Young European Christians explore HIV, Aids and gender

Young Europeans from across Europe gathered earlier in the month for an ecumenical forum exploring HIV and Aids as gender issues.

The event brought together 26 young Europeans from across the denominations at the Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Salmopol near Szczyrk in Poland where they focused particularly on tackling the growing HIV and Aids issue in a European context

The weeklong event was part of the conclusion of Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE) campaign launched three years ago, "HIV can touch everyone - Ecumenical Youth Fighting HIV/Aids". The campaign was originally set up to raise awareness of fighting prejudice through acceptance, respect and compassion. In this context, EYCE had formed recent training courses focussing on HIV and Aids, the Roma people and young migrants.

During the training course, various non-formal educational approaches were used to discuss and highlight gender specific questions such as the vulnerability of young women and men, and to raise questions about human sexuality, drug abuse and the sex industry.

Guests from the Cenacolo community provided an insight into the stigma and prejudice they feel as young people living with drug addictions. Carina Wohlk, a Lutheran pastor working with people living with HIV, said HIV sufferers usually feel guilt and shame.

Part of the programme involved participants using their knowledge and understanding in order to construct a 'Tool kit' of practical materials developed throughout the campaign to use withing their own youth organisations or churches. The 'Tool kit' will be published by EYCE in the near future and will feature a number of resources which can be used directly or adapted to suit the specific context.

The training course was run with the support of the Lutheran World Federation.