About YAHAnet

Our History:

The idea of creating a global webtool for youth that focused on HIV & AIDS and the arts was initiated by McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada, and sponsored by UNESCO. McGill University partnered with the University of Toronto in Canada and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to get this project started. A comprehensive world-wide study of over 300 youth groups with an online presence revealed the importance of "getting the word out" about HIV & AIDS through creative approaches including photography, hip hop, graffiti, music, story telling, radio drama, theatre, and film. The need for a web forum to promote and expand the artistic work of these youth groups was the driving force behind the development of YAHAnet.

Our Hopes and Goals:

By recognising and facilitating the importance of artistic expression and the Internet in the everyday lives of youth, YAHAnet aspires to empower youth to take action in the fight against HIV & AIDS.

We at YAHAnet believe that each individual member of our site has a vital role to play in AIDS advocacy and education. We encourage each of you to add to our online showcase of artistic messages and to visit our forum and contribute to the open discussion of HIV & AIDS in the context of gender, sexuality, and ethics.

Our Team:

Over 50 people from around the world were involved in the development of YAHAnet. It was conceived by McGill professors Dr. Claudia Mitchell, Dr. Bronwen Low, and Dr. Michael Hoechsmann, and ideas and support for the project were provided by student interns, graduate students, and professors at the University of Toronto and McGill University, both in Canada, and at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

After YAHAnet's test launch, student web programmer Stephen Hopkins created an updated framework for the webtool in late 2008 based on design input from members of the YAHAnet student team. The webtool has always been maintained, updated, promoted, and expanded by youth interns located in Montreal, Canada, under the leadership of a Project Coordinator.

The YAHAnet Team is currently led by Dr. Claudia Mitchell from McGill University in collaboration with Project Coordinator John Murray.

YAHAnet acknowledges all the interns who are no longer involved with the webtool but who generously donated their time, energy, and skills to the project. A special thanks goes out to the former Project Coordinator, Caitlin Tanner.

The YAHAnet Partnership:

YAHAnet was created — and continues to become bigger and better — because of the efforts of certain initiatives and projects at the following institutions. Click the logos below to find out more!
McGill University     University of Toronto     University of KwaZulu-Natal     UNESCO

 International Visual Methodologies for Social Change project     Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

In 2010, YAHAnet became a project of The Participatory Cultures Lab at McGill University.

_________________________________________________________________________

An Overview of What YAHAnet Has to Offer:

  • video, audio, and image galleries where each member, workgroup, or organization can display artistic creations
  • a social networking component that puts individuals and groups/organisations in direct communication through shared workgroups, event calendars, and forums and serves to extend users' repertoire of arts-based approaches while deepening cultural understanding of HIV & AIDS issues
  • material on ethics related to HIV & AIDS including gender-based analysis and discussion of social stigma
  • up-to-date information on health and behaviour relevant to HIV & AIDS and young people such as statistics, new findings about prevention, and current research
  • how-to guides on using specific art forms to raise awareness about HIV & AIDS and counter stigma and discrimination
  • a searchable database of literature on how to use the arts for social change
  • surveys, quizzes, and featured projects/activities to generate on-going interest in the webtool