Growing Up: A project on sex education for adolescents

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum Members:

I'm delighted that so much attention is beginning to center on HIV/AIDS

education for young people, notably the school education programme in Delhi now

being executed through DSACS, and the Bihar SACS/Kurji Holy Family Hospital

initiative brought to out attention by Ms.Vandana Nair.

I would like to strongly support the move towards the inclusion of sexual

health- and HIV/AIDS-related information on a permanent basis into educational

curricula.

As a development communication professional working on health and gender issues,

my group, Ideosync Media Combine, has been working on a long-term

film-based approach to the question of adolescent reproductive and sexual health

over the past two years. Originally conceived under the BBC-WST/Ford Foundation

Sex & Reproductive Health Education:India project, the Growing Up project

envisions a series of 9 films - in three trilogies, directed at 10-14 year olds,

15-18 year olds and 19-21 year olds respectively - to be used as part of a

sustained interevention in schools, and by NGOs.

Designed as the core around which an integrated family life education/sex

education 'curriculum' can be built, the Growing Up films are supported by

facilitators' handbooks that suggests ways and means to develop and adapt the

films for different audiences. The first trilogy lays the foundation for the

later films, covering reproductive anatomy, the physical changes of puberty, the

psychosexual changes of adolescence, and the beginnings of sexual attraction.

The remainder of the series develops the issues raised in the first trilogy

further, discussing contraception & safe sex; STIs, HIV & AIDS; sexual

orientation; gender roles; and responsible sexual behaviour.

The project, besides being supported initially by the BBC/Ford project, has

since also received support from DFIDI. The first trilogy in English, for 10 -14

year olds, is now complete; and sets are in distribution globally to

organizations working with adolescents. We are currently commencing work on a

Hindi adaptation of the first (complete) trilogy; and are exploring sources of

funding for the continuation of the series in both languages. We are also in the

process of exploring support for a series of workshops where the complete films,

their use, and the components of the remaining films can be discussed witrh

NGOs, schools and educationists across the country.

I am delighted to report that the schools and NGOs using the films in their

current activities and initiatives have reported a tremendous repsonse to the

films from the young people they are working with...which only goes to show that

most of the hang-ups associated with the term 'sex education' are in the minds

of the adults. Besides being awarded at various fora for developmental

communication - the third film in the series was recently acknowledged as the

Best Educational Film for children at the 13th UGC-CEC Educational Film Festival

- the project has also received warm support from the parents who participated

in the making of the films, many of whom felt the films had given them a great

deal to think about regarding their children...

Time to stop hiding behind the excuses of what may or may not be talked about

'in our culture' (sic), perhaps, and take the bull by the horns?

Best,

N.Ramakrishnan

Ideosync Media Combine

No.804, Sector 7C,

Faridabad - 121 006

Haryana - INDIA

Tel:++91-0129-5310955/5249987

Telfax: ++91-0129-5310955

M: 9810273883

Email: ideosync@...

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