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The Commonwealth Regional Advisory Board meeting will be held in the Seychelles from September 28-October 3, 2007. I have been included in the National delegation to this meeting in my capacity as Nigeria’s  representative at the commonwealth Youth Caucus.

In this light, I am expected to make a presentation on the status of youth development efforts in Nigeria. Considering that during my next term, I will be focusing on efforts specifically around access to HIV information, skills, education and services, it is my opinion that it will be a great idea to showcase the efforts of Nigerian youth (and especially members of the National Youth Network on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
(NYNETHA)) to effectively address HIV/AIDS in their communities.

By this email, I am encouraging members of NYNETHA and other youth organizations in Nigeria to send information on their work to me by September 5, 2007 email address: dabesaki@developmentpartnership.org. The
email should be sent in the following format: Project title, duration, Background/context, Methods/ activities, lessons learned/ findings,
conclusions/ recommendations. Please note that only projects sent in this format will be included in the report, and all submissions should be limited to 1,000 words or four paragraphs, whichever is more concise.

I will be very glad to provide more information as may be required.

 Though this email was originally posted on the DPI listserv two weeks ago, we have continued to recieve applications for the summit, as a result, I am posting it here again and hope that the information will be circulated.

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Due to the current security situation in the Niger-delta and
particularly in Bayelsa state, we are sorry to inform you that the 3rd
Nigerian Youth leadership Summit cannot be held as scheduled (September 4-5, 2006).

This year, we have recieved an unprecedented number of applications from all over Nigeria and from the international community. We appreciate your interest in the Nigerian Youth Leadership Summit, which we believe has been an important opportunity for youth to network with each other and build their capacities for effective, innovative and proactice social change and development actions.

We are currently in discussions with other state governments and will announce a new date and venue as soon as conclusion is reached.

Thank you for your understanding and warm regards.

Superleaders International www.superleaders.freeservers.com is organising the sixth leadership workshop and conference meeting in Port Harcourt with theme: Sensitive issues in leadership from Wednesday August 22- Saturday August 25, 2007.

 Venue: Bishop House Hotel #35 Ndele Street/ end of Worgu Street D/line Port Harcourt.

Time: 9.00-17.00 daily.

 Registration is free of charge but you MUST register ahead of the meeting to get a participant number. Please contact: Rev Elisha Agaba Eddie on 08032772035 or email: superleadersint@yahoo.com for more information.

 Nb: I have been invited as one of two keynote speakers to this event, and I hope to see some of you there!

Three types of HIV/AIDS epidemics are identifiable: low-level, concentrated and generalised epidemics. Concentrated epidemcs are presently dominant in Eastern Europe and South East Asia as well as some countries in the Caribean. The high risk groups; sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men, have been stigmatised and in some cases persecuted as a result of conflicts with morality, religion and the laws in their respective countries. 

In countries like Jamaica, MSM have particularly been targeted and have even been killed in some cases as a result of their sexual orientation. While I am not in the position to say what the causes of these might be, it can be deduced that the stigma is as a result of these conflicts between sex-work, same sex relationships, injection drug use and, morality and law. 

I am writing this email to pose the question to this group which way programmers should go. Should they respect laws/norms against injection drug use, sex work or same sex relations as the case may be, and not initiate programmes to tackle the epidemic among these populations? Should they ignore these norms and prescriptions and initiate new programmes that will effectively stem the tide of the epidemic? If programmes are to be initiated in countries where the law/ norms do not allow these practices, what are the best strategies that will work? 

It will be indeed very helpful if these issues can be addressed in this group.

Press statement of Nigeria’s Representative at the Commonwealth Regional Youth Caucus Africa

 Contact: Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima dabesaki@gmail.com, 0805 518 2526

For Release on August 12, 2007

I am very pleased to share some thoughts with the media at this very crucial time in our Nation’s development process. I am particularly excited as this is the climax of my term as Nigeria ’s representative at the Commonwealth Youth Caucus Africa Region.

2. The Commonwealth Youth Caucus is the highest level of statutory youth participation in the Commonwealth system and provides opportunities for representation in strategic governance structures of the organisation. National representatives are selected/ nominated by the member states through the Ministry responsible for youth. Each Youth Caucus representative is expected to serve an average of a 3 year renewable term. RYC members serve as the voice of young people at the national level in policy development processes and represent youth at important national and international forums.

3. On assumption of my role as RYC representative in 2005, I initiated the New Nigeria Initiative (NNI). This initiative was inspired by the foreword of the former President (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) to the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) which reads “I feel a new Nigeria emerging.” The NNI had three important objectives: ensure that youth issues are effectively integrated into NEEDS 2; mobilise young Nigerians to positively and proactively participate in the 2007 transition to a new civilian administration; and support and advance Nigeria ’s image building and value reorientation campaigns, through the Heart of Africa Initiative.

4. Several critical milestones have been achieved since 2005. In November 2005, I worked with the African Union Commission in the development of the concept for the Pan African Youth Federation. The proposed Federation was presented to and discussed at the African Union Youth Experts meeting in January of 2006. The proposed Federation was meant to be an implementation strategy for the African Youth Charter which was endorsed by Heads of State and government in Banjul in July 2006.

5. The African Youth Charter is a legal framework for the development of youth in Africa . Through the charter, AU member states committed themselves to improving the status of youth through important initiatives in education, health, ICT, HIV/AIDS and other issues related to youth development. In endorsing the charter, Heads of State also declared 2008 as the Year of the African Youth and November 1st every year as the Day of African Youth.

6. From August to December 2006, I worked with Development Partnership International in reviewing the NEEDS with a particular focus on youth indictors and the needs of young people. The process of the review involved key informant interviews, review of literature and a comparative analysis of NEEDS and the needs of young people. The findings of the study show that young people’s priorities are mainly in the areas of Education, Health, Employment and Participation, with employment and participation as the highest priorities.

7. To ensure that the recommendations and findings of the study were effectively utilised in the development of NEEDS 2, DPI worked with the Nigerian Youth Network on the Millennium Development Goals to conduct youth consultative sessions during the Zonal Consultations on NEEDS 2, to collect additional information from youth and to come-up with position papers that were presented at the zonal meetings. The final youth position paper was presented to the National Planning Commission.

8. In pursuit of the NNI goals, I have spoken at several meetings promoting the positive values of Nigeria and Africa . Last October, I spoke at a national conference on Youth and development focusing on living a life that reflects patriotism, national pride and electoral responsibility. I have spoken at conferences in Canada , USA , Ethiopia , Zambia , Kenya and Switzerland . Recently, I spoke on behalf of African Youth during the presentation of the World Youth Report 2007 draft, at the UN Commission for Social Development.

9. In the days ahead, I will focus my work on youth sexuality and HIV prevention. I have only recently (August 2-3, 2007) returned from a meeting focusing on the role of communication for social change in advancing HIV prevention efforts. Nigeria ’s HIV/AIDS burden is highest among young people and important action at the highest level of youth activism is required to move a strong agenda for change. I am happy to use my position to provide this much needed leadership. I believe that Nigeria can win the fight against HIV/AIDS and instil healthy sexual behaviour among its young people. I see a bright future!

10. I hope to build a strong partnership with the media to enhance the profile of the work that is being done at all levels and also help to mobilise youth leaders accross the country, particularly from tertiary institutions to support Nigeria’s development efforts.

11. I thank you for your rapt attention