I'm not meaning that if its not a ground up campaign its invalid – I was relating it to something I saw recently (which unfortunately have lost) that discussed that non voting, or getting people to vote is much more important to politicians than it is to the general public ie. this is maybe a part of a bigger drive to get people into politics rather than seeking ways to engage people in ways that they wish to participate – that said the question of who's really pulling the strings is still very relevant.

Another thought maybe related – should the emphasis be on getting people engaged in politics, or getting politicians engaged with those they represent? (& from work I've done recently there is an issue with that at least at a local level)

Agree about the messiness but to me the solution isn't to make childhood shorter, I'd much rather we develop a society that values childhood and values the opinions of children and young people as they are – not simply grant 16+ year olds a right to vote and say well there you go now you've got a 'voice' – what then about 15 year olds does the argument have to be revisited in a few years time to lower it again and diminish childhood further?

I'm not against 16 year olds voting, frankly I don't care but then neither I think do many 16 year olds which is really my point – what difference will it actually make and what difference could instead be made if the time, effort and money was instead being directed at ensuring all young people are valued and listened to and not excluded in the ways like those cub scouts were in Parliament?

A relevant question to this debate is do you consider the votes for 16 campaign to be a truly ground up campaign?

I'm interested to see how he develops it – in the letters he's sent and from the school involved he's apparently credited it as my idea but its not, its very much his own. He did say right at the start though when asking for our support that HIV awareness was one of the things he felt was most important to be doing and its only right they determine their own priorities so happy to keep supporting as best we can. It would be good to pass on some of your experiences in Zambia to Kondwani and see if he can take some inspiration from them.

Something I think about a lot of this kind of work is that its often not the activities themselves that are important, its the relationships and understanding between people that are doing the activities facilitates. So if in doing practical enjoyable activities Kondwani and other volunteers and people like ourselves are able to build effective relationships with children and young people and through that pass on or help them to develop positive outlooks, aspirations and behaviours thats all to the good, and even better if some of them go on to do likewise.

For example, discussing myths about HIV such as being able to contract it through holding hands or sharing cups were easily dispelled through simple chats and games. The stigma attatched to the virus was also huge and had a big impact on communities, so again, exploring such issues in an open environment allowed us to explore these issues where drama methods were particularly successful, looking at empathy and supporting techniques. Like any important issue, it's always a good start to be able to talk about it openly. It's almost similar to the sex education movement which is taking place here in the UK. What I did recognise is that it was very normal to discuss sex with young children in Zambia in a completely different way to the way sex is discussed in the UK, obviously due to the focus on HIV prevention. It wasn't seen as a taboo, a secret, a sin; more a case of life or death- if people will do it anyway, they need to do it safely, a conflicting argument I hear so often which suggests sex education at a young age will promote underage sex.

So…..I do genuinely believe that if the delivery of HIV/AIDS work can only have a positive impact if any at all. It's good to see Kondwani using more modern approaches too which I also witnessed in schools out there, something that the children seemed to embrace where the issue was explored in a very positive, open atmosphere, i think work of this nature seems to promote this attitude.

I would genuinely like to explore and gain more experience in this area as i do feel there is something positive which could be developed (not just wanky drama stuff!), so it's great to see Kondwani making a start and it will definitely be interesting to hear the feedback!

I think the most important thing is to have trained young people to do the job, and again I think your right about taking both sides into account, having Organisations take it seriously, whilst getting quality input from young people.