PAI Observes International Youth Day

August 12, 2002

In honor of International Youth Day, Population Action International is joining District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams in commemorating the work being done by local youth advocates to promote international youth reproductive health and rights. As the largest generation in the history of the world matures, it is critical that their reproductive needs be addressed. It is even more important for these young people to speak for themselves about the issues that impact their lives.

Many organizations and individuals are doing innovative and important work on youth sexual and reproductive health. This year, Population Action International has recognized three organizations and four young women to receive the Mayor’s proclamation.

Naina Dhingra, a program associate for Advocates for Youth, has served on their International Youth Council and has represented the organization at the Special Session on Children held in New York City and at last month’s HIV/AIDS Conference in Barcelona. Naina is a senior at the George Washington University. She is majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Economic Development. Naina is also actively involved with the student-initiated Student Global AIDS Campaign.

As interns in Planned Parenthood Global Partners Global Intern Program, Lindy Blodgett and Kyra Wilson are working to ensure young people’s voices are strong, informed, heard. Lindy, a sophomore at Evergreen State College, is working to coordinate resources for international volunteers through the web. In the last four years, Lindy has been a peer sexuality educator, a teen pregnancy counselor, and participated in a global partnership with youth educators from Quito, Ecuador. Kyra, a 17-year old freshman at Hampton University, is developing resources for outreach to women of color on college campuses including historically black colleges and universities. Kyra has also worked with the Children’s Defense Fund and looks forward to a career in international law and public policy.

Amy Hetrick is the coordinator of Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF), a program of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice working with youth and young adults in the U.S. and abroad from many different faith backgrounds to advocate for reproductive choice, comprehensive sexuality education, and access to family planning services. Amy, a native of Marietta, Georgia, graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and earned a master’s degree in public policy and women’s studies from the George Washington University.

The importance of youth reproductive and sexual health cannot be overestimated. PAI commends these women, the organizations they represent as well as those who recognize the urgent and critical nature of this issue and continue to work towards its resolution.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.