Check it OUT: Empower: Youth, Arts and Activism: An HIV/AIDS Activism Manual for Youth by Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, ON — January 2009

Button-Making, Fashion, YouTube Projects, Film-Making, Safer Sex Organizing, and More!

The manual, Empower: Youth, Arts, and Activism, is designed for youth by youth, and it features a diverse range of projects put forward by passionate, inspiring and fired-up individuals committed to social change. Each individual, group, and project is committed to challenging social and structural issues around HIV and AIDS. From HIV positive youth fighting stigma to peer education projects and safer sex parties, this manual honours the work of communities creating spaces to talk about the issues that matter most. And, each project is accomplished with the use of art!

This youth, queer, and sex positive manual features work, interviews, and hot tips from the following youth activists and program:

• Prise Positive Take, Montreal
• Fashioning Change, YouthCARE, Toronto
• sprOUT/Compass, Griffin Centre, North Toronto
• PhotoVoice and the Francophone Project, GAAP, Toronto
• The Sense Project: Head & Hands, Montreal
• No Pants No Problem! Safer Sex Party Organizing, from Montréal to Toronto
• Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Turtle Island
• Innovative HIV Prevention by Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP), Toronto
• Playing it Safe Project, YouthCO AIDS Society, Vancouver
• Visual Artist, Jenn Yee

Partners of Empower: Youth, Arts, and Activism
Youth Action Network (YAN)
Gendering Adolescent AIDS Prevention (GAAP)
Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI)

Printing of the manual has been generously supported by CATIE. To order a FREE copy of the manual please visit the CATIE Ordering Centre at http://www.catie.ca after the launch. CATIE Centre Catalogue Number ATI-26158.

Copies also available for download here.