Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Background: There is a dearth of literature exploring the role Indigenous Elders play and wish to play in sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention with Indigenous youth. This presentation explores how Elders attending an HIV/AIDS education workshop for youth experienced the workshop and how they perceived their roles in sexual health education and HIV/AIDS prevention. Methods: 5 Elders and 11 youth representing the diverse Indigenous communities in Labrador, Canada attended a 3.5-day participatory filmmaking workshop hosted as part of a community-based research project examining the use of arts in HIV/AIDS education and prevention with Indigenous youth. Participatory filmmaking was used to engage youth and create dialogue about HIV/AIDS, sexual health and health in general. The Elders and youth created 4 films. Following the workshop, Elders and youth were interviewed about their experiences making films and working together. Thematic analysis was used to analyse interview transcripts and the films produced. Findings: The Elders felt the process of participatory filmmaking was engaging and allowed relationships to be built between the youth and Elders; the Elders felt comfortable discussing issues of sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention with each other and with the youth in this context; through the process of participatory filmmaking, the Elders identified that they have HIV/AIDS and sexual health learning needs, that they have a role to play in the education and support of youth and that they require knowledge in order to provide this education and support. Conclusion: Participatory filmmaking is a promising arts-based approach providing a good platform for creating constructive intergenerational dialogue and engagement between youth and Elders in the context of sexual health and HIV/AIDS education.