Background

The Network of Asia Pacific Youth (NAPY) was officially formed at the Asia Pacific Youth Workshop on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Bangkok, Thailand held from 31 January 2000 to 3 February 2000 to serve as a regional mechanism for advancing youth concerns and issues in the Asia Pacific region.

In December 2003, NAPY opened its membership to new members following a similar Asia Pacific Advocacy Workshop in Bangkok, where new coordinators were elected.

NAPY is the only youth network in the region that has as its priority concerns the 12 critical areas of concern outlined in the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action which implementation, monitoring and the text itself are interpreted from the perspective of the youth.

NAPY believes that empowerment of young women is a necessary requirement for social, economic, political and cultural development. Advocacy for youth issues and concerns should therefore be seen as integral to the over-all advocacy for women’s empowerment and development.

Our Aims

• To promote and protect youth rights especially
young women’s rights as human rights.
• To promote youth issues and concerns as an integral
part of the work for achieving gender equality.
• To address social, cultural, religious and economic
barriers that impede young women’s development
and empowerment.
• To ensure meaningful youth participation at all levels
of policy and decision-making process.
• To step up advocacy efforts to United Nations and
global levels.
• To ensure that young people have access to
education and information, including sexuality
education.
• To ensure that young people have access to health
services in a confidential, non-discriminatory, and
non-judgmental manner.

Priority Issues

NAPY uses the gender, rights-based and intersectionality-of-issues frameworks, in its analysis of young people's concerns and problems.

Its overarching issues are the following:
• Gender equality and equity
• Meaningful youth participation and youth perspectives
• Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights information, education and services.

NAPY's specific priority issues are:
• Early and Unwanted Pregnancies
and Unsafe Abortions
• HIV/AIDS
• Diversity of Sexualities
• Gender-based Violence

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Call for membership applications!!!

*young activist who are passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights
*from the Asia Pacific Region
*must be 15-30 years of age and willing to grow with the network
*ideally, already part of a youth network in their own countries
*part of the women's health/ SRHR movement at the national level

To request for an application form, send an email to:
info@networkofasiapacificyouth.org
napy_coordinators@yahoo.com

Agniva Lahiri (India): agniva_lahiri@hotmail.com
Rodelyn Marte (Philippines): rd_marte@yahoo.com