European guidelines for youth AIDS peer education - University of ...

• technical support in the form of information, skills training, answers to questions, help in setting uppresentations and activities, and funding for implementations and equipment• social and community support in maintaining links and liaisons with project collaborators and other peereducation projects, help in carrying out negotiations with adults, and support in resolving problemsbetween the peer educators and the intermediaries, gatekeepers and parents• personal assistance in the form of emotional support on an ‘as-needed’ basis for both project activitiesand personal growth, the maintenance of a positive atmosphere in the peer educator group, and supportin times of personal and group crisis.fThe project co-ordinatorThe co-ordinator will not only co-ordinate the project action plan but set the project style. The coordinator’scontacts will include policy-makers, administrators, intermediaries, medical and social scienceprofessionals, parents, the peer educators and the targeted young people. During the planning stage, it isimportant that attention is given to hiring or appointing the appropriate person. This person should be welltrained or experienced in these areas, knowledgeable in the subject matter, flexible, open, and wellsupported by his or her agency. Since the co-ordinator will often work in the field, it is important thatspecial care is taken that they don’t become isolated or develop conflicts of interests.Further, the co-ordinator oversees the training of the peer educators and maintains supportive contact withthem afterwards. He or she needs to be experienced with young people, enjoy working with them,understand their spirit, and have a sense of responsibility for their care and development. The role of theproject co-ordinator in peer education is often ignored in the literature but they are key to project successand peer educator well-being. Not everyone is able to do this.European guidelines for youth AIDS peer education 29