"We should not stop the Movah! Project. This workshop was very useful and we learned a lot. We should continue this ASRH project, it is very important!"

Emal, a Youth Mobilizer from Afghanistan, delivered a strong message to JOICFP representatives. He was one of the participants for the Movah! Regional Dissemination Workshop 2007 under the UNFPA Asia Regional ASRH Project, and there were many similar comments from other participants, as well.

The workshop was held from 3rd to 6th December, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The project started in 2004 and this regional workshop was the last to disseminate the outcomes, experiences, best practices, and lessons learned from the model intervention of community advocacy through youth initiative for ASRH, undertaken in Bangladesh and Cambodia among Asian countries.

Thirty-five participants from nine countries; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, including youth representatives and resource persons attended.

“It is a good opportunity for young people to tell us what you want us to do,” Arthur Erken, Representative, UNFPA Bangladesh, sends a message at the opening.

Bangladesh and Cambodia, model operation countries, first presented their interventions and lessons learned, followed by the evaluation consultant sharing results of evaluations conducted in both countries.

In Bangladesh, some cases of early marriage were prevented by youth initiators and adult supporters, while in Cambodia, service fees at a commune health center for young people from 10 to 24 years old became free due to advocacy by youth initiators and adult supporters.

It was also emphasized that Movah! was successful in terms of overcoming generation gaps and establishing youth-adult partnerships.

Other countries also shared their experiences of community advocacy through an exhibition.

Each country's exhibition showed their activities
and IEC/BCC material

On the second day, the workshop participants visited the project site in Bangladesh, Sonargaon Sub-district, Narayangonj District, where they met with young people and local supporters.

Workshop participants interview local
support team members in Sonargaon

One behavior change observed from the field visit and lessons learned under the Movah! project was fewer early marriages in the communities. A local support team member shared her own experience with the participants that her mother, herself and her daughter all experienced early marriage. Until she was informed by youth initiators that early marriage was an issue for ASRH, she did not recognize it as such. However, after the Movah! project in the community, she persuaded other young and adult people not to marry early.

Now, she is the one of the strongest adult supporter for Movah!.

Apart from the formal sessions, there were several icebreaking activities among young and adult participant from the nine countries, such as drawing themselves to introduce each other, and showing their cultural dances and songs.
In a friendly atmosphere, the participants were enthusiastic to learn from each other and had active discussions even after the workshop, which developed friendship and strong ties among the participants beyond countries and generations under Movah!, giving further momentum to taking ASRH forward.

Getting to know each other