The SAFE II project is a 3 year project (2009-2012) of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) and co-funded by the European Commission. The SAFE II project builds on the achievements of the SAFE project (2004-2007).
Recently IPPF EN held the SAFE II mid-term conference on 7 April 2011 in Brussels, Belgium. It was attended by 37 IPPF EN MA Executive Directors, 8 SAFE II project coordinators, 2 collaborating partners and 9 young people. During the programme, participants were able to 1) be informed and provide feedback on the progress of IPPF EN youth SRHR projects, 2) share information and good practices on youth SRHR, and 3) be inspired and motivated for work on youth SRHR. As the project is at the mid-point, IPPF EN is happy to share that progress has already been identified in the project in relation to improving policies on youth SRHR, understanding the determinants affecting young people’s SRHR, the uptake of good practices to improve the SRHR of young people, increased commitment for youth SRHR, and to strengthen the participation of young people to address and improve their SRHR.
Young people active in the project give their insight into the importance of SAFE II:
"For people from our youth group it is very interesting and also useful to join an international project and gain practical skills in the field of research."
"The SAFE II gives young people unusual chance to put all of our energy, enthusiasm, creativity and knowledge into developing a project which will affect us and our peers directly!"
"The SAFE II project and its outcomes will be important for those who work with young people in the field of SRHR. It will show us what kinds of messages young people really need and want and what is the best way to deliver it."
The SAFE II project is looking into specific elements of good practice across the entire project that can be shared as examples for others working in the field of youth SRHR. One example of a good practice so far can be seen by the meaningful participation of young people in the project as project coordinators, advocates and implementers of the activities.
Recently the following project deliverables have been developed:
- Baseline youth SRHR policy assessment in 18 countries: provides an overview of youth SRHR policies in 18 Europe countries in relation to general government policies, comprehensive sexuality education, access to SRH services and access to safe abortion services. This document will be updated 2 times throughout the SAFE II project.
- Qualitative research training tools: provide examples that can be used in developing a qualitative research training programme as well as an inventory tool to track the availability of existing youth SRHR research.
- Summary assessment of good practice projects: provides an overview of examples of SRHR projects that incorporate elements of good practices. This document will be continually updated throughout the SAFE II project.
These documents can be useful for programme workers on youth SRHR and are available on the SAFE II website.
For more information on the project please see the website at
www.ysafe.net/safe
or contact the IPPF EN project coordinator at
adortch@ippfen.org