Munich, Germany, July 27, 2024 - Jumping from the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, the Vibrant and Young Voices (VYV) Consortium held its annual meeting, marking a pivotal moment for reflection, addressing challenges, and strategising for the future. Facilitated by Y+ Global, the meeting brought together consortium members, including The Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS (CCABA) and Paediatric-Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA), to review progress and set the stage for future collaboration.
The meeting commenced with a comprehensive review of the consortium's achievements and obstacles from 2022 to 2024. Corinna Csaky from CCABA highlighted the successful Advocates Workshop, which united 132 advocates from Sub-Saharan Africa and facilitated essential interactions between global advocates and policymakers. She emphasised the need for deeper collaboration among consortium members to further leverage their collective strengths, such as networks, reach and visibility.
Luann Hatate from PATA shared insights into their successful efforts to integrate young people into health services, underscoring the importance of building strong relationships between youth and health providers. PATA also launched a toolkit, “Integrating peer support into service delivery: A good practice guide”, and fostered community dialogues to advance the visibility and effectiveness of youth-centred health services.
Y+ Global’s milestones included securing youth representation in global health policy bodies like the Global Fund and UNAIDS. Last year, they launched the "Engage Us, Our Health, Our Rights" campaign, highlighting the benefits of meaningfully involving young people in healthcare systems. The campaign featured the stories of over 50 young people living with and affected by HIV, showcased in a docu-series and through an art competition that encouraged creative thinking about the meaningful engagement of young people in health. Additionally, Y+ Global has supported young people to participate in policy decisions and has backed impactful youth-led health initiatives in Uganda and India, with the latter being part of the emergency and humanitarian support fund for young people living with HIV, globally.
The Youth Advisory Group (YAG) plays a pivotal role in guiding the VYV Consortium. Young leaders recently shared their thoughts on the consortium's impact on youth empowerment over the past two years.
"There will always be a continued need for genuine engagement with diverse and marginalised communities. It's important to bridge the gap between high-level players and those who experience everyday realities at the grassroots level."
Maximina Jokonya and Gabriela Romero facilitated the meeting, which focused on updating the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and establishing three new working groups to streamline operations and enhance collaboration.
The newly established working groups are as follows:
- Governance and Reporting Group: Responsible for organising quarterly governance meetings involving executive directors, a YAG representative, and finance and program teams.
- Impact and Action Group: This group will meet bi-monthly to plan and reflect on activities, focusing on monitoring progress against the VYV framework.
- Visibility and Communications Group: Led by the communications teams, this group will develop and implement the consortium's communications strategy, meeting at least once every three months.
Efforts to measure the consortium's impact were a key focus, with Y+ Global's Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team leading initiatives to enhance internal monitoring and reporting processes. This involves developing internal reports, infographics, and potentially a joint case study by 2026 to showcase contributions to the Theory of Change.
The meeting concluded with a strong emphasis on improving the consortium's communication strategy to enhance its visibility. Among the proposed initiatives is creating a comprehensive profile to reflect collective achievements and implementing a strategic approach to communication. The new Visibility and Communications Group will be established to further this goal to ensure effective outreach.
The Vibrant and Young Voices Consortium Annual Meeting set the tone for a productive and forward-looking approach to collaboration, community engagement, and impactful advocacy. The revisions to the governance structure, the establishment of new working groups, and the emphasis on enhancing the communication strategy will undoubtedly guide the consortium's efforts in the coming years.
"As VYV enters a new chapter, drawing from the achievements and insights gained in recent years, I express my gratitude to our consortium partners, CCABA and PATA, for their enduring collaboration. I want to acknowledge Luann Hatane and Corinna Csaky for participating in the meeting, as well as our Youth Advisory Group, leaders, go-getters, and achievers who help design and guide our programs. Above all, I express our deep appreciation to the Robert Carr Fund for their unwavering support."
Maximina Jokonya
Executive Director at Y+ Global
