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June 29, 2005 GLOBAL NOMADS GROUP HELPS STUDENTS EMBARK ON GLOBAL EXPLORATION OF HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC WITH POLYCOM VIDEO SYSTEMS K-12 Video Conferencing Program Offers Students Worldwide A Forum To Discuss The Epidemic And Its Consequences Across the World NEW YORK & PLEASANTON, Calif.-- June 29, 2005 -- Global Nomads Group (GNG) is proud to launch CURRENTS 2005, an international education initiative bringing together American High School students with their peers around the world via Polycom(R) (NASDAQ:PLCM) video conferencing for a cross-cultural examination of HIV/AIDS. Starting in September 2005, a GNG team onboard the Semester at Sea ship will circumnavigate the planet, stopping in nine port cities to organize international "town hall" meetings using video conferencing equipment provided by Polycom, a major sponsor of the program. Thousands of American students will have the opportunity to "travel" the world through video conferencing, and gain a true sense of the scale of the HIV/AIDS epidemic throughout the world by speaking with students their own ages in host countries. The program will launch in late August 2005, ending around International AIDS day, on Dec. 1, 2005. For the complete CURRENTS itinerary and to learn more about this program, log on to http://www.gng.org/currents/. The launch of CURRENTS 2005 comes following alarming news about the rate of AIDS infections in the US recently hitting the one-million mark and worldwide cases now totaling 40 million. Most cases are clustered in Sub-Saharan Africa. While some progress has been made in treating the disease, no cure exists and access to affordable medicine is still extremely limited. The goals of CURRENTS 2005 will be to engage young people in a global dialogue about the disease's impact, prevention of its spread, and exploring ways to change its course. "AIDS knows no international boundaries and is undoubtedly one of the most significant global challenges that we face as human beings right now," said Global Nomads Group's Executive Director Mark von Sponeck. "We're proud to have partnered with Semester at Sea and Polycom to enable these students to literally speak to the world about this issue and see how other countries are dealing with the problem." CURRENTS Town Hall meetings will revolve around the specificities of HIV/AIDS from country to country, and will address the social stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS, the economic consequences of the disease, and access and obstacles in securing treatment for patients. "CURRENTS will give young people a sense of the magnitude of the crisis as well as show the programs each country has initiated to treat the sick and stem the disease," said Global Nomads Group Co-Founder Christopher Plutte. "Most of all, it's our goal to motivate students worldwide to talk openly about the issues and determine what they can do to make a difference." "Polycom is proud to be a Global Nomads sponsor enabling the global discussion among today's youth," said Bob Hagerty, Chairman and CEO of Polycom. "Our systems have been used to connect students to discuss topics as diverse as Saddam Hussein, the Rwandan genocide, the formation of a Palestinian homeland, the tsunami and now AIDS. The ability to collaborate face to face helps people truly understand the human impact of these issues and fosters a global connectedness among the next generation of leaders."
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