The Drum Beat 173 - Right to Know Initiative - UNICEF

Update: As of 2004, the RTK as a UNICEF HQ-driven initiative is no longer running. Substantial lessons were learned around increasing the capacity of UNICEF country offices and their partners to work more effectively with young people, from the assessment through planning, implementation and monitoring phased of HIV prevention activities.

Internally, the lessons learned have been documented and posted for UNICEF staff. Some materials will be going up on the UNICEF webs site and some on the Voices of Youth site. The participating countries have been sent CD-Roms which document the initiative, including the country materials.

The Right to Know Initiative (RTK) is a global communication and outreach initiative focusing on HIV/AIDS and related issues among young people. RTK is a UNICEF response to the following facts:

• HIV/AIDS has become a disease of young people, with young adults in the 15-24 age group accounting for half of all new infections worldwide. If nothing is done to reverse this trend, an entire generation of young people will remain at risk.
• The greatest danger young people face is their own lack of information. Even in the most drastically affected countries, young people possess limited knowledge of the risks posed by sex in a world racked by HIV/AIDS or the preventive measures that can be taken to reduce these risks.

RTK aims to:

• provide relevant information to all adolescents so they can make informed decisions to prevent HIV infection and lead healthy lives; and
• strengthen the capacities of young people, communities, and stakeholders in the RTK countries and foster partnerships for the participatory planning and implementation of appropriate youth communication strategies.

The central themes are:

• genuine youth participation
• research-tested communication strategies
• partnerships between youth and various organisations to promote life skills and youth-friendly health services
• advocacy and mobilisation of groups at every level of society to help create supportive environments

The 14 countries currently participating in the RTK Initiative are: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Côte d'Ivoire, FR Yugoslavia, FYR Macedonia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Thailand, and Zambia.

Contact Rick Olsen rolson@unicef.org

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PARTICIPATORY MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

1. Photography - Photovoice, based in England, has been working through RTK with youth in FYR Macedonia and helping them tell their stories through images. Many of the images that have been produced tell the stories of how they are affected by HIV/AIDS in their daily activities and interactions.

2. Video - The RTK Initiative makes use of participatory video to help find the best ways to communicate with young people on issues of HIV/AIDS. RTK has partnered with Scribe Video Center, a Philadelphia-based video production organisation for 2 pilot participatory video projects in Haiti and Jamaica. The project aims to capture the perceptions of young people on HIV/AIDS while at the same time increasing the capacity of local organizations and youth in communication strategy development.

3. TV - Youth in FYR Macedonia are producing a TV show called "Imam Pravo da Znam" (I Have the Right to Know) in collaboration with a local television station. The national show will aim not only to impart information about HIV/AIDS and engage youth in a dialogue about HIV/AIDS, but also to discuss other related issues such as gender relations and life skills.

IN THE FIELD

4. Zambia

Planned RTK activities include conducting participatory research to identify information needs of young people and developing culturally appropriate communication strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention among young people. Approaches used will include drama, poetry, and song.

Click here for more details...

Contact Midori Sato msato@unicef.org

5. Ghana

RTK will investigate and develop communication strategies that build off the findings from the national Rapid IEC assessment which indicates:

• Many young people know about HIV/AIDS, but there are many misconceptions
• Low risk perception of young people
• IEC activities are ad hoc and not coordinated
• Materials are difficult to find and are not being reproduced
• A lot of information available on condom use, yet not enough on abstinence and faithfulness

Click here for more details...

Contact Madelon Cabooter mcabooter@unicef.org

6. Haiti

RTK is working with several youth NGOs to ensure that young people and "hard-to-reach" youth are getting the information on HIV/AIDS that they need.

Click here for more details...

Contact Sylvana Nzirorera snzirorera@unicef.org

7. India

RTK aims to pay particular attention to the issue of gender relations and to the right of adolescents to access vital information, services and networks that can support them in making informed choices.

Click here for more details...

Contact Veera Mendonca vmendonca@unicef.org

8. Guatemala

RTK will utilise the results of Participatory Action Research to develop an appropriate communication strategy. Activities will include:

• identifying the best ways to develop messages to reach the groups of adolescents most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS
• involving adolescents in the process, with the idea that they themselves can best identify the most appropriate strategies for communication.

Click here for more details...

Contact Ramiro Quezada rquezada@unicef.org

9. FYR Macedonia
RTK uses creative methods for data collection that include photography, video, theatre, art, and music. Young people are learning how to best convey information on HIV/AIDS and dissuade other young people from practicing risky behaviours.

Click here for more details...

Contact Dimitra Dafalia ddafalia@unicef.org

10. Jamaica

Young girls aged 10-14 are twice as likely, and girls 15-19 are 3 times as likely, to become infected with HIV than boys the same age. RTK will address the underlying causes of the disparity between boys' and girls' infection rates.

Click here for more details...

Contact Penelope Campbell pcampbell@unicef.org

11. Malawi

Priority activities include:

• strengthening the capacity of youth NGOs in areas of communication strategy development, implementation and evaluation
• providing adolescents with information and life skills that can assist them in the prevention of HIV/AIDS
• addressing the issues of young people's lack of action irrespective of their knowledge on HIV/AIDS.

Click here for more details...

Contact Bernard Gatawa bgatawa@unicef.org

12. Nigeria

RTK will build on efforts initiated by UNICEF's commitment to the Massive Awareness-Raising Campaign (MARC). RTK will also seek the participation of young people in defining communication activities for youth including and the most marginalised youth in Nigeria.

Click here for more details...

Contact Cyrilla Bwakira cbwakira@unicef.org

13. FR Yugoslavia

RTK plans to develop creative interventions for participatory activities wherein youth themselves produce TV, radio, and print materials on the CRC topics and the "Ten Facts."

Click here for more details...

Contact Jelena Zajeganovic jzajeganovic@unicef.org

14. Thailand

RTK aims to build upon existing programming by starting at the reflection stage of Participatory Action Research (PAR), rather than initiating PAR activity from "scratch"; promote PAR methodologies that allow youth to fully express themselves; and strengthen the linkages between ongoing PAR activities and RTK.
Click here for more details...

Contact Scott Bamber sbamber@unicef.org

15. Namibia

RTK hopes to build on growing commitment to address the rights of adolescents.
Click here for more details...

Contact Rick Olson rolson@unicef.org

16. Cote d'Ivoire

Research findings indicate that peer education must complement any informational or mass media campaigns. A RTK priority is to pursue the development of peer educator manuals that address the needs of young people.

Click here for more details...

Contact Beatrice J. Clarinval bclarinval@unicef.org

17. Bosnia & Herzegovina

This is the newest RTK partner country.

Click here for more details...

Contact Amna Cerimagic acerimagic@unicef.org

YOUTH IN ACTION

Through the initiative, young people become activists for the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention as they research, design, and implement strategies for reaching out to other young people. Thai high school students are making it possible for HIV-positive people to disclose their status without fear of ostracism by conducting HIV awareness-raising performances. Macedonian youth are producing a TV show involving youth in a national dialogue about HIV/AIDS. Many more stories are still to be told by young people participating in and forging the way forward for the Right to Know Initiative in their respective countries. [UNICEF, Nov 2002]

18. 7 years ago, Damian Brown was selling clothes and novelties in the bus park of his hometown in Jamaica. Today, he volunteers for RTK and helps other street and working children improve their lives and protect themselves from HIV/AIDS - Click here to read more...

19. Galvanized by the extent of sexual and reproductive health problems, and hoping to make a positive contribution in his country, Selassie works for RTK and several partner NGOs in Ghana - Click here to read more...

20. In Thailand, 2 high school students discuss their efforts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, spread knowledge, and reduce stigma in their hometown - Click here to read more...

21. In Guatemala, researcher Dr. Fidel Arévalo is training teenagers to assess young people's knowledge about HIV/AIDS and interest in learning more. Also, why 2 teenagers want to spread the word about HIV - Click here to read more...

22. After several years of studying HIV/AIDS at university, Annette is learning to use participatory action research methods to enhance the RTK team's knowledge about young people and HIV/AIDS in Zambia - Click here to read more...

23. 17-year-old Nina visits primary and secondary schools in FR Yugoslavia to find out how the students at each school want to get information about HIV/AIDS and to help develop those means of communication - Click here to read more...

24. Working on RTK in Malawi has helped Rex appreciate the necessity of talking to young people if HIV/AIDS education and communication are to have any effect - Click here to read more...

25. 17-year-old Milica helps organise the RTK workshops for the TV show "Imam Pravo da Znam" (I Have the Right to Know) in FYR Macedonia - Click here to read more...

26. Drawing on his experience working with RTK and another youth organisation, Jumbe reflects on what the young people of Zambia know about HIV and how to improve their knowledge and understanding - Click here to read more...

27. In Nigeria, UNICEF consultant Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale and 23-year-old RTK volunteer Moses discuss the potential, the reality, and the lessons of their work educating young people about HIV and prevention - Click here to read more...

PARTNERSHIPS

28. Cornell University is supporting the RTK Initiative through the provision of technical expertise in the area of participatory action research (PAR). The working group supports implementation of RTK by:

• Developing written resources, including protocol and training materials and a flexible toolkit
• Developing and facilitating PAR orientation workshops
• Providing technical assistance to specific countries through "Country Support Teams" and student placements
• Responding to specific resource needs identified by UNICEF/NY and RTK countries, including the development of assessment guides and other materials.

Click here for more information.

Contact Jennifer S. Tiffany jst5@cornell.edu

RESOURCES

(available for download)

29. What is Right to Know? Plans, phases, approaches, goals, results [PDF]

30. An introduction to the Right to Know initiative [PDF]

31. Right to Know Initiative - Youth in Action [PDF]

32. Photos from various RTK workshops and activities from participating countries [PDF]

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A list of additional WEB RESOURCES related to RTK is available.

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Many thanks to Ana Milicevic, Jude-Marie Alexis, Ken Legins, and Trina Chang for their assistance with this issue.

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