Youth Leaders Speak - Guide for Facilitators

This guide is intended to be used for stimulating discussion of adolescents and communities in Latin America on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through digital stories recorded as part of the GOJoven project of the Public Health Institute in collaboration with the Center for Digital Story Telling. Youth from Mayan, Garifuna, Mestizo, and Creole communities in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize participated in a Fellows programme that provides training on leadership, SRHR issues, programme development, and advocacy. “The training enables Fellows to partner with health institutions and youth organizations on activities that empower adolescents, increase their access to culturally relevant sex education and reproductive health services, challenge societal and religious taboos against talking openly about sexuality, and advocate for policies that support youth health and well-being.”


Guidelines include the Center for Digital Storytelling precepts of:

• “Know your purpose. The Youth Leaders Speak stories address a broad range of topics related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health....
• Choose your audience. Once you know what you want to achieve, be sure to identify the right audience....
• Understand the issues. Read this guide carefully and review any handouts that you will be using....
• Plan well....
• Know your equipment and setting....
• Prepare materials in advance....
• Introduce the material....
• Establish ground rules....
• Try to involve everyone.....
• Respond with empathy.....
• Practice cultural humility.....
• Be ready to correct inaccurate statements....
• Attend to language and literacy....
• Debrief with participants....'

The guide provides questions for a general discussion of all the stories (available in digital format on the GOJoven website or their YouTube channel) and specifics of each story with a transcript, questions, key points, images, and discussion ideas. For example, objectives for a story on discrimination against girls include:

• "To enable participants to understand issues facing adolescent girls.
• To build participants’ skills for talking openly with girls about their reproductive health needs."

A take-away point, among others, is: "Health providers, parents, and concerned community members have an obligation to educate themselves about these issues so that they can offer sensitive and appropriate care/guidance to girls."

Another group of objectives for a story on HIV/AIDS stigma includes:

• "To dispel myths related to LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] identity and HIV/AIDS.
• To help participants understand the risks that homophobia and HIV stigma can pose to the sexual health of LGBT individuals."

A take-away point, among others, is: "Equality and acceptance of a range of sexual identities, combined with comprehensive sexuality education, can help prevent HIV among LGBT youth."

The guide provides a discussion of education, community building, and advocacy activities, especially influencing policy, which can flow from the narrative presentation. It provides suggestions for evaluating each event. Among the examples of policy advocacy are the following:

• "Bringing parents together to inform them of the importance of requiring sexuality education at all levels of formal education and gain their commitment to speak with their children’s teachers and school administrators about how the local school board can be urged to take action on the issue.
• Setting up a meeting with practitioners and administrators at a local health center to request that they create quality lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) friendly outreach, education, and clinic services and initiate a process of establishing appropriate protocols and holding staff accountable for adhering to them.
• Creating alliances with public and private youth-rights organizations to develop and help carry out local and/or country-wide activities promoting the adoption of country-wide laws mandating the provision of contraception to minors over the age of 14."

In addition to a glossary of terms, the appendices include:
A. Key Issues Chart
B. Additional Facilitation Skills
C. Coping With and Responding to Trauma
D. Taking Action
E. Action Chart
F. Researching National and International Laws and Treaties
G. Creating a Policy Advocacy Fact Sheet

From the GOJoven website - "Terms of Use:

The spirit of Youth Leaders Speak is one of partnership and support for youth across Central America and globally. The storytellers generously offered their time and creativity to create these stories. Please feel free to share them, as long as you are not doing so for commercial purposes. When you share the stories, please remember to acknowledge GOJoven and Silence Speaks as the producers."