The Youth Camp for Equal Rights has reached its 3rd edition

During the period of July 8-12, 2024, 20 young activists participated in the Youth Camp for Equal Rights, organized by A.L.E.G., under the guidance of our gender equality experts, the involved psychologists, and the project team.

The camp took place in Sibiel over a period of five days and had the general objective of training 20 young activists for equal rights and promoting relationships based on equality and mutual respect. This included forming new friendships, lots of laughter, but also deep discussions on topics such as healthy relationships, human rights, feminism, gender equality, and tolerance.

“Any emotion is normal and good; it is okay to say no when something doesn’t feel right; my opinions matter and are valuable; everyone’s individuality counts; setting boundaries in a relationship is essential” – these are some of the things the youths told us they learned from these activities.

On the second day of the camp, Ewa Szymera, network coordinator at the ASTRA Network, joined us. Together with her, we discussed topics related to reproductive rights and health and learned about policies in Poland.

In the discussion about the importance of sexual education and the consequences of its absence, Ewa asked A.L.E.G. volunteers what essential elements they would include for good reproductive health education (a term the youth would use as it is more acceptable to their teachers and parents). They suggested including hygiene and respect for the body, menstrual health management, safe contraception, mental health and sexuality, tolerance for diversity, emotional management of relationships, prevention of sexual violence and sexually transmitted infections. They noted that serious discussions about consent are very rare and many of their peers do not understand the term. Regarding discussions about menstruation, they should not only be held with girls in the context of promoting commercial products, as often happens in many schools, but should be common-sense discussions involving everyone. Additionally, menstrual hygiene products should be available for free, especially in schools in disadvantaged areas.

With the help of Iulia Rusu and Doriana Tăut, the young people exercised their creativity, relaxed, and developed personally by writing the script for forum theatre, a form of performance aimed at changing people’s attitudes by addressing social issues. This form of theatre empowers the audience to find solutions and resolve social problems through active involvement. This play will be performed by them at the Gender Equality Festival, which will take place at the end of October 2024.

Throughout the summer, the volunteers will meet for new personal development workshops and to prepare the forum theatre performance. When asked about this year’s camp, they said: “Among the camps I have attended so far, this was one of the most interesting and covered current topics that many young people should address; I can’t wait for the next camp, it was a wonderful experience that I highly recommend and look forward to experiencing again; The group atmosphere was a safe space where we could express our opinions without being judged, and the workshops helped me develop as a person and gain more self-confidence.”

The 19th edition of the Gender Equality Festival will take place in October 2024. Stay tuned to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/festivalulegalitatiidegen/) as we will soon share more details about the festival program. 

The Gender Equality Festival® is an annual awareness campaign organized by A.L.E.G., primarily aimed at young people, to help them become familiar with concepts such as human rights and women’s rights and to see beyond stereotypes and prejudices.

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This year, the camp was made possible with the support of the French Embassy in Romania (Ambassade de France en Roumanie), Institut Francais in Romania, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the sweet and savory breaks were provided by Simpa Sibiu.