Lydia Mutsch at Cesas; Credit: MEGA

Tuesday 8 May 2018 marked the official inauguration of the National Reference Centre for the Promotion of Emotional and Sexual Health (Cesas) in Luxembourg.

On 8 May, the Luxembourg Minister of Health and Equal Opportunities Lydia Mutsch and the Minister of Family and Integration Corinne Cahen, as well as the First Counsellor of the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth Isabelle Stourm, officially inaugurated the centre which will now be called Cesas- rather than the former National Reference Centre (NRC)- to best match the holistic approach to promoting both emotional and sexual health.

Cesas is the result of interministerial commitment to a common policy for the promotion of emotional and sexual health and was created as part of the national programme "Promotion of emotional and sexual health", signed on 17 July 2013. This political programme endorses the principle that emotional and sexual health are an inseparable part of the overall well-being and rights of every person, regardless of gender, age, physical or psychological condition, origin, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual characteristics.

Thus, emotional and sexual health is not limited to sexual relations, but includes affectivity, respect for oneself and others and the specificities of gender and sexual identities. It is the promotion of safer sex and the promotion of sexual health without any form of violence, coercion or discrimination.

In order to implement this common policy, the ministries involved have adopted an interdisciplinary approach that has allowed the networking of all involved stakeholders to develop an action plan to meet the diverse needs of the population, namely the "National Action Plan - Emotional and Sexual Health" for the years 2013-2016, which has been extended until 2019. It is in this context that the Cesas has been established.

Children and young people are also a priority target group of the Cesas and so, it will be an important partner for primary schools, high schools and reception centres for all matters relating to sexual and emotional education.

By 2021, the Cesas will be part of the sexual health network, will have stimulated dialogues across sectors and contributed to the development of an open culture of sexual and emotional health on our planet.