IT IS THE GRAND FINALE THIS FRIDAY

It has been quite an overwhelming journey; right from the Unleash, through to the regional auditions, the boot camp and finally on Friday 23rd November–The Grand Finale.
Honestly, having you on board, believing in our vision to enable positive and productive lives for all young people living with HIV, and even the mere fact that you have taken time off to read this Newsletter, means so much to us. We have gotten to where we are because of your continued support and encouragement.

This Friday, we bring you the Grand Finale..

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the 18 regional finalists, from whom the National Ambassadors in the HIV Response will be chosen. Come be witness of who will be the next Mr. and Miss Y+.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE Y+ BEAUTY PAGEANT

The Y+ Beauty Pageant is an annual campaign envisioned on “Beauty With Zero Discrimination”. The main essence of pioneering this campaign is to fight stigma and discrimination among young people living with and affected by HIV.

Young people are continuously facing the frustrations that come from stigma and discrimination from families, schools and general public. This in the long run affects their uptake of HIV services from health centres, adherence, and they then become fearful to disclose their status.

UNYPA is therefore using the Y+ Beauty Pageant as a tool to uplift the plight of YPLHIV, re-echo their voices and work together with partners to build a strong, energetic, creative, and productive generation.

The Whys of the Y+ Beauty Pageant;

To advocate for a stigma free environment for young people living wirh HIV in Uganda
To provide stakeholders with a clear understanding of the meaningful involvement of YPLHIV in programs meant for them
To empower YPLHIV as ambassadors of change with advocacy skills

UNiTE CAMPAIGN
This year, we are very happy to unite with UNWomen to End Violence against Women and girls in their campaign, Orange the World: #HearMeToo#HearMeToo brings to the forefront the voices of women and girls who have survived violence, who are defending women’s rights every day, who are taking action—many of them very far away from the limelight or media headlines. These are the faces we may not have seen on newspapers and stories we may not have heard on social media. Their voices and stories must be heard.

We are privileged that UNWomen will kick-start conversations regarding this year’s campaign during the grand finale event of the Y+ Beauty Pageant happening at Sheraton Hotel, this Friday.

If you are wondering about the link; Fighting discrimination and violence against women and girls is at the core of UN Women’s mandate, whereas ours is to fight stigma and discrimination among YPLHIV.