From Knowledge to Action: 7 youth organisations are taking SRHR lessons back to grassroots

For the seven youth-focused organisations set to implement the Youth Share-Net Project, the 10th SRHR Knowledge Fair 2025 was more than an anniversary event—it was a space to reflect, connect, and recalibrate how sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) can reach communities where it matters most.

Held in Dhaka and marking a decade of SRHR knowledge exchange, the fair brought together policymakers, businesses, researchers, and grassroots actors. Among them were representatives from AVAS, DALIT, Prantoz, SERAC, WithShe, YAD, and YPSA—organisations that work daily with adolescents, young women, and marginalised youth facing child marriage, gender-based violence, online harassment, and limited access to reproductive health information.

For AVAS, the fair reinforced the importance of linking SRHR with sustainable community systems. “Grassroots work fails when knowledge stays in conference rooms,” one participant noted. Drawing from sessions on SRHR business models and youth leadership, AVAS plans to strengthen community-led awareness programmes that treat reproductive health not as charity, but as a right tied to dignity and economic security.

DALIT found the fair’s focus on inclusion particularly relevant. Working closely with socially excluded communities, its team reflected on how SRHR interventions must address power, caste, and gender together. Insights from discussions on policy gaps and youth leadership are expected to shape DALIT’s upcoming community dialogues on early marriage prevention and gender-based violence.

For Prantoz, which engages adolescents through education and peer leadership, the fair highlighted the need to make SRHR language simpler and more relatable. Sessions on youth-led innovation encouraged the organisation to expand peer educator models that allow young people—especially girls—to talk openly about bodily autonomy, consent, and mental health.

SERAC, with deep roots in rural Bangladesh, saw the fair as a reminder that behaviour change takes time. “Information alone does not shift norms,” one SERAC representative reflected. Learning from evidence shared at the fair, the organisation plans to strengthen long-term community engagement around maternal health, violence prevention, and adolescent wellbeing.

Digital safety and online violence emerged as a strong theme for WithShe, whose work bridges women’s rights and digital spaces. Discussions on cyber harassment and youth advocacy affirmed the organisation’s plan to integrate online safety into SRHR education—particularly for girls and young women whose digital presence often exposes them to abuse.

For YAD, the fair reaffirmed the power of youth-led change. Sessions on grassroots business models and leadership pushed the organisation to think beyond awareness—towards building youth networks that can influence local decision-making on adolescent health and reproductive rights.

YPSA, one of the most experienced youth organisations in the country, viewed the fair as a platform to connect SRHR with broader development challenges. Working in climate-vulnerable and underserved areas, YPSA aims to apply lessons from the fair to ensure SRHR services reach young people facing overlapping risks—from early marriage to limited healthcare access.

As these seven organisations prepare to implement Youth Share-Net with RedOrange Limited and support from AmplifyChange, the Knowledge Fair served as a shared starting point. The takeaway was clear: real change happens when knowledge travels back—into villages, schools, online spaces, and youth groups.

In a country where adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, and digital harassment continue to limit young lives, these partners are turning dialogue into action—one community at a time.