Youth Ambassador To Hone Their PR Skills

More than 20 young people from Commonwealth Asian countries will learn about creative media and press relations at a workshop for Youth Ambassadors for Positive Living (YAPL) to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 5 to 9 May 2004.

The Third Asia Regional Progress Review and Refresher Training Workshop for YAPL is organised by the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) Asia Centre and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Malaysia. Twenty-three Youth Ambassadors from Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore and Sri Lanka will be attending the event. The forum will provide an opportunity for the regional participants to interact and share experiences and ideas.

They will also undergo a training course to enhance efficiency and effectiveness besides reviewing the progress of programme implementation in the past year.

Drug abuse is among the major forces driving the HIV/AIDS epidemic and this trend in the Asia region has increased HIV transmission among young people, said Raka Rashid, Regional Director of CYP Asia Centre. The YAPL programme was designed to address the two important youth health issues threatening to rupture the very social fabric of our societies -- drug abuse and HIV/AIDS.

The YAPL programme is a CYP innovation that supports youth participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. Many of the Youth Ambassadors are themselves HIV positive or former drug addicts. They work with their peers to educate them about such issues and to provide them with support and counselling.

Through YAPL, the CYP has introduced HIV/AIDS and drug abuse awareness programmes in schools, universities, youth clubs and other youth organisations. This is achieved through innovative techniques such as street plays, media campaigns, publicity events, quizzes, competitions, music concerts, peer education and training.

The YAPL programme was initiated in Africa in 1993 and its success has led to it being replicated in other regions. It was launched in Asia in January 2001 and in the Caribbean in 2002.

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 181   28 April 2004