How do you express your rights in relation to sexuality and HIV & AIDS?

The 20 youth who participated in the YAHAnet collage workshop, which took place at the Vienna YouthForce Pre-Conference at AIDS 2010, had lots to say about freedom of expression. Representing 13 different countries (Cyprus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Venezuela, Uganda, Kenya, Comoros, Portugal, Lebanon, Bolivia, and the United States), they came to the workshop with fascinating perspectives.

Through collage-making, they explored a variety of approaches to the workshop theme of "rights to expression in the age of AIDS". They talked about different ways to express sexual rights – from public display and activism to the use of music and the body.

Their collages explore how different institutions, such as schools, facilitate or limit freedom of expression. They also explore emotion: being passionate and being cool.

Collage, the participants found, is a very expressive medium for exploring, questioning, and acting on one's "rights". It is low-cost and low-tech but high in visibility and visual impact. Collage is perfect for expressing rights creatively.

See what 3 of the participants had to say about collage-making
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