On average INCRESE graduates 100 young people from a one year course on leadership, sexuality, gender and HIV.
Over the years INCRESE has recognized that these young people require some mentoring and has put a support system in place where young graduates can be mentored by older graduates. This system brings the alumni annually to spend “A DAY AT INCRESE”.
The forum is organized with the following objectives in mind:
• To share experience on interventions after graduation.
• To learn, network and develop a road map to strengthen career interests on I.C.T., Entrepreneurship, Creative, Writing, Health, Education, and Development Work.
• To understand the concept of intersectionality of rights in leadership development.
On 28th of April, the 2018 forum was held at INCRESE. The theme of the day was “Intersectionality of Rights in Leadership Development”.
Executive Director, Dorothy Aken’Ova, addressing the alumni on the Intersectionality of Rights
Intersectionality of rights also demonstrates how rights of individual or groups are interconnected. For instance women, people living with HIV, victims of human trafficking and sexual abuse, sex workers, and injectable drug users, are often discriminated against and stigmatized. Protecting one of this population sub groups, for example women, and leaving out the others makes it impossible to eliminate all forms of violence against women. The question here is; what happens to the woman who is HIV positive or who is a sex worker or even a survivor of trafficking or rape? What happens to a man whose wife was raped? What is the sexual health status of a woman whose husband engages in indiscriminate unprotected sex?
Understanding intersectionality of rights and operationalizing same in development projects guarantees protection of all rights for all people.
Mr. Kehinde Okanlawon making his contrubution at the Alumni Forum
Present at the forum was, former staff of INCRESE Mr. Kehinde Okanlawon stating that “intersectionality of rights is a basis for human development”. Using sex workers as an example of the key population that faces discrimination, gender based violence and all kinds of abuse from community members. He concluded that people need to understand that sex workers are human beings and their rights need to recognized and respected.
INCRESE used this forum to introduce a new project to the Alumni: Connecting the Dots.
This is a movement building initiative that seeks to connect rights issues and also connect young adults from across various sectors from all over Nigeria. This project is focused on developing the capacity of young adults and organizing them into a movement.
The project provides a platform for skills, improved political participation and will constitute a critical mass to influence policies and programs on population health and development. They will be fellows of connecting the dots; the “3PHD”.