For Immediate Release, March 24, 2021
Contact: Lincoln Mondy, lincoln@advocatesforyouth.org
Innovative Sex Education Series Announces Grantees of First Global Impact Awards
AMAZE.org announces awards totaling 396,000 USD that will support seven organizations in delivering AMAZE animated videos to their region and increase access to free sexual health information and resources
Washington, D.C. – AMAZE.org, a project which harnesses the power of digital media to provide young adolescents around the globe with free access to medically accurate, age-appropriate, affirming, and honest sex education, today announced seven organizations as the recipients of 396,000 USD in Global Impact Awards to support the organizations as they bring AMAZE to their region.
The Global Impact Awards support organizations in adapting, developing new, and disseminating AMAZE videos — animated sex education videos that teach kids about puberty, healthy relationships, development, sexuality, how to prevent STIs, including HIV, unintended pregnancy, and sexual violence. AMAZE gathers a committee of experts to evaluate Global Impact applicants, selects and recommends awards (which can be given directly or through AMAZE as a conduit), assists partners during their grant period, and monitors and assesses the grantees for future grant consideration.
One hundred eleven organizations applied for the Global Impact Awards: including 40 based in Africa; 20 in Asia; 10 in Europe; 35 in Latin America and the Carribean; 4 in the Middle East; and 2 in the Pacific region. The heavy interest from around the world is a clear indication that the need for better sex education resources in the digital space is strong. AMAZE anticipates a second round of funding in early 2022.
With such a strong field of applicants, determining the winners was no easy task. AMAZE was guided by a strong advisory committee consisting of Erin Kennedy of ChildFund International, Tamara Kreinin of the The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Dr. Rebecka Lundgren of the University of California San Diego, Kristi Mahoney of the WestWind Foundation, and Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli of the World Health Organization.
AMAZE was created by Advocates for Youth, Answer, and Youth Tech Health and since its launch, videos have been viewed in 180 countries. The AMAZE team works to expand AMAZE’s reach internationally through partnerships with youth-led organizations, non-governmental organizations, multilateral agencies, and Ministries of Education and Health around the world to translate, adapt, and create new AMAZE videos. Amaze videos for young adolescents have over 50 Million views worldwide, and with this global impact awards program we expect it to increase rapidly.
“What makes AMAZE unique is the combination of sexuality education expertise with the innovation of animators to create health education materials that are informative, accessible, fun, and affirming,” said Nicole Cheetham, Advocates for Youth’s Division Director for International Youth Health and Rights and AMAZE International. “The Global Impact Award partner organizations are committed to comprehensive sexuality education and to adapting AMAZE sexuality education resources while leveraging their expertise to maximize the potential to reach adolescents in their countries with critical sexual and reproductive health information. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the AMAZE family.”
“We are beyond excited to begin this project because we didn’t have materials like these with such value, humor, and educational purpose in Latvian. After our first translated videos and the feedback that we got from all the children and young adults, we could really see how much they needed something like this. And we are also immensely excited to translate the videos in Russian so that even more youngsters would be able to watch and consume the videos in their first language,” says Luīze Laura Bērziņa from Papardes zieds (Latvia Association for Family Planning and Sexual Health).
Full List of Winners of the Global Impact Awards
- Aliansi Satu Visi (Indonesia)
- Colectivo para la Participación de la Infancia y Juventud (Guatemala)
- Family Planning Association of India (FPAI)
- Love Matters Global Network (for work in Kenya, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Papardes zieds (Latvia Association for Family Planning and Sexual Health)
- SALAMA (The Lebanese Association for Family Health)
- UNESCO Beijing Cluster Office
###############
AMAZE is a collaboration between Advocates for Youth, Answer, and Youth Tech Health working to create an engaging, age appropriate, online sex education resource for young people. There’s help for parents and teachers too. Visit AMAZE.org for tools to help facilitate a healthy discussion with your kids and students about these essential but sensitive subjects.