For the first time, I attended a forum dedicated to promoting "increased leadership in gender-responsive programming for women and girls"; as well as developing, integrating, and modifying existing interventions and strategies to assist with preventing sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS in women and girls. When I first got the invitation to attend, I was excited to meet all the wonderful people who had been doing some pretty awesome work and to get to hear what they had to say. I'm a fledgling in the advocacy/policy business so i'm always eager to learn from those who have gone before me.

The first day was spent in a plenary; giving voice to the disparities of women and HIV/AIDS. There was much talk about gender impact, prevention challenges, the global experience etc. When Gail Wyatt and Dazon Diallo spoke, I was excited; they spoke the truth. These were women who sought to empower their sisters, mothers, aunts, daughters and cousins; it was all very wonderul. However, I was disappointed by the lack of representation when it came to certain groups. For instance, none of the young women of college age whom I spoke to were at the forum as representatives of their various community-oriented , campus-based organizations. They were there as interns of one professional organization or another -- OWH, OHH etc. And let's not even talk about the fact that the young women of American Indian descent who were in attendance had to call attention to the fact that they had been ignored before they were awarded 15 minutes to speak.

There was much talk about youth leadership and carrying the torch when the older people are gone, but no one asked for a report from the youth advocates or acknowledged the work done so far. I took a lot from the forum, but at the same time I felt insignificant. After a whole day spent listening to speeches on epidemiology, microbicides, determinants and vulnerabilities I found myself quesyioning my purpose. What was I doing here? All the stuff being talked about was way over my head. It all called for experience, research, and hands-on work; things I didn't  yet have. Instead of dwelling on the failures of the forum, I choose to see the glass half-full, just like my new hero, Rolake Odetoyinbo. I could talk about the many reasons why she's so awesome but you wouldn't understand. Maybe I will dedicate an entire blog post to her.

So, with that said, here is one of the many educational things I learned at the forum:

The REAL ABCs of sex, courtesy of Mrs. Odetoyinbo:

• Accept and acknowledge sex happens
• Be realistic
• Choices must be made available
• Decrease numbers of sexual partners and Delay sexual debut for yound people
• Empowerment with the right information
• Financial independence for women & girls
• VAGINA PRIDE!!!