[cr-india] Ugandan Minister for Health hands over OneWorld/MTV Audio Award and launches AIDS-awareness CD

[Andy Phipps]

UGANDAN MINISTER FOR HEALTH HANDS OVER ONEWORLD/MTV AUDIO AWARD AND LAUNCHES
AIDS-AWARENESS CD
Kampala: 15 January 2004

Joseph Beyanga, the winner of the first OneWorld/MTV Staying Alive audio
competition, received his award today from the Ugandan minister of state for
health, the Honourable Mike Mukula.

While handing over the award, the minister praised Joseph for the
initiative, and effort he put into creating a winning global public service
announcement. Speaking at the ceremony, the minister reminded Ugandans that,
even with a drop from 30% HIV prevalence to 6% prevalence, AIDS is still an
epidemic in the country. He cautioned that not until the prevalence drops to
below 3% would the disease be in check.

The OneWorld / MTV World staying alive competition enabled young people from
around the world to produce and submit original audio or video public
service announcements (PSAs) that convey the messages of MTV's award winning
HIV/AIDS awareness campaign, Staying Alive.

Six Ugandan producers participated in the global competition, and a CD
featuring their public service announcements was launched at the award
ceremony.

Launching the CD, dubbed the OneWorld/MTV Staying Alive Uganda Edition, the
minister urged local radio stations to use it in their ongoing AIDS
awareness campaigns. Editors and representatives from local stations were
each handed a copy of this compact disc by the minister. At least thirty
local stations are will receive the CD from OneWorld.

In his acceptance speech, Joseph said that winning the Oneworld/MTV award
has been an eye opener to him. He said to the broadcasters, “we shouldn’t
think of AIDS only on World AIDS Day. We should think of it everyday, and
raise awareness about it everyday.”

Joseph’s entry, called “Discrimination is Discrimination” was inspired by
the realisation that “the discrimination that HIV/AIDS victims suffer in
society often comes from the so-called ‘elite’ and ‘informed’”. His message
is that discrimination is discrimination, no matter what the issue. The
judges admired the positive message behind the PSA, and the high production
values.

To listen to Joseph’s winning entry, go to:
http://aidsradio.oneworld.net/section/aidsradio/stayingalive/winner


FURTHER INFORMATION
Paul Kavuma Nkwanga, OneWorld Radio AIDS Network Editor
email: aidsradio at oneworld.net


NOTES

Staying Alive is a multimedia global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
campaign that challenges stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS
as well as empowering young people to protect themselves from infection. The
campaign consists of documentaries, public service announcements, youth
forums and web content. Staying Alive provides all its television
programming rights-free and at no cost to 3rd party broadcasters globally.

OneWorld AIDS Radio (http://aidsradio@oneworld.net) is an internet portal
for individuals and organisations committed to broadcasting, producing or
interested in using radio, programmes on HIV/AIDS issues. It offers an
exchange of audio, as well as news, features, events and training
information.

OneWorld is the fastest growing online civil society network of over 1,500
non-profit partners working on social justice issues. It is best known for
its award winning multi-lingual portal www.oneworld.net, with 2 million
pages of text, images, audio and video in 7 major languages highlighting the
stories of OneWorld's global network. OneWorld Radio
(http://radio.oneworld.net) is a unique online platform launched in 2002. It
enables individuals, radio producers and community stations to exchange
programmes and share information on development issues and campaigns
globally.

The Staying Alive campaign is a partnership between MTV, Family Health
International, Kaiser Family Foundation, UNAIDS and the World Bank. The
campaign launched in 1998 with an Emmy winning documentary. In 2002 the MTV
Presents Levis'® Jeans Staying Alive Concert in Association with YouthAIDS
won the 'Special Jury Positively Outstanding Programme' Award at the 2nd Ann
ual Cable Positive POP (Positively Outstanding Programming) Awards. In 2002
alone Staying Alive campaign programming was distributed to 64% of all TV
households worldwide including 90% of the top 50 HIV/AIDS impacted
countries.
MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment
brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon and TMF (The Music Factory)
seen in more than 385.4 million households in 166 countries and 18 languages
via 97 locally programmed and operated TV channels and 43 Web sites. The
company's diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication,
publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and
two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks
is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).