HIV and Health Care Support Centre: Emerging Climate Champions

Our World, Our Say is a youth-led initiative in Hai Phong, Vietnam, addressing the urgent intersection of HIV-related health disparities and environmental degradation. Our organization’s focus is on equipping adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS with creative tools, particularly through arts-based participatory research such as photovoice, to document their lived experiences, challenge stigma, and advocate for environmental and health justice. By positioning youth as leaders and storytellers, we directly address the compounded vulnerabilities they face, including pollution, inadequate waste management, and the social marginalization associated with HIV.

Through six years of sustained collaboration among the Health Care Support Centre (HHCSC), the University of Louisville, Northern Arizona University, and local partners, the project has made meaningful contributions to change. Youth participants have created powerful photographic and artistic narratives that illuminate pollution, stigma, and resilience. These narratives have been shared in exhibitions in Vietnam, the United States, and South Korea, reaching policymakers, educators, and community members. Audience surveys demonstrate that the exhibitions fostered empathy, shifted perspectives, and motivated attendees to take action on both HIV stigma and environmental protection. Youth reported increased confidence, self-expression, and a stronger sense of agency in shaping their communities’ future.

Our community is comprised of adolescents impacted by HIV in resource-limited households. Trust is built through long-standing relationships with HHCSC and local self-help groups, as well as meaningful youth-adult partnerships that ensure shared decision-making. We engage the community both formally, through structured workshops, exhibitions, and partnerships with Ministries of Health, Child Protection, and Education, and informally through peer networks, intergenerational dialogue, and digital dissemination. This approach ensures that youth voices are heard and integrated into community-level solutions.

Looking ahead, we hope to expand to include climate-focused advocacy, mobilizing 500 adolescents as leaders to engage over 2,000 peers in schools on reducing plastic bag use. This next phase builds on the proven success of art and advocacy as tools for social change, shifting attention to sustainable practices and ecological stewardship. Our interdisciplinary team, spanning public health, social work, and the arts, is equipped to guide this vision with robust research methods, strong community partnerships, and a commitment to youth empowerment.