Mr Sidibe was more than happy to do so, and focussed on the role of young people to lead in the “prevention revolution”.

Speaking about the fact that 15 of the 25 most affected countries in the world are seeing a drop in HIV prevalence amongst young people, Mr Sidebe was oozing passion over a case study of young people in Botswana guiding government strategy on the national HIV/AIDS response.

Mr Sidibe also highlighted the youth focus of UNAIDS Ambassador, the Crown Princess Of Norway, HRH Mette-Marit, which has seen young people promoting safe sex, teaching others how to use condoms, and refusing to be passive in the fight against HIV.

So what has inspired him to be the leader he is today? A childhood account inspired him to fight to help people who dont have a voice. It becomes clear that Mr Sidibe is a real leader and someone in the perfect position to really make a change. Watch the full interview here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What do you think of this video? What do you think of Michel Sidebe’s focus on youth leadership? How important do you think leadership is and to what extent do you feel young passionate people should be involved in decision making when it comes to HIV policies?

What does leadership mean to you?

I am a 17 year old girl that lives in North London. I have great friends and I am extremely close to my family. I have one sibling, a brother who is 19 years old. Since I was a little girl I have always been loud and confident. My parents knew I was going to be a character from the moment I started to walk and talk.

My brother has always been the brains of the family he achieved the best grades in everything. I do not have his brains and will never have them my skills are in the creative side of life. I have always felt my parents aren’t as proud of me as they are of him. The more I think this, the more my confidence gets knocked as I have always felt obliged to follow in his footsteps especially when it comes to education. However I have never given up and I have passed all of my exams so far. I am currently at college and I study music, music technology and media studies.

When it comes to my friends, I couldn’t ask for better ones, they make me, me. I know I couldn’t live without them. I used to be extremely confident and a loud girl but since my friends and I have started going out properly, I have found that they get all the attention because of this I feel like a shadow, I feel I am hiding my real self behind them. I have told them but they tell me not to be so ridiculous and that I shouldn’t think like that.

This has not helped my confidence, it has been knocked a substantial amount. I am still loud just not as loud and bubbly as I used to be and I am wary of what people really think of me. I have started trying to build my confidence again. I know I am only young and can not talk for others only myself but I have witnessed being very low and being extremely happy. The fact I know what gets me low is a good sign because I can change and am in the process of doing that.

Because of my experiences I am able to say to others, that there is no need to compete with anyone else especially your family members and no need to think you have to follow in their footsteps because you don’t. Everyone has there strengths and weaknesses and you have to remember your family will always love you.

Be your own person, love your own interests and there is no need to change the way you are for anyone. That is what I have learnt that I have the right to be ME!

Click here to view the embedded video.

At the end of 2008, there were 2.1 million children living with HIV around the world.

An estimated 430,000 children became newly infected with HIV in 2008.

Of the 2 million people who died of AIDS during 2008, more than one in seven were children. Every hour, around 31 children die as a result of AIDS.

Let us know what you think of this video and the subject matter by leaving a comment below.

3 weeks until I depart, I have had my jabs, got my visa and have had a huge pile of generously donated toys that I have no idea how I am going to fit in my luggage under the weight limit. This week I have asked my close friend and respected colleague Samm Short, to write about the depletion of resources in Madagascar and the impact this has on local communities. Samm is Head of Project Development for Azafady and is based in Fort Dauphin. Samm has the huge responsibility of generating funds for all of Azafady’s projects and is heavily involved in the monitoring, evaluation and reporting to donors. Samm has played a key part in the development of my HIV prevention programme, from initial proposal writing, to programme design and financial budget plans.

Photo:  Ed Kashi www.edkashi.com

“A huge part of my job requires questions that can’t be answered without an understanding of the wonderful array of ancient beliefs and practices that together form what is known as ‘culture’. And in Madagascar, culture is everything. One of the hardest elements of local culture to work with is the problems that arise from an overwhelming and crippling lack of choice. In the rural communities we work with, survival is a day-to-day affair, and choice (such as it is) is based around decisions that maximise the chances of that survival.

One example of this is the illegal, yet widespread practice of tavy, or slash and burn agriculture. Tavy is the dominant mode of agricultural practice in the southeast and involves clearing large amounts of land through, quite literally, slashing and burning it. The soil is fertile for just 1 year, after which farmers are forced to move on to the next patch of forest to start the cycle again. The land is left without vegetation and top soil swept away by winds and rains, leaving Madagascar ever more vulnerable to the extremes of floods, drought, and desertification. Not only this, but the forests are fast running out – over 90% of original forest has already been lost – and those that remain are increasingly being restricted from use under the country’s Protected Areas System, with potential fines including imprisonment.

Fertile land is a tenuous resource in Madagascar; and the ocean is rapidly becoming so too. Over 70% of families in the southeast are dependent on either subsistence agriculture or fishing for their survival, and with over 90% of the local population living below the poverty line, the concept of sustainability doesn’t exist simply because it is not relevant – there is no assumption you will live to see the effects of your immediate actions. With less fertile land, more people turn to fishing, placing an increasing pressure on yet another fragile resource. In a classic example of the cycle of poverty and resource depletion, this photo shows a young girl scraping eggs from a pregnant lobster which will be sold to feed her and her family. Without their mother the eggs will never hatch, but the girl’s family will be fed for another day.

So when Azafady is developing a project that aims to eliminate the practice of tavy or illegal fishing, we are always thinking about choice: choice to farm in sustainable way, choice to contribute to conservation, choice to plan a future for a family. And from this comes the ethos that Azafady holds onto so tightly – perceiving each of our projects as integrated into a whole, which simultaneously addresses our four core areas; health, education, sustainable livelihoods, and conservation.”

Azafady: Poverty In Madagascar

Azafady: A Background To Madagascar

Azafady Facebook

Azafady website

Female Condoms have been a major topic of discussion in my office lately. This is especially because the Society for Family health is on some kind of campaign to really get them out there and get people to at least try them out. I can vaguely remember going to a lunch where the SFH launched the FC2s back in 2007 when I was interning for Youth Media.

“I wanna find out what all the Buzz is about, and if it could be something that I can adopt for the long term as my trademark form of protection.” I told myself when I went on this mission of… condom discovery as it were.

I already have one female condom in my underwear drawer, but I know that when trying new stuff going into your body, you’re hardly on point the first time you try. So I walked into my local chemist and stocked up on my supply of female rubbers (the FC2s). The actual differences between the first generation Female Condom and the FC2 which are second generation are more technical and were mainly aimed at making it more comfortable and affordable while still maintaining the features of the first one.

Back to the experience though, having heard that I can wear a female condom up to eight hours before sex, I decided to put this to the test. While getting ready to go out on Friday night, I wore one condom. It’s not very complicated if you follow the instructions well and take your time. The harder ring goes into the body and is supposed to help it sit in place, the softer ring with the opening sits on the outside of your vagina. The only weird part with wearing it in advance when you’re gonna go clubbing is It’s kind of gross having to pee with something hanging out of you, so the condom finally came off in the girls Loo at the a bar.

But I was determined to try all I could to use it that night. So a little tipsy and determined, my partner and I headed home to get it on. Thank God I had carried back-up FCs. Putting a female condom when you’ve have been drinking, in a hurry and are happy silly, and having an extra brain and pair of hands to “help”  isn’t as easy. It took us a couple of tries, but we got it and (…  trying not to go into all the gory details here) well we got it ON!!

Amazingly it wasn’t bad or awkward or anything like that. They feel just like normal male condoms and if you take the time, you’ll find that they are very easy to find too.  So, Am I gonna try them again? Definitely the feeling of control it gives you is amazing, knowing that your sexual health is not just at the hands of a clumsy horny guy who’d do or say anything to get laid is nice. And my partner was a good sport about it too. He reckons its nice for me to take the responsibility of protection, and he is tired of him always being the one wearing stuff.

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, ANYONE can start from now and make a brand new ending”. Carl Bard

Life is constantly evolving, what you choose for your life to be, it will be.

It’s not about mere material treasures valued or gained along on life’s corridor, nor is it about the occurrences or mistakes that arose during adolescent years; it’s about the right to choose; the right to live; the right to be free and the right to express and be Me!

I’m an artiste. I write.

The vernacular, the tenses, the passion portrayed through adjectives, nouns, verbs and pronouns as you read through the eyes of the author… that’s what it’s about.

Writing is an art. It’s also an avenue of expression. It allows me to vent, its one of those trial and tested areas, I can turn to despite what the world sees me as. When I write, there’s an undefined ardour. I want to explode onto the paper before me; there are times I get so animated to write. I’m sometimes loss or stuck between my thoughts and the words to breathe life into.

When I write I’m not limited to the perimeter of society’s thinking, nor am I restricted to the thoughts of my own, what I see, hear, feel, smell or breathe, I express and communicate it. Toni Morrison: Noble prize and Pulitzer Prize winning American author once said, “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” And I am writing mine, it may not be a best seller (just yet), or a noble prize winner, but its My heart, My soul and My expressions pinned to words for you to read, its what makes me …Me!

I am craftswoman of my own trade, and according to Greek philosopher, Aristotle who said, “The energy of the mind is the essence of life,” I concur and say, my mind is my quintessence and it’s what fuels me to be…

There’s no other person to be, and no other can ever be me, I’m unique and the only edition and make an unyielding contribution to this present civilization…I write!

“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” French Author: Anaïs Nin.

Over the years I have learnt to acknowledge that I have weaknesses and strengths. I’m only human after all. Funny thing is that very few people accept theirs own. However I can recognise that just like everyone else almost every single thing in my life, at one point or the other, has worked for and against me.

I grew up being told that I have a “white” attitude towards some aspects of my life. At first I really didn’t know what that meant but the meaning behind the words was always negative.

I think it is very strange that some people label parts of my life that they see by race in my country. If you throw tantrums then you are a “white girl”, if you rebel and drink, smoke, go out and stay out for weeks at age 13 then you are acting like white people.

Because of this I have had to hide what I feel or alternatively express my self privately through writing and art. It was painful and hard for me to be sacred to share my feelings and myself with people because I was afraid of what they would think. Being scared made me fail to express myself where it was really important. I was miserable and I sought solace in the art of pretence for years.

It became hard for me to open up to people and when the time came to have relationships; because I couldn’t express myself I gave all sorts of excuses to avoid sex. Of course I was young but I already had all this information about sex and HIV and AIDS but I just avoided the topic altogether and gave all sorts of other excuses.

So my only option was to stop with the rebelling, smoking and disappearing acts and grow up, find other ways to really be heard. I took up acting and my writing started to get some notice because people could relate to what I was feeling. All of the sudden, because it was in “acceptable” writing, it was ok for me to be me. I took the chance and exploited it. I EXPOSED ME to the world.

Therefore I believe that I have the right to be vulnerable. I don’t mean that in a way that is demeaning way of course but in a way that shows me emotionally, intellectually and physically. I want to express my deepest and darkest feelings. Show people how intelligent I am. I want to show you what I am like without the make up and the perfect boots, baby doll dresses and leggings. Sometimes to show myself as a vulnerable person, as a human being is important to show what I feel and help others relate to me because I am not PERFECT and neither are YOU.

Suddenly my sex is exclusive, not that it had been any less but the experience of Saturday the 7th of August is one to be accounted for! You see I finally have a serious significant other, being Violet of Shuga, and an adamant activist for the ‘wearing of condoms’ one would expect that I was as active in getting tested. But truth be told, I had never gone to any clinic with the intention of just knowing my status. What I’d do was wait to get sick, and when the doctor was ordering for my tests, I’d make a sly comment like “Just test everything”. In my head that meant HIV status as well. So if the doctor came back and stated that I was fine, I took that to mean I am negative.

Two months ago I met someone. I like saying that! My significant other, one I do not want to brag about but I think he’s great and hot! We had been dating for a while, all the things that people do to charm each other. I knew he was a great guy, and honestly speaking I had not even think of asking him about his HIV status, or rather inquire about his sexual history. He knows I acted in Shuga, because on our first date, two cute girls excitedly came rushing to me asking whether I could do a shoot for their designs. He seemed serious, and honestly knowing myself I was just going to send him to get me his status like I had done with most of my ex’s (not that there are that many!). So one day we were chilling and he brought up the topic, it started like this…

“So when was the last time you got tested?”… Me being me! thought of the last time I got sick and cutely responded “Two years ago”… “Ooh, my last test for HIV and STI’s was October last year” he replied. At that point my throat felt dry and heart was racing, but tried to look calm and composed. There was silence for a while before he said “Maybe we both need to get tested again”. Can you believe that? The man brought up the issue of testing before he could even a glance at any of my goodies! So I responded “Yeah, that would be great”. That night I slept badly. I was thinking I really like this guy, but would he date me if I was HIV positive? So the next day, he brought the topic up again obviously I had not masked my feelings as well as I thought I had, “Sharon, I don’t want to make you feel like I’m forcing you into this, this is your decision, and I understand if you choose not to take the test” REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY, now there was no way I was going to get out of this! Saturday the 7th of August came we decided to take the test I was so scared!

When we got to the 1st lab it was closed, I felt relieved. We got back into the car, where I almost pulled out, and I remember him asking me “Sharon what do you think I would think if you pulled out now at this stage”, honestly I just didn’t care what he thought at that point! We got to the second lab which was opened with an extremely pleasant girl in it! I pleaded to have mine done first…I’m telling you my eyes were glued to that strip for 3 minutes with not a single blink! I was panicking and remember my significant other tried to look, but I was so defensive! Funny it didn’t even faze him! However I could see a slight panic in his eyes. At that the same time the blood was moving along his strip! He looked at me and I looked back at him. We both knew our status. Positive or Negative, one thing is for sure, I know my status, and I plan to manage it!

Nothing in this world like a man who implores a woman to know her HIV Status! My man is definitely a keeper!

Today’s media bombards us with sexual imagery, both implicit and explicit, innuendos and brazen statements. Look at the way that model drapes her body across that chair. Ooooh, that’s a short skirt! Is that another naked male torso in that magazine? It’s not our fault that we’re always thinking about sex, it’s hard not to when the media take advantage of the fact that sex sells. Some people bombard us with sex too. That is equally as hard to ignore.

But if you take up the offer, remember it isn’t hard to use protection. In the UK, the NHS offers free contraception and advice, should you need it. Or you could nip to a pharmacist and grab a packet of condoms.

Condoms are easy to use and one of the most effective protective methods against sexually transmitted diseases. Keep them in a cool place and make sure the packaging isn’t punctured. Check the expiration date in advance; before the time comes when you need to use it, otherwise it might mean you face more hassle than you had anticipated! Make sure you squeeze the top to get rid of the air bubble before you put it on and dispose of it in a bin (not a toilet) when you’ve finished. It might be worth having a spare handy, just in case there’s an opportunity for round two, or if the first is damaged.

It doesn’t require a lot of effort to make sure that there is always a condom in your handbag or wallet. Or perhaps, visiting your GP or a sexual health nurse and getting a few months worth of contraceptives can make the matter less of a worry for the time-being.

It’s not hard. Especially if you’ve sorted all of that before it does get hard.

Ask me anytime what my passion is and you will get the same answer – while I love to write, and I love to read, my REAL passion is dancing.  Movements are undefined; they are steps that guide you to where you wish to be. When you move whether walking, driving, even kayaking or swimming, there are steps (not literal) you take, to guide you through subtle shifts that you construct to guide your body to where you want it to be; and that’s dance to me.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.”  ~Martha Graham (American Dancer/Choreographer)

When I dance, there is this sense that I’ve connected to my soul, the one driving force behind my existence. My mind becomes pure in thought, my body releases occasional burst of sparks namely, motivation and will, just stimulating the many molecules, veins and limbs of my human figure.

My mind dives deep into a chasm of emotion and passion allowing me to move to the beat of my own drum. At intervals, I may stop breathing for a second, while my eyes begin to close allowing my body to calm to meet the next move I’m about to do/create.

I breathe… and breathe… my body is at its’ calm, my senses are in full force, my mind at ease, my soul ready for the world and my spirit eager to move.

It is here my eyes become the words that I speak and my body defines the language of which I convey I am a dancer … I release, I create, I touch…

I dance because it makes me happy; I dance because it sets me free and I dance because dancing is the only way I know how to truly express myself.