Romance Academy is a revolutionary project that tackles the tough issues around teenagers and relationships.
Romance Academy exists to help young people to build and sustain healthy relationships; to assist parents in understanding and supporting their children; and to lead the charge in establishing a framework of healthy relationships for young people.
We address the underlying causes of risky youth behaviour such as poor self-esteem, low aspirations and lack of positive family/community life by promoting the value of stable relationships through our unique 14-week intervention project.
Our aim is not just to encourage young people to delay sexual activity, nor do we simply point them in the direction of contraception. Our aim is to give our young people the tools to make intelligent choices around relationships and sex.
VISION
We are passionate about seeing lives transformed for the better. Not only do we want to help young people make informed choices about sex and relationships, we also want to see them grow in confidence and self-esteem and for them to have a positive vision of family and community life.
As MPs, Healthcare workers and the wider society recognize that current approaches aren’t always working to reduce teenage pregnancy and the rise of STIs, we need to move from simply realizing that there are no quick fix solutions, to giving long term solutions the space they deserve before we stifle them for not providing short term, discernible results.
If we want young people to make wise choices, we need to work with them to change the culture that shapes all our values and attitudes. We need a shift in our education and in our thinking; a shift towards the celebration of relational faithfulness and integrity modeled in every aspect of our society.
Romance Academy offers that credible alternative for young people. As we strive to continually give young people a supportive peer group, we hope that their knowledge of sexual health related issues would increase, as well as confidence in their intrinsic value and ability to take responsibility and make intelligent choices.
If this has struck a chord or is something that you feel strongly about, get in touch! We love to meet passionate people, and are always looking forward to hear from you.
VALUES
Our focus in on the young people we serve, both directly and through our resources. We will strive for excellence through good practice, evaluation and continuous improvement.
We are committed to serving each other, our delegates and young people with empathy and compassion.
We are committed to act in an ethical, honest manner
We believe that all people should be treated with consideration and dignity. We cherish diversity.
We strive to be accessible, flexible, transparent, and to demonstrate a sense of clear thinking in our resolve and decision-making.
We are committed to measuring, achieving and reporting results and to using donations and grants wisely.
KEY DISTINCTIVES
We’ve identified the following as being the Key Distinctives of a Romance Academy:
Through signing a pledge that holds them accountable to each other, the young people automatically create a strong sense of a supportive community. This is enhanced through the weekly sessions, activities and team building weekend. This is crucial to building self-esteem and empowering young people to critique their peer groups.
The sessions encourage individuals to challenge attitudes and values through open discussion and accountability. This provides space for young people to assess behavioral patterns and, we have discovered, is far more effective in effecting transformation than a leader teaching young people what they should and shouldn’t be doing.
We believe that change is led through positive and passionate leadership. The leaders of the project live out healthy lifestyles that back up what they teach/model to the group. We suggest this includes sexual delay for leaders who are not married.
This project is defined by the needs of young people and is committed to helping them use information about sex and relationships as well as their own values and beliefs, to make informed choices that are good for their emotional, social, physical and spiritual well-being.