Our Partners

NiteStar and the United Nations Population Fund

SINCE 2002,   NiteStar has been working  in a unique partnership with UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) to bring theater-based prevention education techniques to peer educators and providers in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  Now this initiative is spreading to other regions of the world, including the Arab States, Africa and Latin America.   

UNFPA is an international development agency that promotes the right of every person to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.  The Y- PEER Program, the UNFPA Program with whom NiteStar is linked, has worked since 2001 building the capacity of national non-governmental organizations and governments alike to implement, supervise, monitor and evaluate peer education programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and improve reproductive health.

Dr. Cydelle  Berlin, NiteStar’s Executive Director,  has been traveling throughout  these regions, conducting workshops and trainings  which make NiteStar’s powerful theater techniques part of the arsenal of effective weapons available to those who are fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in over 50 countries.  In addition, the host of issues that young people everywhere face, such as unwanted pregnancy, substance abuse, relationship and domestic violence, skilful decision making, among others,  are also addressed.

 The official text for these trainings:  Theater Based  Techniques for Youth Peer Education: A Training Manual was written by Dr. Berlin and long time associate, theater consultant Ken Hornbeck in 2005.

The CVTC/OVOL Project:

CVTC  is St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center's Crime Victims Treatment Center.  They are the rape crisis counselling center for the hospital and also deal with domestic violence and all sexual violence-related cases.  With CVTV, we will be creating a theatre project  for teens.

The CCC Project:

CCC  is St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center's Center for Comprehensive Care  This is the HIV/AIDS treatment center for the hospital.  Last season, Cheryl worked with CCC to create theatre with adult women patients--funded by the Society for Arts in Healthcare. This project became known as "Our Voices Our Lives"--or The OVOL Project.  "OVOL" has become our acronym for long-term theatre projects with at-risk populations. OVOL projects are led by staf members.

UNFPA:

We are an official partner of the peer education component of UNAIDS (United Nations). This online component of this program is known as United Nations Y-Peer.

POP Project:

The POP Project is our terminology for an OVOL project we are doing in partnership with Montefiore Hospital's AIDS in Adolescence clinic.