November 9, 2006
STUDENTS GET LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC
New York (November 9th, 2006)—On Thursday November 9th,
students around the country connected to discuss a deadly virus that infects
over 6,000 children daily. Through videoconferencing, high school and middle
school students learned about the current issues relating to HIV/AIDS and heard
from two experts who illuminated the global and indiscriminate presence of the
disease.
Levon Ford, a leading expert on HIV/AIDS and founder of Youth Outreach United
for Teen Health (Y.O.U.TH.), spoke about the youth movement to combat the AIDS
virus. The conference also featured Jeselle, an HIV/AIDS activist and founder
of Voices from Heaven—A Voice From Those Who Didn’t Make It, To
Those Who Still Have A Chance. This organization is dedicated to HIV outreach,
education and support through arts and entertainment.
Levon opened the discussion with an overview of the HIV/AIDS virus and the situation
as it pertains to New York City. “We still stigmatize the virus to be
an isolated virus set to one demographic,” he explained. Jeselle spoke
about her activism with HIV/AIDS and also about her own personal experiences
as an HIV positive person. Following these presentations, students had the opportunity
to comment and ask questions. One student at Wydown Middle School commented,
“I think it is important for people to recognize that it is not just a
disease that happens to people in Africa and it is not just a disease that happens
to homosexual people, it can happen to anybody very, very easily.”
This virtual discussion, entitled “The Battle Against HIV/AIDS,”
was moderated by Joanna Cyprys, Post-Production Coordinator of Global Nomads
Group.
GNG is a New York-based nonprofit that provides schools with a window to the
world using live videoconferencing and broadcasting. The Battle Against HIV/AIDS
is part of GNG’s program, The PULSE, which connects youth around the U.S.
for discussions on the important world issues of our time. The program aims
to encourage civic engagement and to promote young people's interest and knowledge
of international affairs. In addition to class-to-class discussions, The PULSE
"Speaker Series" enables young people to hear from, and speak directly
to, renowned experts on a variety of international issues.
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