‘Young people are the key in the fight against AIDS. By giving them the support they need, we can empower them to protect themselves against the virus. By giving them honest and straightforward information, we can break the circle of silence across all society. Many young people do not go to school, so they need to be reached through community programmes.’

- Umesh Kumar Sanodiya

Vikalp: Searching for Alternatives, A Youth Forum on Social Change was conceptualized by UNESCO and The YP Foundation in 2009 as a practical dialogue space where young activists working on different issues could come together to reflect on best practices, work through challenges, share resources and develop inclusive strategies for promoting youth leadership and movements across India.

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The language of sexuality that we use at The YP Foundation has evolved over the last few years as our understanding of what the multiple facets of and interconnections within sexuality, gender, rights and health are. It’s been a challenging process and our knowledge of the same has been challenged, redefined, questioned and re-invented. The most important learning principle is that there is little that is static. Our key principles remain the same, but how those are defined and applied is a continuous learning process.

Over the last 2 years our work has been directed towards advocating for young people’s sexual right as a human right. Certain key principles that have been recognized are:
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Whilst there was a definite common agreement towards the need to raise more awareness about the Act itself, a lot of young people at The YP Foundation who have been working with precisely that mandate, questioned the larger strategic direction and purpose of simply awareness-raising in general. Our focus has been on the relevance of the act in one’s day-to-day life and the issues that it can be used for. Sometimes just filing an RTI on the little things or issues that we take for granted in our system and environment can act as a catalyst for change.

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