HIV/AIDS-themed Programming to be Produced and Broadcast Rights-Free

April 13, 2005, Cannes

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP), MTV Networks International and Kaiser Family Foundation will join hands with 12 television producers in the Asia Pacific region on the co-production of “HIV/AIDS Reports” a series of made for television programming to raise awareness of the global health epidemic drawing on specific grass-root initiatives in the region.

Participating broadcast journalists will each create segments for use by all participating broadcasters as individual short-form programmes. The ‘HIV/AIDS Reports’ will focus on the implications of the epidemic in the contributing producer’s home country, with an emphasis on the human or social dimension. Completed productions will be available for exchange between the participating broadcasters as well as being made available rights-free to all ABU member broadcasters.

MTV Networks International will contribute an executive producer to provide creative and technical support to the participating producers drawing on the achievement of its long-running Staying Alive campaign, and the Kaiser Family Foundation will lend substantive expertise based on its work in HIV/AIDS communication. The ABU will play a coordinating role in the production of the ‘HIV/AIDS Reports’ by soliciting applications from its member broadcasters in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Australia, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries. A production workshop will be held in Bangkok, Thailand where producers will have access to expertise sourced from international development agencies and civil society organisation, who are working substantively on the ground in addressing these critical issues. UNDP-APDIP will provide content advisory assistance by coordinating responses and support from sister UN agencies and other international development organisation. UNDP-APDIP will also assign a Project Manager to the overall initiative.

ABU Secretary-General, David Astley, said he was delighted to be working with MTV — a global brand recognised by young people all over the world — the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNDP-APDIP to provide new platforms for the dissemination of HIV/AIDS reports.

"The workshops will enable broadcasters in developing countries to improve their production skills —- a key ABU objective —- and at the same time contribute to creating greater awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic amongst those sections of the community that are at greatest risk," he said.

“This partnership is a key building block in encouraging and training broadcasters about raising awareness of HIV and AIDS,” said Bill Roedy, Vice Chair, MTV Networks. “Crucially, these workshops will enable the broadcasters to develop a series of rights-free, shared programming, which will reach millions of people across the Asia-Pacific.”

“The Asian-Pacific region faces a critical moment in its effort to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS,” said Tina Hoff, Vice President and Director, Entertainment Media Partnerships, Kaiser Family Foundation. “Through sustained efforts the media can play a critical role in breaking the silence and mobilising society to confront HIV/AIDS.”

“Media practitioners on the ground can provide one of the clearest and strongest reflections of what is truly happening in the region. This partnership is an acknowledgement of the effective role that the media can play to channel appropriate information and highlight the challenges that are facing the region, especially in the context of changing the unfounded stereotypes of people living with HIV/AIDS”, added Shahid Akhtar, Programme Coordinator, UNDP-APDIP.

About ABU
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is a non-profit, non-governmental, professional association of broadcasting organisations, with 140 broadcast company members in 54 countries and regions, reaching a potential audience of over 3 billion people. The ABU was formed in 1964 to facilitate the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to organise cooperative activities amongst its members. www.abu.org.my

About MTV’s Staying Alive Campaign
Staying Alive began in 1998 as an Emmy award-winning documentary profiling the lives of six young people from around the world infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Growing from the tradition of annual documentaries, Staying Alive has expanded to a multi-tiered campaign to promote awareness about and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the international youth community. It’s the single largest global on-going HIV/AIDS awareness & prevention campaign for young people.

The campaign is a partnership between MTV Networks International, YouthNet spearheaded by Family Health International, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Additional partners include USAID, UNAIDS, The World Bank, and other organisations. Staying Alive will inform young people about the virus, promote safe lifestyle choices, provide information about local organisations and mobilise youth to overcome the stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS and to fight for an end to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

About UNDP APDIP
In collaboration with National Governments, APDIP seeks to assist national and regional institutions in Asia-Pacific to improve the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for social and economic development and knowledge-sharing and networking. APDIP also helps to target and focus regional ICT initiatives to achieve relevant development goals by making ICT an integral part of development cooperation and solutions.

About Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

KFF develops and runs its own research and communications programs, often in partnership with outside organizations. The Foundation contracts with a wide range of outside individuals and organizations through its programs. Through our policy research and communications programs, we work to provide reliable information in a health system in which the issues are increasingly complex and the nation faces difficult challenges and choices.

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