Name: Sara Vida Coumans
Age: 24
Country: The Netherlands

Youth leadership, Gender Equality, HIV and Aids, Human Rights, Advocacy

Sara has been a Youth Advocate for Sexual and Reproductive Rights since she was 16 years old. She has been a member of CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality from 2005 until 2012 and a member of the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights since 2009. Within these organizations she has been working on the national, regional and international level to promote the access of youth to their Sexual and Reproductive Rights. She has been involved in various international spaces such as, the CPD, CSW and High Level Meeting on Youth. Sara was a panelist on the Global Youth Advisory Panel of UNPFA for 2 years. 

Sara's Bachelors Thesis focused on the Double Stigma: HIV and Sex work in South Africa, her field research was done in collaboration with the UNFPA Sub-Saharan Regional Office and its partners.

Sara was one of the co-chairs of the International Steering Committee for the Global Youth Forum, held in December 2012. 

Sara has been the Secretary of the YCSRR Board of Directors and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors.

Sara has worked as Assistant Advocacy officer at the World Population Foundation (currently merged into Rutgers WPF) during which she focussed on the preparations for the international conference 'Sexuality Under 18'. 

After her Bachelor Development Studies she completed an internship with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Health & Aids Department.

Sara is currently studying at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague, where she is doing an Masters of Social Policy for Development and specializing in Children and Youth Studies.