Regional Conference on Youth and HIV/AIDS 'Youth Net and Counselling' will be hosting a conference on youth, children and HIV/AIDS. Below is the synopsis of the con- ference. Conference Name: Regional Conference on Youth, Children and HIV/AIDS - East and Southern Africa Region August 24 - 27, 2004 Sun and Sand Holiday Resort, on the Shores of Lake Malawi, Ma- lawi Conference Theme "Enhancing Young People's Capacity in Fighting HIV/AIDS: A Tool in Responding to HIV/AIDS Epidemic" Conference Sub Themes Young, Poverty and HIV/AIDS Youth, Culture, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS Young Girls, Teen Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS Role of youth clubs and organizations in responding to HIV/AIDS Youth, AIDS and Edutainment Young people in care and support in HIV/AIDS epidemic Child prostitution, HIV/AIDS and child trafficking Child Rights, HIV/AIDS and Child Abuse Conference Objectives To share experiences on youth, children, sexuality and HIV/AIDS in the Southern Africa countries and responses to HIV/AIDS in the SADC Region; To allow youth program managers deepen their understanding on HIV/AIDS and the socio-cultural dimensions at grassroots level; To provide a forum for dialogue on issues relating to HIV/AIDS and poverty and how it affects youth and children programming; To establish a Regional Network of Youth and children related organizations on HIV/AIDS as a forum for sharing information, experiences and strategies in dealing with youth, children, sexuality and HIV/AIDS; To promote collaboration and coordination among youth and chil- dren related programmes in the SADC region on HIV/AIDS at commu- nity level; To allow HIVOS partners and other organizations dealing with youth and children a forum for sharing experiences and strate- gies in responding to HIV/AIDS at grassroots level. Conference Outputs "Regional Youth and Children Network on HIV/AIDS (RYNA)" estab- lished with strategies for networking put in place, clear struc- ture and implementation mechanism including fundraising for the network activities; Participants will have shared information, strategies and best practices in youth and HIV/AIDS Programming; Participants will have learnt from visits to youth programmes in Malawi ­ YONECO and Ntchanda ndi Ntchanda (Youth to Youth of Save the Children USA); Youth managers will have identified critical gaps in youth and HIV/AIDS and identify strategies to mobilise resources and advo- cacy to deal with the challenges at local and regional levels; Documented report on the conference proceedings. Conference Methodology Three groups of participants will be attending the conference. These include the programme/project officers or coordinators for youth and children on HIV/AIDS in various countries, youth vol- unteers in various countries and children affected by HIV/AIDS. There shall be three parallel sessions running with each group/class running the sessions. The groups, working is spe- cific areas will be working on specific themes at the same time and drawing the recommendations to be presented to various gov- ernments and HIV/AIDS commissions on specific actions that need to taken for the youth and children in relation to HV/AIDS. The programme has been designed in such a way that youth and chil- dren become active participants to the conference. It is ex- pected that the groups will develop their own mechanism of deal- ing with the challenges identified and also making sure that the facilitators guide them. An experienced person in child develop- ment and participation will coordinate the child wing! of the deliberations. The conference will be for three and half days, starting on Tuesday, August 24 ­ Friday August 27 and participants will de- part on Saturday August 28 and Sunday August 29, 2004 respec- tively. Arrival will be between Sunday August 22 and Monday Au- gust 23, 2004. In exceptional cases, we may have people arriving on Saturday August 21. A conference organizing committee is now in place. The committee will meet on various specific issues. A draft programme for the conference is in place and will be refined with time. Conference Costs 'Youth Net and Counselling' (YONECO), a non governmental organi- zation dealing in issues of youth, children and women in Malawi is coordinating and will host this conference with support from Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (HIVOS). The conference was basically for partners, but we have extended it to other organizations to encourage networking and coordination. The organizing committee is therefore inviting or- ganizations and individuals to the conference. The organizations or individuals should meet their own travel costs and should pay a conference fee of US$ 600 that includes registration fees, airport transfers, accommodation, meals, conference materials and participation in various exchange activities. It is expected that bringing in more participants will enhance sharing of in- formation. The other programmes would enrich the discussions and deliberations regionally. The conference registration is due on August 1, 2004. If you are interested, please contact one of the following peo- ple: Mac Bain Mkandawire Tel.: +265-9-953-542 mailto:mhjmkandawire@sdnp.org.mw Mairi McDonald Tel.: +265-1-525 560 mailto:@sdnp.org.mw Howard Chitekwe Tel.: +265-9-290 035 mailtoyoneco@sdnp.org.mw James Kalimbuka Tel.: +265-9-301 892 mailto:kalimbuka@yahoo.com