I have just returned from this year’s The United Nations Conference on the Commission of the Status of Women, in review of Beijing +15 was held in New York City.   My experiences were nothing but positive, and reminded me of the many accomplishments women have made in the past decades.  Although, women have made many strides economically and socially the inequalities that exist between our male counterparts and us are still quite obvious. As a middle class American college student, I sometimes undermine issues that do not affect my local or regional community directly. However, being in an environment with comprised of representatives from over 192 countries issues like Female Genital Mutilation, child marriage, and human trafficking became more real than a fact sheet and almost tangible.

As the Women’s movement evolves it is very apparent that mobilization and advocacy strategies progress along with this movement.  The youth and male presence was lacking greatly at this conference and their role in this movement was rarely addressed throughout the conference.  Understanding that Violence against women (VAW) was an issue that almost every country considered a priority along with gender inequalities, I believe that the youth and men cannot be ignored as vital contributors to the new wave of activists in this movement.  The role of men in combating VAW is important in cultivating young and powerful men with a higher respect for women.  In some countries dialogue about issues concerning women will have a better response if men, due to gender inequalities, acted as the voice for women.  In addition, youth involvement is of the utmost importance in preventing many of the illnesses and inequalities that women struggle against. The youth provide great insight into current issues and will be the leaders that replace those who were at Beijing 15 years ago. 

 Maria Hinjosa, a New York reporter, was a moderator for the one of the panel discussions at the United Nations conference.  She was definitely a supporter of youth and male involvement in this movement and directed questions towards the panel concerning how the torch will passed.  One of the panelists suggested some type of mentorship, which to me seems logical.  However it was apparent at this conference that this older generation of women 1) isn’t ready to pass on these responsibilities and 2) doesn’t fully trust the capabilities of the youth and men.  How can the youth and men prove to this older generation of women that they are not only capable of continuing their legacy but also will the goals accomplish of their work.   

This entry is a part of our World AIDS Day Blogathon.  During this week we share our experiences, stories, and ideas about how HIV affects young people around the world. Join the blogathon .

The issue of HIV/AIDS has been very close to my heart since my uncle was diagnosed as HIV positive.  With my uncle being my inspiration, upon entering college I wanted to take a more active role in the fight against global HIV/AIDS.  Being surrounded by college students who shared the similar interests and were highly educated about the topic of HIV/AIDS was very intimidating but was also motivational.

Despite the active core group of students who were involved in this HIV/AIDS focused organization I quickly realized that the greater community of my university had a rudimentary education of the topic of HIV/AIDS globally and domestically.  This did not only anger me but made me feel like not only my efforts, but the other students who were invested in this cause, had gone unnoticed.  When I say unnoticed I do not mean that I was searching for praise, but our efforts were unnoticed in that if you asked a student what PEPFAR was they would draw a blank.  Or, when I spoke to my friends about practicing safe sex they still would admit to having unprotected sex.  To me this was unacceptable, especially on a college campus.

Such situations made me think that it would be beneficial to hold an event in which students could have an open discussion with people living with HIV/AIDS.  Maybe college students just need that personal connection with the epidemic, like I have, as motivation?  Unfortunately it was hard to motivate students to attend this event, and many of the other World AIDS Day events.   What was the most disappointing were students responses to the people living with HIV/AIDS in the dining hall when they tried to encourage students to attend the event.  To sum up the statements the majority of students said to the people living with HIV/AIDS it was something like, “HIV/AIDS… not my problem”.

So as we prepare for World AIDS Day 2009 how can we as activist ensure that we make HIV/AIDS their problem!  Maybe WE are the crazy ones, because I just cannot understand the lack of involvement among college students especially students in DC.  Regardless of the stereotypes and the groups who are at higher risk there is no one who is predisposed for HIV/AIDS.  For college students to be so ignorant of their risk of contracting HIV/AIDS it is not only discouraging, but shocking.  If our nation’s “most educated” group of people cannot even recognize the seriousness of this issue how can the rest of the world take HIV/AIDS seriously?

I do not have the solution to this issue but I think that as we embark on World AIDS Day 2009 as activist we should seriously think about how to not only educated and assist those in need, but find a way to make HIV/AIDS an important issue to our peers.  That is my challenge not only to myself, but also to you all as we gear up for this week of World AIDS Day events.

Let’s make it their problem!