CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality (CHOICE www.choiceforyouth.org ) is a youth-led organization that actively promotes and supports the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) of young people worldwide and meaningful youth participation in this field. The organization is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and run by an enthusiastic and professional team of young people, all aged between 16 and 29. It is our core conviction that meaningful youth participation in decision-making and in the development of programs at local, national, regional and international level can improve the reality of young people as young people can directly voice their needs on issues that affect their lives.
CHOICE envisages a world in which there is:
? Freedom of choice
? Equality
? Respect for diversity and sexuality
? An enabling environment for the development of every individual
? The opportunity for individuals to make a change
? Positive sexual experience
? Meaningful youth participation in all phases and levels of decision-making
Our main activities consist of our International Advocacy program, our Youth Leadership program and our programs focusing in eliminating Child Marriage.
Within the International Advocacy program, CHOICE contributes to strengthening and the establishment of SRHR and youth policy on an international level. International agreements can have an impact on young people?s lives and serve as an important advocacy tool for our youth partner organizations in Africa and Asia. To ensure that these agreements connect to the needs of young people, CHOICE advocates together with other youth organizations at United Nations conferences and meetings. In our international advocacy efforts CHOICE mainly focusses on the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the Post-2015 process.
Through our International Capacity Building program we promote and actively support capacity building of youth advocates and their organizations in Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia, Indonesia and India. CHOICE provides and strengthens local knowledge and expertise on SRHR, on lobbying and advocacy and sustainable organizational development. With the adoption of the Post-2015 development agenda CHOICE will focus on strengthening the capacity of youth advocates in our partner countries in order for them to hold their government accountable for what has been agreed upon in New York.
Together with Plan the Netherlands, CHOICE is working on a special 1-year project to address early and forced marriage in Zambia and Mozambique. The project is part of a regional program in Southern Africa called ?18+?, which supports girls to get the education, skills and support they need to move themselves from poverty to opportunity.
The Post-2015 development agenda covers a wide range of priorities that affect young people and their right to education, employment and health. Young people are key partners in the development and implementation of the SDGs and have the right to be involved in decisions that affect their lives.
CHOICE has been actively involved through the Women?s Major Group and the Major Group on Children and Youth and participated in the Open Working Group process and the intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015 outcome document. In the process leading up to the Post-2015 summit, CHOICE youth advocates have been advocating for youth SRHR rights and meaningful youth participation in Post-2015 and the follow up and review. After the adoption of the new development agenda in September, a variety of stakeholders need to be involved to ensure its implementation at different levels. Governments need to implement the Post-2015 development agenda at national level and there is a key role for civil society, UN agencies, the private sector and other stakeholders to hold governments accountable for their commitments. Young people have a specific and important role in standing up for their rights and monitoring the implementation of the Post-2015 agenda. It is therefore of importance that youth organizations are well-represented at the Post-2015 Summit in September. In order to build momentum for youth involvement in the Post-2015 development agenda and to establish youth-adult partnerships between young people and government leaders as a means of implementation for the new agenda.
Apart from the Post-2015 process CHOICE is also has years of experience with the ICPD process. The ICPD Program of Action is one of the key strategic lobby and advocacy documents for CHOICE. CHOICE participated in the Commission on Population and Development the past few years and was part of the Dutch delegation to the CPD several times. We have also supported youth advocates from our Asian and African partner organizations in order to attend the CPD and guided them throughout the process.
http://annualreport.choiceforyouth.org/ - Fleur Godrie, Chair (Dutch)
Milagro Elstak, Treasurer (Dutch)
Marelle 't Hart, Secretary (Dutch)
Zoë Nussy, General Board Member (Dutch)
Stefan Hennis, General Board Member (Dutch)
registration_choice_EN.pdf