Youth of Expression Program agents wrap up 2013 activities cycle

Brasília, 17 January 2014 - Agents and partners of the Youth of Expression Program met last Friday to evaluate the activities carried out in the past year. During the meeting, four of the six agents of expression -  young residents of Ceilândia and Sobradinho II, in Brazil's Federal District, who develop the program's workshops and activities - presented the results achieved in 2013 and received certificates of participation.

After the meeting, there was consensus among participants on the success of the program in 2013. "Participation in the Youth of Expression program opened doors to study and work opportunities among the agents. We ended up the year with three of them graduating and one of them starting university", said the program assistant of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Marina Marques.

Thabata Lorena, one of the agents, talked about her work at Mães Meninas, a group of young mothers that get together to share their experiences and learn entrepreneurial activities, such as sewing. Another agent, Wesley Paiva, has conducted skateboard workshops and recently created a brand called Ápice Skate, which is preparing to enter the market with t-shirts and products for the sport.

Other program actions from 2013 should also be noted. The first is the student exchange activity, which brought eight teenagers from Cape Verde to Brazil in October to visit the Youth of Expression Program. In November the program held a two-day event called Youth Dialogues, which brought together around 160 people in the cities of Sobradinho II and Ceilândia to discuss topics such as health, sexuality and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV.

Created in 2007, the Youth Expression program aims to reduce the vulnerability of young people to violence, AIDS and STDs, as well as support entrepreneurship. It is carried out by Caixa Seguros Group in partnership with UNODC, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO in Brazil) and Urban Network for Sociocultural Actions (R.U.A.S.).

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