Hi everyone, thank you for visiting the site. The last post was dedicated to showcasing the work done by many in our community to promote and encourage young girls to achieve and excel through education and provisions of basic needs. Many of you took the poll which addressed what you thought are some of the biggest issues facing young girls today and the results showed that many of the challenges that young girls must confront include scarce educational opportunities, early pregnancy and self-esteem issues and systematic inferiority which prevents girls from believing in and reaching their highest potential.
As the holiday season is in full effect, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the essence of our lives and the lives that encompass our global community. The poll that complements this post questions what you are grateful for. With uncertain times there is always a greater need to have a cohesive front to tackle the predicted and unforseen hurdles. There are many organizations, people, and community groups that strive to participate in active social change.
Recently, the 4REAL project aired their 30 min documentary about Kimmie Weeks and his work in Liberia.
"4REAL is a project that began as a documentary television series and has expanded to include an online global community (4REAL.com), educational materials (4REAL School), the 4REAL Foundation and special events. The television show, 4REAL, is a series of half-hour episodes hosted by Sol Guy that takes celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who, under extreme circumstances, are effecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time. " http://www.4real.com/To see some clips of the show please visit:
To learn more about Kimmie Weeks and MIA who traveled to Liberia as the celebrity guest, please visit:
For a list of some organizations with advocacy/charitable/humanitarian/philanthropic goals that might interest you, please take a view of the list of partners from the ONE organization (campaigning and working to end poverty):
To see some highlighted individuals who are contributing to humanity around the world, you can check out CNN's Heroes:
CNN's resources on how you can be involved and "Impact Your World":
Monday Dec 1st is World AIDS Day
"Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year’s theme for World AIDS Day as “Lead – Empower – Deliver”, building on last year’s theme of “Take the Lead”. Designating leadership as the World AIDS Day theme for 2007 – 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight both the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments that have been made in the response to AIDS – particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 – and celebrating the leadership that has been witnessed at all levels of society.
As in previous years, the World AIDS Campaign has produced a wide variety of campaign materials to be used by individuals and organizations that want to campaign on World AIDS Day and host commemorative events. These materials are available on the World AIDS Campaign web site at www.worldaidscampaign.org. The web site also has a calendar of events where organizations are encouraged to list information on their planned activities for World AIDS Day.
The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS. "http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2008/20081027_WAD_2008.asp Please take a moment to reflect on the importance of this day, how far we've come and how much further we have to go. You can visit the LAPA website
http://www.lonestarhealth.org/ to get more information on the current state of the epidemic.
To see what is going on around the world on World AIDS Day:
The Kaiser Family Foundation announces some programming about HIV/AIDS on and around WAD:
"Menlo Park, CA – For more than ten years, the Kaiser Family Foundation has partnered with leading media in the U.S. and abroad to reach the public with information about HIV/AIDS and related issues and to challenge the stigma surrounding the disease. The Foundation's media partnerships leverage significant communications resources and provide partners with current research and guidance and public health communications expertise, among other assistance. This World AIDS Day (December 1), the Foundation announces several new productions developed with its media partners around the world:
As part of
It’s Your (Sex) Life (IYSL), MTV’s ongoing Emmy- and Peabody- Award winning campaign with the Foundation, MTV will dedicate all on air promotions time on the network from November 24 to December 1 to public service ads (PSAs) to promote using protection and getting tested. These spots feature a host of popular musicians including Wyclef Jean, The Bravery, Vampire Weekend, The Gossip!, Kenna, Boys Life Girls, Silversun Pickups, Tyga, Cornel West and others. Throughout the day on December 1st MTV will run on-screen takeovers during programming to direct viewers to IYSL informational resources, including a customized mobile texting service and toll-free hotline that provide information about local testing centers. For more information:
http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/.
ARE YOU POSITIVE? (premiers December 1, 7:30 PM ET/PT, BET), this half-hour show, produced with Black Entertainment Television (BET) as part of the network’s ten-year, Emmy Award winning Rap It Up campaign with the Foundation, confronts the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the Black community. The show profiles four young people – two of whom are living with HIV, two who are not – who open up their lives to challenge the stereotypes and misconceptions about who HIV affects. Inspired by
http://www.posornot.com/, a viral “game” developed by the Foundation with mtvU, the show reinforces the message that the only way to know one’s status is to get tested. For more information:
www.bet.com/areyoupositive and
http://www.rapituppresents.com/.
THE DIARY OF KELLY ROWLAND (U.S. premier December 1, 7:00 AM ET/PT, MTV), this hour long documentary chronicles the recent travels of Kelly Rowland, founding member of Destiny’s Child, to South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the U.S. to meet with young people affected by HIV/AIDS who are using their experiences to help stem the spread of the disease. The program was produced by MTV International as part of its Staying Alive campaign and will be distributed to all MTV International channels around the world. The Foundation, a longtime partner of the campaign, worked with MTV International to incorporate a segment in the U.S. to bring attention to the continued impact of the disease in this country, especially among African Americans. For more information:
http://www.staying-alive.org/.
THE CRISTINA SHOW (December 8, 10:00 PM ET/PT, Univision), the most watched Spanish-language talk show in the world, devotes a special episode to bringing attention to the impact of AIDS on the Latino community. Featured on the show are Latinos both living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones, many of whom are currently profiled in SOY… (I AM…), a new campaign launched this fall by Univision and the Foundation. By sharing their stories this diverse group of Latinos – which include two teenage sisters, a grandmother and her HIV-positive adult daughter, and a young gay man – challenge stereotypes about HIV/AIDS and reinforce the importance of family support. The Foundation has partnered with Univision since 2001 to reach Latinos with information about HIV/AIDS. For more information:
cristina.univision.com and
http://www.univision.com/; uniclave: SIDA
Regional media partners of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (
http://www.thegmai.org/), a project conceived and run by the Foundation with support by the United Nations to mobilize media around the world in response to HIV/AIDS, are also using the platform of World AIDS Day to announce new programming commitments:
The African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (ABMP), a coalition of 59 television and radio broadcasters from 37 countries across Africa, will debut a new series of PSAs under its Imagine an HIV-Free Generation… It Begins with YOU campaign using soccer to promote healthy lifestyles and responsible choices. The new PSAs leverage the upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup to be held in Africa and will be combined with other special programming and community-level events. For more information:
http://www.broadcasthivafrica.org/ and
http://www.itbeginswithyou.org/.
The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP) has produced a special World AIDS Day edition of LIVE UP: The Show, an original magazine program produced as part of it’s regional LIVE UP. Love. Protect. Respect pubic information campaign. Shot on site at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, the episode brings together individuals from across the region to demonstrate the many ways people can LIVE UP. One young Barbadian “Hero” in the LIVE UP campaign interacted with Caribbean students and tested their knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Several organizations, including the National AIDS Commission, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Care Barbados, the University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Program, among others, participated in the event. The program will be distributed rights-free to the CBMP’s 83 broadcast members across 25 countries to coincide with World AIDS Day. The CBMP is developed in partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. For more information:
http://www.cbmphiv.org/ and
http://www.iliveup.org/.
The Asia Broadcasting Union in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Media AIDS Initiative is offering rights-free television programs on HIV/AIDS to broadcasters across the region.
There are many ways each of us can get involved with World AIDS Day: from attending events, promoting awareness of the day, viewing the broadcasts listed above and others, to personal missions, everyone can help to create a change.
Thank you all!
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