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Culturally approved! Relational and sexual education by youth workers
Start date: Jan 1, 2015, End date: Jul 1, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Most young people are given sexual education at school, but they often come away with a lot of questions dealing with relationships and sexuality. In the Moroccan culture talking about pre-marital relationships, sex and STDs are taboo. Most Moroccan youth are afraid to speak about sexuality with their parents out of shame and respect for them. Flemish youth often do not dare ask questions in regards to sexuality because they are afraid that they will come across as ignorant. The Internet offers young people a way out, but determining which is factual information is not always clear. Youth workers therefore have an important role to play in the relational and sexual education of young people. When working with young people, it is important that youth workers have insight into their own norms and values about relationships and sexuality and recognize the cultural stereotypes and prejudices. The organizations Argania and Swira organized a six-day international training for 16 youth workers from Belgium and Morocco. The aim was to share ideas and methods to exchange around sexuality and relationship education (RSV) and to specialize around different cultural beliefs regarding this theme. Through various informal methods, a clear framework was drafted about the realities of both countries in regards to relational and sexual education. This included a deeper understanding of cultural differences, prejudices and taboos surrounding relationships and sexuality. Emphasis on the importance of creating a safe space and environment for the youth they are working with were also covered. Youth workers learned new methods and skills in order to work with youth from different backgrounds on sexual education. During the training, a toolkit is composed, tested and evaluated, and will be provided online. The participants worked on concrete action plans and developed partnerships for future RSE projects. The international training provided an answer for the need of Flemish organizations to maintain a culture-specific approach to RSV with migrant youth. It also motivated more Moroccan organizations to take an active role in the relational and sexual education of the youth of Essaouira.
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