Cornell Right to Know (RTK) Working Group - United States

The working group supports implementation of RTK by:

• Developing written resources, including protocol and training materials and a flexible toolkit
• Developing and facilitating PAR orientation workshops
• Providing technical assistance to specific countries through "Country Support Teams" and student placements
• Responding to specific resource needs identified by UNICEF/NY and RTK countries, including the development of assessment guides and other materials.

The Working Group has produced several documents to assist in the implementation of PAR in each of the RTK countries. These include:

• Core Concepts and Methods: Provides an introduction to RTK, PAR, participatory evaluation, the rights of participants, first steps to organising RTK and implementing PAR, and the Facts for Adolescents.
• Training Manual: A compilation of experiences that can be used as an example of possible workshops; this is not a cookbook to applied across contexts. It also serves as a resource defining and convening all key players in the areas of youth health, development, and protection.
• Toolkit: A set of tools, techniques, and specific activities that may be of use in organising and implementing PAR projects. The toolkit is continually evolving, and the experience of PAR in each of the RTK countries is added to ensure that the toolkit is reflective of the needs and concerns of young people and the understanding of PAR in local contexts.

The Cornell team views these resource materials as "living documents"; as the initiative continues, new tools, perspectives and stories will be added.

Here are two examples of stories from participants in the programme:

• I participated in the RTK orientation workshop as a facilitator in Jamaica this summer, and continued to serve there as a facilitator for the following 5 weeks. I was honored to work with extremely talented Jamaican young people who showed their diverse talents in skits, dances, songs, etc. My previous work experiences in participatory action research (PAR) in other countries were always with communities, especially women, and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with young people this time, which creates energetic dynamics. Their "collective thoughtfulness" made me feel very comfortable being myself and dancing "fake reggae". They even got me a gift for my husband who couldn't visit me there! I don't really know whether their "collective thoughtfulness" is based on their challenging experiences of tackling the sensitive issues of HIV/AIDS as peer educators or if it is the characteristic of Jamaican culture. Learning the insights which emerged from their rich experiences as peer educators also made me ask myself, "how can I maximize my contribution to this project as a university researcher?"
  
  I also met many wonderful adults during my stay there. I was very impressed by a lady who has been an HIV/AIDS project supporter, and her dedicated work for HIV/AIDS led her husband, who is a singer, and his colleagues to create a powerful song about HIV/AIDS prevention entitled "We can make a difference." RTK Jamaica is fortunate to have these people, and I very much look forward to going back there next January to continue working as a facilitator as well as a PAR researcher. My hope is that participatory action research will contribute to RTK at the local level, as well as at the national and global levels. From Keiko Goto, PhD candidate in International Nutrition, Cornell University
• I'm doing my research on youth campaign against HIV/AIDS at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi. The PAR Team (about 200 students) invited Selassie (a youth) - the Chairman of The RTK team in Ghana - to be part of their training workshop. I told them about RTK and how young people are really making a difference. Selassie honored the invitation and came. He made a presentation on STDs/STIs with a 3rd Year Medical student. Participants were so thrilled about Selassi's performance that everyone wanted to kiss him. The presentation went so well, people couldn't believe a young person like Selassie who had not enterred the University yet could know so much. In fact, if it was not for the introduction I made before they presented, one would find it difficult differentiating between the 3rd Year medical student and Selassie. He interacted with them so well and even after the workshop ended around 8pm, we hang around chatting and re-setting up the venue till mid-night. "Selassie" is now a catch name among participants in the HIV/AIDS intiative at KNUST. To me, the whole episode was an overview of what young people can do in this RTK intiative. From Virgil Mensah-Dartey, PhD candidate in Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University

Youth, Rights, Health.