History of YOLO

To stimulate a dialogue about Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) with teenagers is the most important goal of YOLO, but

HOW to stimulate a dialogue and start sexual education? How to start and When?

Background

The YOLO.game is an initiative of Marleen Engbersen Project Management. In 2002 already Engbersen founded the WEB.foundation together with Karin van Paassen. Their goal: to inform adolescents about HIV/ Aids before they would become sexually active. In close cooperation with NGO’s such as PLAN, UNICEF, ICCO, the Dutch HIV association, PATH Thailand, CORDAID, Dutch AIDS foundation, Virgin Unite (charity arm of Sir Richard Branson) etc. they developed tools for communication about HIV/Aids in different countries.

LOVE.check games – FAMILY.matter games – STOP.ebola game – films The Story of Bobo.

All the games are based on the principle of ‘Memory-game’ and are developed together with local experts in health care. Each game consists of cards which shows daily life situations and involve topics such as: relationships, sexuality, HIV/Aids to encourage people to talk about these delicate issues. All the games were evaluated by cultural anthropologists. The outcome was that children have more information after playing the games and also discuss about all kind of important topics in their daily life situations depicted in the cards. Rural children and street children with negative sexual experiences were able to talk about sexuality for the first time.

The foundation also realized 15 trainings films to guide adults to address adolescent sexuality issues. These 15 short films can be of great assistance when you want to play YOLO.

In 2018 the WEB.foundation stopped her activities and Engbersen decided to continue as she developed a new innovative game YOLO as social entrepreneur. With her experience of more than 15 years in creating edutainment games, she thinks it is high time that parents and teachers encourage young adults to learn to talk to each other about the issues related to healthy sexual behavior.

That’s why Engbersen created YOLO as it is a communication tool about SRHR.

Since the #MeToo-campaign more and more people become aware about the necessity – to learn to talk – more openly about SRHR. It is of great importance that parents and teachers discuss SRHR issues and feel comfortable themselves while discussing these with their youngsters.

And for the youngsters:
Knowing that they are supported and informed, making these teens more likely to have a healthy and enjoyable sexual life because they are better equipped to make informed discussions.

On the internet young people have access to a lot of information but YOLO provides more personal, interactive, educative and (very important)  a more friendly exchange of SRHR issues.
With YOLO questions like ‘how to live together’ and ‘how could I tell I’m not in the mood’ can be discussed more easily. It is a tool to support adolescents who can be vulnerable among their peers and to ensure that boys and girls feel strong and become self-reliant in listening carefully to their own wishes and limits.
YOLO as a tool: to empower young people to prevent unhealthy sexual behavior in order to reduce the chance of damaged injured souls.