The Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut looked different on that particular Saturday. Hundreds of high school students, members of the AL WALID Global Classroom- Model United Nations program, invested the university campus. The program is organized by the LAU with the support of Al Waleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation and in partnership with the United Nations Association of the USA.
All dressed up in black and white for the occasion, these young boys and girls were about to get a concrete insight on what the United Nations do. Saturday 27th of March, was the fifth annual United Nations Day at LAU and the students were divided into 14 different committees with various global topics. Around 40 students gathered in the ‘UNICEF Committee’ with a focus on HIV and young people. In coordination with the United Nations Information Center in Lebanon, Y-PEERS Lebanon were called upon to offer this young audience a concrete and detailed illustration of a United Nations action on HIV and Youth by introducing them to the Y-PEER initiative.
In their very own style, the Y-PEERs provided them with general statistics about HIV/AIDS, and presented them with the network. They presented the goals and strategies of peer to peer education, as well as its comparative advantages in preventing HIV among youth. The Y-PEER spirit marked the intervention: PowerPoint, videos, diagrams, banners, brochures and humor animated the session. Reactions were very positive. 15-years-old Valerie said ‘It made me realize how important information is. The problem is around us, and we are not aware of it because we don’t talk enough about these issues here. YPEERs made me aware of it’. Karim thought the same: ‘I had no information about HIV, today it was great when you gave us all this info, and very intriguing’.
When asked about what the YPEER experience inspired them, all interviewees said they felt safer: “now I feel safe that there is YPEERs and that if I am in trouble I can go to them’ (Mike, 16 years old), ‘It makes me feel that I do not have to worry anymore, not for me, nor for others, because if there is a problem, the YPEERs are there to help us’ (Hana, 15 years old), ‘I thought that in Lebanon, there is no place we can feel safe if we needed help. Now that I saw the YPEERS, I know that if someone needs help, he gets it’ (Valerie, 15 years old).
In brief, the young crowd was enthusiastic to get a taste of the Y-PEERs’ experience. A Q&A session followed the presentation, and the first question indicated the level of satisfaction: ‘Are we old enough to join in?’ Email addresses, Facebook groups and resource websites were exchanged. There is no doubt about it: future Y-PEERs were born on that particular day.
