October 13-14, 2009, Alexandreni, Singerei!

The TwoDays workshop in Alexandreni went really well. There is a high level of interest and motivation at the administration level in regards to the piloting of the course in this school.

At the same time, there is a high level of concern amongst some teachers, parents about the themes/topics that this course will address. Many of them acknowledge that they are not ready to face the challenge of having to talk/discuss with an adolescent about the sexuality, relationships, etc. There are still many TABU aspects which have not been overcome. There are very fixed stereotypes/expectations of the adults from adolescents.

On the other hand, there is a high level of motivation and curiosity amongst adolescents about the healthy life style, including issues of sexuality, maturity, etc. They usually learn about these aspects from their colleagues, friends and not from their parents or other family members.

Main results of the TwoDays workshop

The workshop started with a brief presentation of the project: main objectives and the expected outcomes. A presentation of the main expectations from the workshop was done in order to clarify with participants the role they play in this event and in the project in general.

Later, during the introduction part, all participants were asked to introduce themselves, as well as to formulate a problem/issue that they think the course on Healthy Life Style should focus on.

Here are the main expectations of the workshop participants in terms of the topics/thematic areas the course should focus on:

1. Avoiding conflict situations , Or how to solve conflicts

2. Correct nutrition

3. Everything about HIV/AIDS

4. HIV/AIDS Prevention methods

5. STI (sexually transmitted infections)

6. Cancer

7. The relationship between boys and girls

8. The experience of other countries

9. The daily regime of a young person – how should it look like

10. The quality of food we consume every day

11. Sexual life (age issue)

12. Diseases/illnesses people suffer from

13. Regular medical controls – why are they important

14. Body and the hygiene

15. The effect of the alcohol and smoking

16. Sports

17. Types of communication (communication in the family)

18. Family planning

19. How to overcome the stress

20. Free time, or how to spend correctly our leisure time

21. Decision – making skills

22. How to become self-confident

23. The key to success

24. Basic notions/key concepts about the physiological development of an adolescent

25. The relationship between the environment and health OR the effects of the environment on health

26. How siblings influence the ‶healthy” and ‶non-healthy” behavior

27. Respiratory diseases vs. infections

28. The impact of genetics on health

29. The code of labor

30. Positive vs. negative factors that affect our heath

31. Respect for the elderly, peers and teachers

Additional comments/suggestions made by the participants:

- teaching and learning about the Healthy Life Style should start at an early age (family, nursery schools), and this process should continue throughout the entire life

- Study visits, experience-sharing events with representatives from countries with a small number of HIV positive people

More details about this TwoDays workshop are available >> HERE