Washington, DC — Messages created by and for young people have become a centerpiece of efforts to educate teens about health risks. Organizers of those campaigns say they are potent tools for protecting teens from HIV and other risks of sexual activity.
"Aids is replacing football as the most talked about subject," a contestant in a competition called "Scenarios from Africa" told researchers. "Before, we were not interested. Now we are."
Kate Winskell, a visiting assistant professor at Emory University in the United States, reported the young man's reaction during a session called "Lights Cameras, Action: Youth-Created, Messages Using Media and the Arts," at the Global Health Council's recent annual conference in Washington, D.C. Winskell said that with six to seven thousand Africans dying from Aids every day, statistics need to be transformed from abstract thoughts into personal and emotional realities that capture the attention of young people.
Winskell described an effort called "Scenarios from Africa", which uses film to make HIV/Aids messages a visible reality. Inspired by a French model, "Scenarios" sponsors nation-wide contests in which African children develop script ideas to be judged for their innovative creativity. A panel of jurors can be as large as 100 people from as many organizations. After a script is selected, an experienced African director begins producing a film based on the winner's idea.
More than 40,000 youth from over 25 different countries enter the contest each year and have proven that the process can be both motivating and empowering, Winskell said. One winner, Olga Ouédraogo, has gone on to promote HIV/Aids messages on radio, directing her own films, and even returned to judge the competition.
The entries have also been a research tool to reveal young people's perception of Aids, Winskell said, translating facts into life-like, emotional situations and demonstrating geographic disparities. The films have increased dialogue and reflection about HIV/Aids, and increased access to and sharing of information about sexual and reproductive health, Winskell said.
By training volunteers as peer educators and creating grassroot youth groups, the Tanzania Youth Aware Trust Program (Tayoa) has also been able to produce and disseminate reproductive health information and life-planning skills, said another panelist, Christaviana Kusaga, a peer educator with Tayoa.
Each Tayoa volunteer goes on to teach up to ten others. Since the program began in 2001, over 30,000 people have become involved, Kusaga said. At least 840 community-based groups host weekly activities including drama, rap concerts, and sporting events to disseminate information.
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In 2002, TAYOA created a rap CD, which is played on both private and government-owned radio stations. During performances of the music, nearly 13,000 youth are reached at one time. The program has been able to effectively communicate messages to large groups in a short time frame, mobilize reproductive health information, and reinforce life-planning skills, Kusaga said.
The panelists, including a 19-year-old political science student from India, agreed that messages about sexuality from one young person to another have particular appeal. When supported and given visibility through schools, community groups and local and national media, the group said, they become powerful weapons in the arsenal to save young lives.
