Ideas for Integrating HIV & ICT
1. Building a multi-media HIV resource library (especially materials in Portuguese)
We have a lot of print materials from ICE and some multimedia, most of which are in English. What about all the materials produced in Portuguese-speaking countries like
- PSAs
- Documentaries
- Animations
- Radio shows
- Music videos
- Dramas
- Posters
2. Using social marketing techniques to design your BCC strategy
Social Marketers are gurus in behavior change and have done all the research for us. One of the first rules of marketing is to narrow your target audience. In our fight against HIV in
Maybe Cape-Verdean men being unfaithful to their unsuspecting girlfriends? Men as Partners is a social program specifically targeting behavior change among males belonging to societies where masculinity is measured by how many women you sleep with. They have an interesting faithfulness campaign. There are also some quality PSA videos that were sponsored by PSI, directed at a younger audience and promoting healthy relationships. You can find those videos through the following website:
www.ob.org/psa/abyn
3. Creating video content from within your own community
A lot of the wonderful events PCVs are participating in could be recorded and saved for posterity. If you have a digital camera or have access to one, there are great moments that could be captured, in hopes of inspiring the future generation of volunteers. A few examples are:
o a CCBI-infused and well-managed lesson
o an HIV play put on by a local theater group
o an HIV music video contest by young people in the community
o a workshop on healthy relationships or life skills
o a girls’ camp session
Also, training sessions could greatly benefit from a more recent collection of videos, as an alternative to the ones produced in the 80s or some other time when people had scary mustaches.
4. Training group members to create their own videos.
One project trains survivors (violence, abuse, HIV) to tell their stories through voice recordings, photos, and video. This project helps these individuals gain technical skills as well as building confidence and self expression. These videos are then in turn used for school discussion groups and community conversations.
5. Using virtual communities
Hi5 and Facebook and other social networking portals receive more
6. Using YouTube
If you have the infra-structure available to show videos to community members and have easy access to the Internet, your best bet is to download videos from YouTube and Vimeo. You can save videos directly to your pen drive by pasting the URL for the videos on this website: www.savevid.com. Also, these platforms are ideal for sharing media among volunteers from different regions.
7. Using Radio
Radio has been an ICT favorite in the West African region, for its expans
8. Using other audio resources
Using a simple audio recorder (a lot mp3 players have these), you can easily record audio materials, like:
Audio Diaries
Encourage people living with or affected by HIV to record their stories. These stories can then be broadcast on the radio, played at schools, used for community conversation groups.
Drama/Singing/Storytelling
Encourage people to create their own original folktales, dramas, and/or songs with an HIV message. Record these performances and share them with others.
HIV Message Contest
Run a contest for creative short public service messages on HIV. The winning entries can be selected for a CD compilation, played for your town, or broadcast on the radio.
Music with a Message
Have local and popular artists contribute music for raising awareness on HIV issues. Sell the CDs to raise money. To ensure a large audience, distribute the CDs to taxi drivers, bus drivers, and hiace drivers.
9. Using Mobile Phone Technology
Some volunteers are working on projects using SMS (text messaging) technology to communicate about HIV. This mainly involves attaching a cell phone to a computer and then having the computer automate the sending SMS messages. There is software available that lets a computer broadcast messages to many people.
Organizations can also conduct surveys via SMS. The responses can be automatically recorded and saved to a file.
Organizations can collect data via SMS from field workers. Information could include outbreak/incident data, GPS coordinates, patient totals, etc.
SMS software:
FrontlineSMS
RapidSMS
Online Resources to Explore
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health’s MEDIA/MATERIALS CLEARINGHOUSE (M/MC): an international resource for all those with an interest in health communication materials - pamphlets, posters, audiotapes, videos, training materials, job aids, electronic media and other media/materials designed to promote public health. www.m-mc.org
MobileActive.org is a community of people and organizations using mobile phones for social impact. We are committed to increasing the effectiveness of NGOs around the world who recognize that the 3.5 billion mobile phones provide unprecedented opportunities for organizing, communications, and service and information delivery. www.mobileactive.org
www.comminit.com is a website dedicated to sharing knowledge on ICT for development methods. There is a page on HIV and a page on
The Scenarios from Africa website is an invaluable resource to be used in addition to the movie, which can be found in our library. It has a user’s guide withHIV activities to be carried out after sreenings. It also has pointers on how to create your own Scenarios from Africa, which would be a sweet idea for a project in
On behalf of the ICT committee, I hope you will have found these resources helpful and inspiring. Best of luck in using communication technology to empower your community to be active in the fight against HIV.
Please email with questions:
Judy Durkin
jbdurkin@gmail.com