The arts are a unique way to address HIV/AIDS, in part because anyone can be creative and share that with others, even in settings of low-to-zero literacy, and also because the arts can convey messages which all can comprehend and understand, in a form that seeks to inspire as well as to entertain and educate.
The arts can communicate a powerful message through visual and auditory means, which is why the term "edutainment" has been coined for arts which are used to educate about various issues, including HIV/AIDS. The goals of edutainment — Information, Education, Communication (IEC) — are varied, but all involve the improvement of health and human well-being, encompassing physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
Main Communication Strategies
The artists, advocates, and organizations in ActALIVE use or advocate use of the arts to address HIV/AIDS and other issues like poverty, hunger, human-rights abuses or enhancements, gender and youth concerns, environmental sustainability, treatment access, and the development of human creativity.
Art forms include: dance, drama, song, visual arts (painting, photography, film, video), multimedia, and the written word (plays, poems, narratives).
The coalition was organised to create a worldwide network for individuals and groups using the arts to address HIV/AIDS and for social-change purposes. Through the network, these organizations and individuals are sharing information, collaborating, and hopefully building a powerful advocacy tool for change, education, disease prevention, human development and growth, health and healing.
Read Janet Feldman's essay "ActALIVE: Addressing HIV/AIDS-Related Grief and Healing Through Art" in the Community Arts Network Reading Room
African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook: In 2006, Development Partnership International, ActALIVE, and the Standing Committee on Reproductive Health including AIDS (SCORA) of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) invited youth-led HIV/AIDS projects throughout Africa to participate in a evaluation process that led to the selection of best practices to be included in the first ever African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook. This initiative is part of a broader project through which the organizations involved wish to gather data on the work of young people in the region, for the purpose of showcasing outstanding initiatives at major international events and decision-making forums, providing support and encouragement for these and other youth-led efforts, and creating a centralized body of information which can be tapped for a variety of purposes, from greater youth networking and collaboration to policy formulation at the national, regional, and international levels.
Download African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Documentation Project (PDF)
