Strategies will include the use of multimedia (television, radio, print, theatre) most popular among young people as well as interpersonal communication. These will be complemented by advocacy work and social mobilisation efforts, also tailored to be effective in every country. In each country the strategy will consist of at least the following components:

• Programme communication: the consultative process of addressing knowledge, skills, and practices of specific groups of programme participants in order to develop and sustain those behaviours for prevention of HIV/AIDS and for optimum well-being of young people.
• Advocacy: organisation and formulation of information to bring HIV/AIDS and other related adolescent issues and problems into the public domain for discussion and action.
• Social mobilisation: bringing together all the intersectoral social partners to raise demand for and sustain progress toward the project goal. This will involve enlisting the participation of communities, social and religious groups, youth networks, and other institutions through dialogue, entertainment events, information dissemination, rallies, or whatever methods are deemed appropriate in the respective country.
• Linkages to ensure that other programme elements necessary for a comprehensive approach are in place:
  
  • life-skills-based education for in-school and out-of-school youth
  • livelihood skills development
  • youth-friendly services, including peer counseling and access to condoms.

A global advocacy campaign is also being developed to bring the messages and methods of Right to Know to the global level. By engaging world leaders and mobilising widespread support, the global campaign will help put young people on government agendas, help increase funding for HIV/AIDS programmes, forge global and cross-sectoral alliances, and strengthen the global effort to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS among young people.

HIV/AIDS, Youth Health, Development and Protection, Substance Abuse, Gender, Sexuality, Life Skills, Knowledge, Participation, Children, Education, Health, Population, Rights, Technology, Women, Youth.

In recent years, communities across the world have faced a disturbing fact: AIDS has become a disease of the young. Young people aged 15 to 24 are now the fastest growing group of AIDS victims, accounting for half of all new infections worldwide. However, these very same people hold the key to stopping the AIDS pandemic. UNICEF experience has shown that HIV/AIDS programmes that focus on youth, especially programmes that utilise a participatory approach, have a better chance of succeeding. By making young people key players in the design, evaluation, and implementation of HIV/AIDS communication strategies, the Right to Know initiative aims to develop effective ways to provide young people information about HIV/AIDS, and help them reduce their risk of HIV infection.

Making use of innovative new methods in social research, the initiative is built on a foundation of youth participation. The initiative places the key information-gathering efforts of the programme in each country in the hands of young people, organised into research teams and assisted by UNICEF and outside experts. This approach includes the following components:

• Ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and efficacy: Strong youth participation will facilitate this. The Right to Know initiative operates based on what young people know and how they are influenced and motivated.
• Empowering young people to speak for themselves.
• Building capacity among young people: Specialised training in research methods, multimedia documentation, project planning and management, and other skills will stay with the youth researchers after they complete their service to the programme.
• Generating youth action and empowerment: The simple act of inclusion sends a clear message of pride and self-confidence to young people in every programme country.
• Placing young people in the driver's seat as active creators of knowledge and information instills a sense of ownership in every young person involved in the initiative.
• Bringing adults into the programme: Youth participation also depends on the parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other adults whose influences shape the lives of young people.