The CHAT project is designed by and for young people to help young people obtain accurate information on HIV/AIDS, sexual health and reproductive health. It creates a forum on the internet for youth to participate in open discussion. The most important component of the project is the provision of secure on-line counseling services to young people via email and chat under youth-friendly and right-based approaches.
The primary target groups of the project are adolescent (14-19) and young adults (19-24) in big cities in Vietnam. The project also targets youth who are identified as HIV positive, people who think that they are HIV positive and their family members.
Youth counselors received continous training and supervison from both national and international experts in order to meet the needs of young people in terms of information provision and counseling services. They are also trained in writing skills so that they can produce informative and relevant articles on love, relationships and sex.
Since its founding, the CHAT project has published over 10,000 articles, provided over 50,000 counselling sessions, received over 30 million hits on its various web-pages, and boasts over 100,000 active members. In addition to its on-line services, the project also provides information and counseling sessions at various communication events for disadvantaged youth who may not have regular internet access, such as young workers in industrial parks.
