[afro-nets] AIDS 2004: Invitation to skills-building workshop

[Omololu Falobi <omololu@nigeria-aids.org>]

AIDS 2004: Invitation to skills-building workshop
-------------------------------------------------
 
XV International AIDS Conference, Bangkok, Thailand
Monday, July 12 2004
 
Partnering with the media: Essential communication skills train-
ing for PLWHA
 
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria is pleased to invite 
you to a skills building workshop on ?Partnering with the media: 
Essential communication skills training for people living with 
HIV (PLWH)? to be held during next week?s XV International AIDS 
Conference holding in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
Date: Monday, 12 July 2004
Time: 10:30 am ? 12:00 pm
Venue: CV Room 9, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Centre, Bang-
kok, Thailand
 
Resource Persons: Omololu Falobi, Olayide Akanni (JAAIDS Nige-
ria); Rolake Nwagwu (Pan-African Treatment Action Movement); Au-
lora Stally (Media trainer, Zimbabwe)
 
Target Participants
People living with HIV; networks of people living with HIV; 
journalists, country media networks on HIV/AIDS; AIDS service 
organisations working with PLWH
 
People living with HIV are generally wary of the media. They 
keep away from granting press interviews, having their photo-
graphs taken, speaking on radio or appearing on television. Usu-
ally, these fears are due to perceptions that journalists tend 
to sensationalise stories about HIV/AIDS, do not protect privacy 
or confidentilaity of PLWA, and sometimes stigmatise HIV-
positive people in their reporting.
 
The media is however a powerful tool for communication and for 
advocacy. It is important that people living with HIV/AIDS build 
partnerships with the media and are able to develop relation-
ships with the media to achieve a common objective.
 
How can this be made possible? The workshop will:
1. Address common fears and concerns militating against interac-
   tions between journalists and PLWH
2. Provide best- and worst-case scenarios in media relations
   with PLWH and strategies for achieving an effective PLWH
   partnership with the media
3. Expose participants to essential communication tools such as
   using the email and internet, newsletter production, writing
   a press release etc
4. Improve HIV/AIDS coverage by showing how to provide opportu-
   nities for journalists to become familiar with PHA perspec-
   tives
 
The workshop will feature real-life experiences of PLWA with the 
media, and provide hands-on communications skills training. Re-
source persons will include both media specialists on HIV/AIDS 
and PLWH with experience in working with the media. This work-
shop will help improve coverage of HIV/AIDS issues and facili-
tate intensive and accurate reporting of PLWHA stories, experi-
ences, positions and perspectives on issues arising at local in-
ternational levels.
 
It will build on JAAIDS? five years? experience in building 
bridges of partnerships between journalists, PLWH and other com-
munity actors.
 
Attendance is strictly on first-come, first served! For early 
registration, please contact 
Olayide Akanni
mailto:olayide@nigeria-aids.org
 
Looking forward to seeing you in Bangkok!
 
Olayide Akanni
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria
mailto:olayide@nigeria-aids.org