Madagascar
The Ankoay AIDS Prevention Movement: "Youth Talent Beats AIDS"
Activity Dates
2004-2005
Activity Summary
The overall goal of the Ankoay program is to inspire youth to strive towards earning the distinction of being an Ankoay, or champion, youth group. Earning this honor means that a youth group has
- actively engaged in developing basic life skills,
- carried out a peer education program,
- reached out to educate and serve the community, and
- has been certified.
 In this model, groups or youth clubs work through a series of highly participatory activities, developing life skills such as decision-making, goal-setting, self-esteem building, and communication. A Life Skills Activity Book is part of a kit, which also includes a skit scenario guide, an individual tool called the “Youth Passport” and monitoring forms. This combination of materials accommodates a variety of learning styles and personality types. The activity book promotes the development of positive social norms and skills, while role plays and skits focus on behavior change through modeling. The Youth Passport in turn works through individual reflection and peer education. Together these materials allow youth to “experience” difficult and high-risk situations in a safe environment and to then “proclaim” their values to the larger community.
The Ankoay model emphasizes enthusiasm and action as the key to learning, rather than vice versa. As many ineffective youth programs demonstrate, learning does not necessarily translate into behavior change. The Ankoay model is based on the premise that if young people have fun and are engaged in an activity, they will be more likely to act, and based upon that action, to learn. The Ankoay program also encourages young people to engage their parents, peers, and communities in their learning process, recognizing that behavior change cannot happen in a vacuum. Finally, Ankoay aims to tap into the peer dynamics of a cohesive youth club or scout troop. HCP believes that positive peer pressure is a powerful mechanism for sustained individual-level behavior change.
The primary target audience of the Ankoay is youth aged 15 -18. HCP has rolled out the Ankoay program through a series of three-day training workshops. Working with local partners (such as UNICEF, faith-based organizations, six scouting organizations, the Ministry of Youth, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health), HCP developed teams of trainers composed of two adults and 2 -3 young people. This team, in turn, returns to its youth group or school and over the next 8 -12 months rolls out the program.
Guiding Principles of the Ankoay Movement
Principle #1: Communicate action-based messages
In order to maintain a strong, sustained focus on effective behavior change, a series of action-based HIV/AIDS prevention and care messages underpin the Ankoay program. The focal point of each message is a small, doable action promoting a positive behavior that can reasonably be carried out by a young person.
Principle #2: Design to go to scale
An important feature of the Ankoay model is that it is designed with large-scale implementation in mind. Many community-based programs cannot be taken to scale because they are too cumbersome, too academic, and too expensive to produce and implement. The Ankoay program is a “minimum package” in terms of complexity, training requirements, and cost, making it both appropriate for young people and ideal for taking to scale.
Principle #3: Employ diverse, participatory learning approaches
The Ankoay program employs a range of participatory learning approaches. Taken together these approaches complement each other and provide youth of every personality and learning style an opportunity to find their niche. For example, for an introspective young person, the Youth Passport might resonate well. Community outreach appeals to those who have a strong service orientation. Role plays and skits traditionally attract the extroverts (although often it is surprising to note the range of "types" of youth that find a "home" in this educational format).
 Principle #4: Each youth group is responsible for its own success
It is surprisingly how rare this principle is in community-based development programs. Each of the three programs for schools, scouts and sports is built around working through a series of goals. Youth groups vie in friendly competition for the honor of becoming Ankoay. Experience has confirmed that youth actively respond to the challenge that a set of goals represents.
Principle #5: Celebrate success
When a youth group is certified as having achieved Ankoay status it is a time to celebrate and publicly reinforce a successful effort in the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS. Festivals are held after approximately 8-12 months of youth’s effort, which serve as a graduation ceremony that promote an exchange of ideas and set the stage to launch a new wave of activities. Community festivals tap into an exceptional source of creativity and pride. Festivals include singing, dancing, drama, sporting events, and often a parade or an HIV/AIDS quiz show.
 In 2006 UNICEF contributed funds to carry out a quantitative and qualitative baseline and a follow-up evaluation. Changes in attitudes and behavior will be measured at both the individual and community levels. At the community level, the evaluation will examine outcomes such as:
- Increased communication between young people and their peers, parents and other significant adults about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
- Local advocacy against risky sexual practices.
- Community capacity to address youth priorities.
The UNICEF-funded evaluation will be completed in 2008. The Malagasy Government continues its engaged, active support of the Ankoay Movement. The overall goal is to ramp up the scale of Ankoay until it is in 80% of all schools, scout troops and sports teams across the country. The Ankoay Dore or level II program, which places increased emphasis on community leadership, will be rolled out during the second half of 2007.
Materials
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Title: Ankoay
Type of Material: Label
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Audience
Youth 15-18 years old
Partners
UNICEF
Faith-based organizations
Scouting organizations
Ministry of Youth
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Health
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Note about materials: Some of the materials and resources listed on each page are available in their full form, others are represented by image or citation only. For more information and resources, go to www.jhuccp.org
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