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María Antonieta Alcalde Castro, Mexico
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| Photo by Madeline Djerejian |
“During Cairo Plus Five, we created an international youth coalition to promote implementation of commitments made on adolescents in the Cairo Programme of Action. Our idea is to use the tools of networking to empower young people. But that means giving them more than the tools of leadership. We must also provide young people with information and training on sexual and reproductive rights, on democratic values, all with a gender perspective. If we provide empowerment without content, we risk forming very good leaders with a conservative vision."
About María
María Antonieta Alcalde Castro first tackled the issues of gender equality and social justice in high school, and acquired leadership skills through the program Future Leaders of America-Mexico. With colleagues from a national campaign to promote voting among young women in the 1994 Mexican elections, María Antonieta created Balance, a young women's network promoting citizenship rights and political participation. Currently, she is its general coordinator. She also cofounded a national youth network for sexual and reproductive rights called Elige in 1996, and served as its advocacy director. In 1999, María Antonieta joined other young women and men from around the world to form the Youth Coalition, which advocates for the sexual and reproductive rights of young people internationally. She was a member of the coalition's steering committee until 2004. In 1999 María Antonieta also coordinated the first Latina American and Caribbean Youth Meeting on Sexual and Reproductive Rights, where participants formed a regional youth network, and in June 2004 she served as one of three co-chairs of "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge," the 31st Annual Global Health Council meeting in Washington, D.C. María Antonieta is also on the boards of the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and the Mexican Family Planning Foundation (MEXFAM), and the steering committee of the Global Action Network.
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