Youth Incentives was the international programme on Youth and Sexuality of the Rutgers Nisso Groep (now Rutgers WPF) from 2004 to 2010.
Vision and mission
Youth Incentives has a vision of the world in which all young people can enjoy safety, confidence and pleasure in relationships and all other aspects of sexuality. Its mission is to support and empower young people, male and female, to make informed choices regarding their reproductive and sexual lives.
Positive approach
To achieve this mission, Youth Incentives promoted, used, shared and fostered a comprehensive and positive approach towards young people and sexuality. Openness about and respect for all aspects of young people’s sexuality and access for young people to sexual health services were key factors to this approach.
Participation of young people
Youth Incentives believed that interventions were most effective when a participatory and interactive approach was used based on young people's needs. They should be actively involved in developing, implementing and evaluating programmes and projects targeting them.
The RAP-rule
Based on this philosophy, Youth Incentives developed a guiding principle for its work, the so-called RAP-rule:
- Rights-based approach
- Acceptance of young people’s sexuality
- Participation of young people
The RAP-rule was a pragmatic approach that was meaningful within a diversity of contexts, national circumstances, religions and cultures. It ensured that all Youth Incentives activities were grounded in a rights-based framework.
To be continued
The work of Youth Incentives continues in the international programme of Rutgers WPF.
Evaluation report Youth Incentives (899.5 KB)
