. By considering needs assessment which took place in 2015, youth friendly health centers were opened in the centers to give psychological and health support. In addition to centers in Hatay and Diyarbakir, currently it is planned to open new youth center in Izmır.

Find more about Y-PEER Turkey on the following links: https://www.facebook.com/SagliktaGenc / https://twitter.com/sagliktagenc https://www.instagram.com/sagliktagenc / http://sagliktagencyaklasimlar.or g

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER TURKEY 2nd Training of Peer Educators on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings took place on 11-18 October in Iskenderun-Hatay and 22 Syrian young refugees became peer trainers. 8 Turkish and 67 Syrian peer trainers became facilitators of ‘Take Care of Yourself HIV and AIDS Box Game’ (like Monopoly but informative) through participating in the workshops which were organized for 1st December World AIDS Day. 3rd Training of Peer Educators on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings took place on 25-30 March 2017 in Ankara and 24 Syrian young refugee participated in the training. They became peer trainers and ‘Take Care of Yourself HIV and AIDS Box Game’ (like Monopoly but informative) facilitators. 4th Traning of Peer Educators on Sexual and Resproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings is planned to take place on 11-16 September. With this training, 24 Syrian young refugee will become peer trainers and ‘Take Care of Yourself HIV and AIDS Box Game’ (like Monopoly but informative) facilitators. 359 young people were reached with 43 sessions and 353 young people were reached with “Take Care of Yourself Box” Game. 2nd General Assembly and Action Plan Meeting On 8th of October, the 2nd General Assembly of Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) took place in Ankara. Previous board members presented their work in 2015-2016 term and new board members were elected. On 9-10 of December Alumni Board Members, FPs and FPC gathered in Ankara to prepare the plan of Y-PEER Turkey for 2017. In 2 days, previous good practices of the network have been shown, recent activities were presented and next year’s plan was established with contribution of participants.

Young LGBTI Sexual Health Project

Young LGBTI Sexual Health Project which is funded by MATRA Human Rights Fund, is led by Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) with technical support of UNFPA Country Office. The project aims to increase awareness of young LGBTI people on sexual and reproductive health and ensure their access to health and information services without discrimination and stigma.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER TURKEY An Advisory Board was established to improve the project’s content, experience, youth-adult partnership and practices. An Advisory Board Meeting, which includes health service providers, academicians and representatives of public institutions and NGOs, took place on 8th December 2016 in Ankara. The Young LGBTI Sexual Health Project will continue with local consultation meetings with health service providers, training of peer educators and peer education sessions with young LGBTI people. 1st Training of Peer Educators on Sexual Health of Young LGBTI Sexual Health Project took place on 19-24 April in Antalya. 20 young people participated in the training and they became peer trainers and ‘Take Care of Yourself HIV and AIDS Box Game’ (like Monopoly but informative) facilitators. 148 young people were reached with 10 SRHR and “Take Care of Yourself Box” Game sessions by trainers from 1st training. While trainings are continued, local consultation meetings are continued to be able to decrease stigma and discrimination by sharing experiences and young-adult collaboration. The first local consultation meeting took place on 2nd June 2017 in Izmir. Public Health, Municipality, academics, representatives from NGOs and health service providers participated in the consultancy meeting.

Young Women Workshop

A workshop was conducted by Youth Approaches to Health Association (YAHA) with support of Frida Young Feminist Fund in August 2016 in Ankara. The aim of the 3-day workshop was raising awareness on sexual and reproductive health of young women who are youth or feminist activists. Participants of the workshop were young women and they came from 5 different cities of Turkey. After the workshop, they will transfer the knowledge from workshops to their own organizations.

New Office in Ankara

After registration process of Y-PEER Turkey, organization needed an office to work and socialize in. Having an office was really challenging in terms of funding and location. After hard team work, Y-PEER Turkey managed to have its first office in Ankara on 26th of January. YAHA looking forward to seeing Y-PEERians from all over the world in the new office.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER VIETNAM With the support of AP Centre, Ypeer Vietnama member of Ypeer, has successfully organized 5 activities with the following results: - The 1st national ToT for our 16 trainers. - 3 talkshows with 60 youths approached - 5 anti sexual- harassment classes for 123 children from 4 to 14 years old - 1 comic series on Facebook fanpage, with 996 Views, 78 Likes and Comment. (Please follow our fanpage at: https://www.facebook.com/ypeervietnam/) - YPEER Vietnam is also acting as the main role in organizing the 9th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive & Sexual Health & Rights.

“90 minutes talking with you helped me realize that Masturbating is not a bad habit if I don’t overuse it, on the other hand, it is beneficial for my sexual life. Questions about SRH are socially considered to be secret, shameful and supposed to be hidden away. Young people like us have nobody to ask for advices and knowledge and have to find answers on our own, which can be harmful if doing in wrong ways. However, thanks to Y-PEER I had chances to open my heart and learn a lot from other peers.”- said Trang, 19 years old, Hanoi University.

1. The 1st Ypeer Vietnam National TOT on SRHR On 9th -11th December 2016, the first 16 focal points of YPEER were introduced and got acquainted with each other. Also, we welcomed the representative from UNFPA Vietnam and President of Vietnam Public Health Association in the opening ceremony. They showed strong advocacy and the importance of youth networks working in the field of SRHR. During the training, our new trainers created exciting learning atmosphere and showed good acquirement of knowledge. The skills learnt will be tools for them to continue our training model and develop other SRHR activities in the future. 2. Talkshows Three talkshows with the topics of Masturbation, Dating Violence and LGBT were organized with the participation of 60 youth. In an open, confidential, non-judgmental and diversity-respectful atmosphere, young people felt comfortable to share their stories and ask for advice. Questions were raised and discussed ebulliently. After 90120 minute talk, each people found own answers for their issues and acquired sufficient knowledge about SRHR.

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER VIETNAM 3. Anti- sexual harassment classes for children Recently, after cases of children being sexually abused were brought to light by continual effort of many victims’ parents, parents and schools realized the importance of appropriate sex education to children, especially in the issue of anti- sexual “The difficulty in talking about sex harassment. For this reawith my children is that, I don’t know son, the first 5 classes for how to start and whether is it too 123 children whose ages early to discuss about it. I was so from 4 to 10 were organisurprised yesterday when my son asked me which are his private zed. In each class, children body parts and how he had been are instructed to distinguborn after your class. I never expeish between their private cted him to be able to understand and other body parts, rethis issue at his age. I felt released cognize which touching that now I can start discussing is abusive, how to escaabout sex with my children without pe from dangerous cases any hesitation. ”- said Quynh, motand search for support and protection. This class model is more and more widespread due to the support of parents and we are trying to create appropriate class contents for various age groups. 4. Online Comic series about SRHR To boost interaction with followers on our Facebook fanpage, we released the 1st series about Puberty and its signs on both boys and girls. This was highly encouraged by our follower and the 2nd one is being expected with excitement, especially who can’t join our trainings and talk shows but still wants to get updated with our SRHR information under the form of images. “Sex education under the form of comics like this is very creative, and our children fell it informative but catchy, and interesting, thus, they can read it anywhere at any time!!!”- commented by a father, Hanoi. For more comics, follow us at: https://www.facebook.com/ypeervietnam/

“It is imperative that our young students are equipped with appropriate sex education, which helps them take care of their body better and protect themselves when not having us and their parents nearby.”- said Huong, teacher at a

UPDATES FROM:

Y-PEER YEMEN 10 Days Of Activism: In December 2016, 200 beneficiaries (80 males and 120 females) were addressed in the 10 Days of Activism in Yemen. There were various activities, including trainings, public awareness and intensive workshops. The main objective of this year’s theme is to raise awareness of the critical period of adolescence, especially for girls. The activities also aimed to continue building the capacities of young people through their participation in outreach activities, and re-enforcing Y-PEER national networks in various cities. The campaign focused in 3 main cities (Al-Hudaydah, Sana’a and Amran). Peer-to-peer educational campaign on SRH and STIs was conducted. Y-PEER Yemen built a peace movement including health security in the conflict-affected times Yemen is going through.

International Refugees Day: “We are all together”, “We are all humans”, “Lend a hand”- “Being a refugee is not a choice” –These messages were spread by Y-PEER Yemen to all refugees around the world in the Refugees Day 2016 on social media pages to show support.

International Youth Day:

Find more about Y-PEER Yemen on the following links:

Y-PEER in Yemen celebrated the International Youth Day in August 2016 along with UNFPA Yemen and other volunteers by symbolic visits to different spots that young Yemeni people gather at to share their ambitions and visions towards the world. “A Rose with Letter” as a “Happy International Youth Day” and hear his/her wish for “Youth Future for Better” video were published after the activity to spread the message of the youth wishes in their day. https://www.facebook.com/UnfpaYemen/videos/1020392024748560/?hc_ref=PAGES_ TIMELINE

Updates From:

International Centers

and International Events

Updates From International Centers

Updates From PETRI - Sofia International Institute for Youth Development PETRI - Sofia is a joint project based on a strong partner-ship between Y-PEER International Network, UNFPA, Ministry of Health of Bulgaria and National Center for Public Health and Analysis of Bulgaria. Its mission is to strengthen and spread internationally high quality peer education in the field of adolescence sexual and reproductive health. Since its establishment in 2007, PETRI Sofia has organized, facilitated and supported numerous trainings in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of the young people. Recently PETRI team has been expanding and has gained several new Team Members!

Meet and Greet Dear Y-PEER News Bulletin readers, My name is DaÄ&#x;lar and I am from Turkey. I am studying Political Science and International Relations in Bogazici University, Istanbul. I have been a peer trainer for 3 years and Focal Point In-Charge for 1.5 years in Y-PEER Turkey. I started my fellowship in June and I will be a part of PETRI - Sofia team for 3 months. Working with people from different backgrounds and cultures is an amazing experience for me. Being a fellow in PETRI helped me to understand international structure better and I am glad that I can contribute to achieving the goals we have. The passion and motivation of this great orange family affect me deeply. I feel lucky of being a part of this great family.

Updates From International Centers

My name is Eimear Sparks, I am a 23 year old Irish advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights and I recently started a three month fellowship with PETRI - Sofia where I will be acting as content editor for their new advocacy platform. As an Irish woman, I became involved in the field of SRHR through my involvement in the campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment, which effectively places a constitutional ban on abortion in Ireland. My work on abortion rights then developed into an interest in other sexual and reproductive rights and I began work with YouAct, a European youth network on SRHR. Over the past year, my work on SRHR has given me the opportunity to meet many inspiring youth advocates from the Y-PEER network and I am delighted that my fellowship with PETRI will allow me to continue working with them. In my short time here, I have already learned so much, and I look forward to continuing this learning process and to contributing to the incredible work of Y-PEER and PETRI - Sofia.

Autumn School on Project Development and Management and Leadership Skills 36 participants from 19 countries from the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia participated PETRI - Sofia Autumn School which was organized in Borovetz, Bulgaria, from November 22 until November 28, 2016. The PETRI - Sofia Autumn School included 2 separate modules running in parallel which are Project Development and Management, and Leadership Skills. Project Development and Management module focused on building capacity of participants related to designing project proposals for peer education for SHR promotion and HIV prevention, using basics project designing methods for SRH promotion and HIV prevention, identifying problems, assessing needs and conducting literature review, identifying target audiences/groups, goals and objectives, networking with stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation, and budgeting.

Updates From International Centers

Leadership Skills Module focused on Communication skills, SDGs and young people’s role in their implementation, strategies for making Y-PEER representation more inclusive of & representative of the needs of most marginalized youth, strategies to empower/motivate/inspire young people, Strengthening Y-PEER capacity in advocacy, including consensus building, and using social media skills to influence development agenda. Here is a reflection of a participant of PETRI - Sofia Autumn School: Richard Herts: “Sorry, I’m not a person you knew week ago” After returning from Bulgaria many people heard that phrase from me. My return to Ukraine was strange. I was looking at all the people, at my friends, relatives... everything became so empty. The city where I lived suddenly turned into a void. I started to see more problems around me - people, society, their future. But the thing was that after Bulgaria trip I understood that I can make change. Ok, first day I spent crying with my cat cuz I missed all the people from Y-PEER. Of course - parties, team works and nights talking made us great friends. But this is the thing people. They were the breaking point of my life. Imagine a team of ~30 people and all of them are leaders, professionals and highly intelligent. You always have a topic to discuss - politics, culture, ideas, trends, projects - just an utopia for your brain. Well, when I came to the training I didn’t need to imagine that, they were around me. With me. And now I returned home. After all this I can’t look at my country in the same way. I can’t stand that, I can’t accept that, I don’t want to accept. I want to change it and I can do that, thanks to Y-PEER. Yup, here’s the reason why I was working with no day-offs for a month already. Time to change. If you read this - it’s time for change my friend. Time to learn and to act in order to save you, your country and our planet. Get some Y-PEER in your life.

Updates From International Centers

Annual PETRI - Sofia Training of Trainers 2016 23 young people from 16 countries from the Region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia participated in the Annual PETRI - Sofia Training of Trainers (ToT), which took place on 1218 July 2016 in Borovets, Bulgaria. The training was focused on: building the capacity of Peer Education Trainers of Trainers in the Region to plan and implement wide range of educational activities for their peers, related to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), HIV prevention and Advocacy; strengthening the capacity of young people to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate advocacy campaigns and actions related to SRHR in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Development Agenda.

During the seven days of the training, the participants developed their knowledge, skills and competences for working with their peers in the area of to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), HIV prevention and Advocacy for the rights of young people. The main topics that were covered during the training included: New interactive methods of education, Role play, Techniques for sharing information, exploring values and attitudes, Team building and trust building, Recruitment and retention of peer educators, Advocacy for SRHR, Messaging for key decision makers, Networking with stakeholders, building and maintaining partnerships, Development of advocacy strategies, Development of age-appropriate messages, Effective messaging and lobbying, Youth-adult partnership, Planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of advocacy campaigns, Knowledge on communication, SRHR, HIV, Gender, Sexuality, Sexual orientation and Social values, SRHR in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Development Agenda.

Updates From International Centers

On the 18th of July, at the closing ceremony of the training, Mr. Rayko Raychev, General Director of the Global Affairs General Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, officially gave the certificates of attendance to all the participants and congratulated them for taking part in the training, for being active and for working on these important topics related to the 2030 Development Agenda.

Here are some of the comments and reflections of participants in the Annual PETRI - Sofia Training of Trainers:

Mariam Khotcholava, Georgia: Wherever I go, I find stories that get stack in my mind forever. Each one of these stories is attached to certain places, people and ideas. The story I found in Bulgaria through Y-PEER training was about equality, identity, relationships, social constructions and influences that young people can have on each other and on the world in general. The one week long Annual PETRI - Sofia Training of Trainers was held in Borovets, Bulgaria. I was lucky to be one of the participants sent from UNFPA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Georgia office. 23 members of the Y-PEER Network were brought from 17 different countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asian region, to develop their capacities for delivering high quality peer-based training programmes on the many areas surrounding Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and to plan and implement advocacy campaigns and actions in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Development Agenda. The very first Y-PEER training I participated in was organized 3 years ago in Georgia. Even though I have been attending many different educational activities, the Y-PEER training always held a very special place in my memory. I was thrilled to finally meet people behind the scenes of developing training modules and sessions that reach you not only on informational but also on emotional level. The training sessions were as enthralling and engaging as expected. Advocacy campaigns, press conference simulations, behavioral theories, sex and gender orientation, theater techniques, as well as morning updates, coffee breaks, internal jokes and energizers, were the things that empowered us to feel confident to lead Y-PEER trainings back in our countries. Sharing knowledge and information are the small things we are able to do to contribute for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to feel as a part of something significant. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not easy to open up with people on the very sensitive topics such as gender based violence and sexual health but safe and friendly atmosphere we had was a great platform for sharing our stories, talking and listening to each other, waiting for advice or for simple nodding of the heads as a sign of understanding. I met remarkable people from different countries and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure that every single one of them, just like me, found a special story and took it with them back in their countries.

Updates From International Centers

Ilona Demirtshyan, Armenia: I do remember when I was in my first year of high school I was dreaming of an international environment which could have been obtained with communication such as an international training. Due to my high desire and research I found the Y-PEER network of Armenia. At first I started as a volunteer in the network then a year later in 2016 I was selected as a youth advocate in the Training of Trainers (TOT) in Borovets, Bulgaria. I was extremely excited, my dream came true. I was impatiently waiting to get there, meet those incredible young people from other cultures and with different backgrounds. Eventually I got there. When I arrived at the hotel and met a few participants, something strange happened. I thought I was in the wrong place, I was so worried that the thing I had been waiting for so impatiently wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fulfill my expectations. But the following days during our various sessions and activities I found everyone so bright and enthusiastic, the atmosphere was very impressive and motivating that I instantly burst into emotions. Then we had a cultural evening where everyone had a great chance to get immersed in other cultures, taste their food and dance to their music. I made very close friends with whom we shared a lot of personal stuff, who gave me really good advice and of course we had many funny and unforgettable moments that will stay in my memories for the rest of my life. Also, being attentive to all the sessions held by the most amazing and skilled trainers Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever seen broadened my capacity, taught me to think outside the box and gave me crucial skills which I will be using in my country. But the most important thing I want to highlight is that every single person there, including the best trainers, was caring and loving, they supported me in everything I had asked for, especially when I was sick. It was a real family. I felt it.... To conclude, I assure you that with the help of this training I totally changed my perceptions, became more open-minded and independent.

Updates From International Centers

Updates From International Center for Youth and Development in Amman

Meet and Greet My name is Hamza Meghari, 23, from Palestine. I have a bachelor degree in nursing and currently enrolled in MSc program entitled Global Health and Development at the University College London (UCL). I have a vast experience in work with national and international organizations in the field of public/global health, particularly SRHR and youth issues. The fellowship at the Y-PEER ICYD was an invaluable experience for to develop my skill-set and build my capacity on the personal and professional levels. The fellowship granted me the chance to design, plan and manage regional and international projects and scaling up the Y-PEER partnership and networking on a regional and global levels. This was through joint projects, meetings and activities, one example, the 3 Days of Peace Activism Regional Campaign which reached more than one and half million individuals via social media and outreaching activities in 10 countries in the MENA region. I really loved the work atmosphere at the Y-PEER ICYD and in cooperation with NCCA and UNFPA colleagues, and will commit to dedicate more time and efforts to the development of the Y-PEER Network.

Updates From International Centers

One fellow is currently appointed at Y-PEER ICYD as Y-PEER International Fellow. 1. Y-PEER Network and Y-PEER ICYD in partnership with YouhAct EU FEM project have launched an international campaign called ‘My Choice’ that aims to promote meaningful youth engagement in addressing and tackling early/forced marriage. 2. Y-PEER ICYD took part in planning and adding input to a research project proposal about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Jordan in cooperation with the American University of Beirut and the NCCA. 3. More than 100 scholarships for regional and international events were shared with the Y-PEER national networks, and technical support was provided. 4. As a youth-led network, we took part in a regional research project led by UNICEF regional office on youth systematic participation in programming. 5. In cooperation with Mercy Corps and Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs (SIPA), Y-PEER ICYD participated in a research study about meaningful youth engagement in the Middle East, focusing on displaced youth in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Greece. 6. Y-PEER ICYD attended a regional meeting in Tunis between March 6 and March 8, 2017 organized by IPPF regional office and Rutgers organization. The meeting came up with a regional network called ‘Arab Worlds Advocacy Network for SRHR (AWAN)’ where Y-PEER ICYD has been chosen to be part of the core committee of the network.

Updates From International Centers

7. Y-PEER ICYD representative attended the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) in New York at the UN HQ between 16th and 23rd of March, 2017. In cooperation with the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP), Y-PEER ICYD presented in a panel entitled ‘Innovative Family Planning Interventions to Address Youth and Women Empowerment’. 8. Y-PEER ICYD was invited by the UNFPA HQ to make an interview about the work we are doing. 9. Y-PEER ICYD and NCCA in cooperation with UNFPA ASRO led a joint regional campaign on promoting the culture of peace through advocating for gender equality and reducing gender based violence entitled ‘Three Days of Peace Activism’. The campaign launched on 11th of July and ended on 13th of July, 2017. We reached more than 1,003,288 on social media and more than 10,000 on the ground. 10. Y-PEER ICYD was presented at the Inter-agency Working on Reproductive Health in Crisis (IAWG) meeting in Amman between the 5th and 6th of April, 2017. The presentation entitled ‘Engaging Youth in Emergency Preparedness and Response’. 11. Y-PEER ICYD, Y-PEER Jordan and NCCA in cooperation with UNFPA Jordan held a national Basic Training for new 25 Y-PEER members in Jordan between 11th and 20th of May, 2017. 12. On 11th of May, Y-PEER ICYD, NCCA and UNFPA celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the establishment of Y-PEER ICYD in Amman. 13. From the 5th to the 11th of July, Y-PEER ICYD helped in organizing the International Arab Youth Congress 2017 in Amman that is implemented by NCCA and supported by UNICEF and USAID. 14. We conducted an advanced TOT of Peer Educator in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Humanitarian Settings between 26th of November to 1sth of December, 2016. 15. We conducted the Y-PEER leadership training 3.0 ‘Transforming the Lives of Young People by Equipping New Generation of Young Leaders.’ Between 12-15 September, 2016.

Hamza Meghari | Y-PEER International Fellow

Updates From International Centers

Updates From Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center In the first year of its establishment, Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center directly supported 8 countries in terms of financial support and more countries in terms of technical assistance. In 2016, Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center with support of its partners established Y-PEER Cook Islands, Y-PEER Solomon Islands & Y-PEER Tonga in South Pacific. Similarly, Y-PEER AP Center was successful to start Y-PEER Vietnam in East Asia. Y-PEER Laos, which was one of the first Y-PEER countries in the region was also reactivated in year 2016. Similarly, Y-PEER Asia Pacific Hosted two regional workshops, which were Y-PEER Youth LEAD Partnership Workshop and Y-PEER Asia Pacific Regional Meeting. 1. Y-PEER Youth Lead Capacity Building & Regional Planning Workshop Y-PEER Members and YouthLEAD members form different countries of Asia Pacific Region took part in the regional workshop which was held in August 2016. This workshop was the follow-up of the workshop which took place in 2015 where participating members came together and developed the regional and national action plans for the countries. 2. Y-PEER Asia Pacific Regional Meeting Y-PEER was establishment in Asia Pacific Region in 2010 and except GAB meeting in Philippines in 2011, there was no Y-PEER Meeting in the region. In August 2016, with support of RCNF, Y-PEER Asia Pacific was able to organise 1st Y-PEER Regional Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Y-PEER Representatives from 7 countries in the region gather to discuss on the plans and activities of the Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center as well as the grants which were to be supported to 8 countries in the region. The representatives also gathered information about the 2017 GAB meeting in which none of the countries from the region took part. The particpants also went though the Asia Pacific Version of Y-PEER Peer Education TOT manual, which was developed by UNFPA APRO with support of Y-PEER Trainers in the Asia Pacific Region. (Link)

The workshop also focused on the building the capacity of participants on SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) focusing on SRHR & Young Key populations. The discussion also focused on gathering information and brain storming for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youth Friendly Health Servicesâ&#x20AC;? Mapping in the selected countries of the region. 3. 9th APCRSHR ( Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights) Y-PEER was selected as one of the partners and supporters of the upcoming 9th APCRSHR. Being one of the representatives in International Steering Committee and International Youth Steering Committee, Sangeet Kayastha, Coordinator of Y-PEER Asia Pacific Center attended 2 International Meetings in year 2016 which was at Hanoi, Vietnam and Halong Bay Vietnam.

Updates From International Events

10 Days of Activism

10 Days of Activism is an international campaign which is conducted by Y-PEER International Network on annual bases. The campaign used to take place from the 1 st of December (World AIDS Day) to the 10 th of December (World Human Rights Day). In 2016, the focus of the annual 10 Days of Activism campaign organized by Y-PEER Network worldwide was adolescentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights and girl empowerment. The main objective of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme was to raise awareness of the critical period that adolescents, especially girls, and the experiences they go through. The campaign also aims to continue building the capacities of young people through their participation in out-reach activities, and re-enforcing Y-PEER national networks in various countries. The global network targeted participation in 30 countries, with a trajectory of reaching 30,000 adolescents and youths and 500,000 people via social media and other communication methods. Y-PEER Network with its national partners managed to reach 45000 young people among which are 26,000 girls. Also, 172.000 reached through different social media platforms.

Updates From International Events

Young and Refugee International Good Practices Conference

“Young and Refugee” Good Practices International Conference was held in the context of empowerment of Syrian youth project implemented by Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Youth Approaches to Health Association (Y-PEER Turkey) with the financial support of Government of Japan. The conference, was organized in Istanbul between 23-26 May 2017, was an international event which will bring best practices from organizations working with Syrian youth groups in various host countries. “Young and Refugee” Good Practices International Conference aimed to share and disseminate best practices in addressing young people’s needs and challenges in humanitarian settings with potential solutions in the areas of; youth participation, youth health, prevention of gender based violence and social cohesion.

Updates From International Events

Youth, Peace and Security Youth Consultation Meetings

UN SCR 2250 mandates the Secretary-General “to carry out a progress study on the youth’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution, in order to recommend effective responses at local, national, regional and international levels”, and to present the results of the Study to Member States of the United Nations. The Study is being undertaken as an independent, evidence-based and participatory research process, and will produce an operational report proposing a forward-looking agenda for the international community. It will provide the evidence of young women and young men’s engagement on peace and security issues and help overturn the negative stereotypes surrounding youth in conflict by highlighting and promoting young people’s active and positive contributions to sustaining peace. For this purpose; Regional Consultations are being organized in all regions with selected young men and women. These two to three day long Regional Consultations are being co-led by UNFPA and UNDP, and co-organized, supported and funded by various UN entities and regional partners. The involvement of civil society partners is also a priority in the organization of these consultations. Regional Consultation was undertaken for the Arab States Region on 4 th - 6 th December in Amman, for Asia Pacific Region on 16 th -19 th May in Bangkok, for Eastern Europe and Central Asia on 23 rd -25 th May in Istanbul and for Latin America Region on 29 th -30 th May in Panama.

Updates From International Events

Youth in Power

YouAct, in partnership with ASTRA Youth, PETRI - Sofia, Y-PEER, and YSAFE, with support of CoEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European Youth Foundation, UNFPA EECARO, and IPPF EN launched a project in 2016 aiming to develop a strategy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) by youth for youth. The projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall aim is to develop an up-to-date Youth Strategy based on the input, experience, needs and ideas of young people in Council of Europe and Central Asia countries, which will serve as an advocacy and awareness raising tool on SRHR of young people on the national, regional, and international level. Young people expressed their perspectives on the current gaps, challenges, and recommendations regarding the realization of SRHR for young people in the region through an online questionnaire filled out by over 1000 young people from all over Europe and Central Asia. Young representatives from over 15 countries gathered in Kiev, Ukraine on 3rd- 6th December 2016 to analyze the collected results and to develop a strategy based on the results obtained. The Study Session brought together youth activists in order to develop a joint Youth Strategy for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights based on the input, experience, needs and ideas of young people in Council of Europe and Central Asia countries and make synergies with other key processes for the region, such as the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

MEET OUR

EDITORIAL TEAM Daglar Çilingir - Turkey Editor In-Chief

daglarcilingir11@gmail.com

Giorgi Beridze - Georgia Editor

beridze.giorgi93@gmail.com

Idil Kına - Turkey Graphic Designer (Content & Artwork) idilkina97@gmail.com

Areej Al-otoum - Jordan Graphic Designer (Cover Page & Last Page) areejalotoum@hotmail.com

Ajong Ng - Philippines Graphic Designer (Photo Editing) ajong_12@yahoo.com

Gentjan Lita - Albania Design Reviewer

gentjanlita@gmail.com

We would also like to say special thanks to the following people for actively contributing with their Y-PEER Network stories and updates : Abdul Ghafoor Hatifie, Alaa Khachi, Alen Kuspanov, Alya Al-Shammat, Andi Rabiaj, Chenyan Dong, Daglar Çilingir, Dinh Phuong Nga, Enas Dajani, Firuza Rahmatbekova, Hamza Moghari, He Shanshan (Sylvia), Irinelu Iacoban, Kamal Prashad Udadhyay, Leo Christian Lauzon, Maria Popnikolova, Mohamed Ali Amri, Mohammed Gaber, Nino Chitishvili, Saadat Abdullazada, Saleh Hammad, Sangeet Kayastha, Sara Almalki, Sargis Ghazaryan, Soufrane Ahmed Mohamed, Tandin, Vjosa Ismaili, Zouhir Adaoui

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This News Bulletin has been developed by the International Institute for Youth Development PETRI - Sofia Sofia, Bulgaria, based at the National Centre of Public Health and Analyses, Sofia, Bulgaria, with the support of volunteers from the Y-PEER International Network.