Join us today for a chat on HIV/AIDS and citizen media

Date: Today, Friday April 18th 2008
Time: 1400 GMT, 1700 Nairobi, 1600 Sweden, San Francisco 0700, New York 1000, New Delhi 1930
Venue: http://irc2.globalvoicesonline.org/chat/irc.cgi

This afternoon, I am talking part in and helping host a Rising Voices chat on the HIV/AIDS and Citizen Media, to which you are all invited. The main chat host is Serina (Kipepeo Nyeusi). Rising Voices is the outreach arm of Global Voices. Rising Voices aims to extend the benefits and reach of citizen media by connecting online media activists around the world and supporting their best ideas.

Recently Kenya has made big strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS for example in 2006 the estimated adult HIV prevalence rate was 5.!% down from a peak of 9% in 1997/1998. The number of annual deaths from HIV/AIDS in Kenya has dropped from a peak of 120,000 in 2003 to 85,000 in 2006. ART programmes have averted about 57,000 deaths since 2001.
However the still much to do and 85,000 people is a lot of people.

(Figures from National HIV Prevalence in Kenya written by The National Aids Control Council and STD Control Programme. Nairobi, Kenya June 2007.)

What can we as bloggers/readers of blogs/generators and users of citizen media do to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS? As they saying goes, we may not all be infected but we are all affected. Please note the examples I give are from Kenya as that is the country I know best, but this chat is open to everybody and I see from the Rising Voices email list that some of our brothers and sisters in Latin America will be joining us which is brilliant. This chat is open to all!
Please join us today at: 14.00 GMT for our online chat.

Date: Today, Friday April 18th 2008
Time: 1400 GMT, 1700 Nairobi, 1600 Sweden, San Francisco 0700, New York 1000, New Delhi 1930
Venue: http://irc2.globalvoicesonline.org/chat/irc.cgi

HIV/AIDS & Citizen Media: Proposed Agenda:

• Organization Involvement – What we hear, what we see, how we perceive it
• Importance of Citizen Media
• How can we ensure we focus on stories that main stream media avoids?
• How do we ensure that we focus on the human element of the story?
• Should our main role be telling the story or empowering those affected to use the tools we are using to tell their stories direct?
• What can we learn from others experiences on different parts of the planet?
• Technicalities / Technical challenges
• How do we select whom to approach to case studies for the project?
• How do we approach those we select?
• How do we deal with possible initial suspicion?
• How do we deal with language barriers?
• What computing tools are available?
• How can we best utilise these tools?
• Do these tools have any cost implications?
• Legal Issues
• What steps will we take to ensure we have consent from third parties documented?
• Will material be covered by copyright?
• If so who will own the copyright?

See you there!