A Guyanese youth chosen from the global field for UNAIDS Fellowship
HE beat more than 200 international applicants for only one available fellowship and now, 21-year-old Korey Chisholm of Guyana, is in Geneva to start his 9-month internship with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

He was selected to participate in the UNAIDS Special Youth Programme to spend six months at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva and three months attached to the UNAIDS Country Office in Georgetown.

The call for applications to enter this UNAIDS Fellowship was issued through a range of networks of young people, with the help of YWCA and UNFPA.

According to the international interview panel, Korey was chosen out of many because of his considerable experience in working on HIV-related issues at the community level, especially for his young age; his highly developed communication skills; his maturity and his passion for contributing to the HIV response in Guyana.

The UNAIDS Country Coordinator for Guyana and Suriname, Dr. Ruben del Prado is delighted that a young person was selected from a country that oftentimes escapes the recognition that it deserves.

“Guyana,” as he recently stated publicly, “is experiencing an unstoppable momentum of consolidated efforts in the HIV-response, by government, civil society and the development partners, leading the way towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in the Caribbean.”

“Korey’s selection out of many,” he says, “from choices all over the world - speaks of the excellence that is present in Guyana, and is at the same time very motivational for our entire Region.”

It is expected that UNAIDS and the young fellow from Guyana will mutually benefit. He will acquire knowledge and skills from his participation in UNAIDS work, and in turn contribute to UNAIDS’ commitment to work with young people in developing effective programmes with and for them.

The UNAIDS Special Youth Programme has three main objectives:

** To create opportunities at appropriate levels of the Organisation to engage youth in policy development and programming;

**To help build the capacity of young people and strengthen their leadership skills to contribute to the AIDS response; especially at the country level;

**To sensitise both the young people and UNAIDS staff on various modalities of working together to address issues related to HIV, particularly youth concerns, gender, the involvement of people living with HIV, and Human Rights.

Korey will be in Geneva until the end of December 2008, working on issues related to young people and HIV at the global level.

He will also attend the 17th International AIDS Conference that is taking place in Mexico City from 3 to 8 August 2008, where he will give a presentation on youth and HIV in the Caribbean, with a special focus on his own country, Guyana.

During the nine month fellowship, he will be offered various training opportunities to build his capacity as a young leader in the AIDS response.

Upon completion of his six months in Geneva, he will return to Guyana to work with the UNAIDS Office in Georgetown. His primary interest, he has already indicated, will be to help develop and support innovative programmes related to young people and HIV. (UNAIDS release)