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Take violence one side, this slapping is all positive, because we couldn’t find a better word to explain the impact of the Central Auditions of the Y+ beauty pageant, the very first one for the 2019 edition. It was not just a memorable crowning but also a two-day experience of rigorous activities, impacting both young and old people with the message of HIV/AIDS Awareness.

It all began on Friday 4^th October 2019, with the pre-event activities geared at drumming up the public for the big do on Saturday.  More than once we have heard that good ideas start with discussion, and that is exactly what we followed. We opened with a community dialogue that broke down the topic of “Ending HIV related discrimination and stigma”, which took up both young and old people. The discussions bore meaning, as we dissected the roles of media, religion and the community in ending stigma. We also held a health camp providing testing and counseling.

From there we were in Kalerwe, where we surprised the folks with a dancing flash mob. Caught by surprise, they came in to see what exactly was causing the young people to break out in such a well-coordinated and choreographed dance. We had their attention in firm grip so we decided that we could now share the messaging on safe sex. Most of them were young people like us, and that was a bonus because we spoke a language they understand, which not only made the condom distribution and demonstration more fun, but also more understandable.

The pre-activities were wrapped up with an outreach with our peers at Kyambogo College School, where they got real life experiences from our previous winners of the Y+ pageant. We chatted about the spread of HIV, adherence and financial literacy with them.

With 108 people tested and 13,4000 condoms distributed, we held our auditions on Saturday. We looked for outstanding ideas, confidence, self-esteem and uniqueness. At the end of the day, Nairah Zawdde and Kabogozza Timothy were crowned Miss and Mr. Y+ Central Region 2019, in an event which brought together many stakeholders from government, CSO society and young people. Special thanks to Reach Out Mbuya, Reach A Hand Uganda, UN Women in Uganda and all our partners for that extra hand to make it happen.

Missed it? Check #YPlusPageant19 on all social media platforms to see how it went down, and we hope you’ll be ready to catch us with our Northern Region auditions.