MTVNI PRESIDENT BILL ROEDY TO HAND OVER CHAIR OF THE GLOBAL MEDIA AIDS INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE TO SABC CEO DALI MPOFU

New York, 1 December 2006 – Today at the United Nations MTV Networks International (MTVNI) President Bill Roedy is handing over the Chair of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) Leadership Committee to Dali Mpofu, CEO of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Mr Roedy has been the Founding Chair of the GMAI’s Leadership Committee, and Mr Mpofu will begin a two-year tenure in this new role.

Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, commented: "Since the launch of the Global Media AIDS Initiative in 2004, there has been overwhelmingly broad participation. Bill Roedy has mobilized media companies around the world to make unprecedented commitments to HIV prevention through innovative campaigns and programming. Dali Mpofu is wonderfully suited to build on this momentum, and to inspire others to use their creativity and communications skills to fight the epidemic."

“There has never been a greater effort by media to fight this epidemic,” commented Mr Roedy. “However, HIV infection rates continue to increase, emphasising the need for stronger commitments and deeper involvement from all media companies. Fighting HIV must become part of the DNA of every company. Much more needs to be done. By sharing content and expertise, media can collectively make a critical difference. This is the defining moral issue of our time.”

“I am very honoured to have been asked to take up leadership of the GMAI at this critical time in the global fight against HIV and AIDS,” Mr Mpofu said. “Africa is worst affected by the epidemic, and this is an opportunity for our continent to demonstrate real leadership in this struggle and to motivate other broadcasters around the world by our example.”

The GMAI, which was launched by the Secretary-General in January 2004, aims to engage the world’s media in the fight against AIDS. Since its launch, over 150 companies from 76 countries have committed to substantially increase the broadcast airtime for HIV & AIDS related programmes and have participated in developing and producing HIV & AIDS messaging and programming across genres and platforms. The initiative was conceived by the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS.

Mr Roedy, who is also a UNAIDS Special Representative, was appointed by the Secretary-General to the Chair of the GMAI Leadership Committee in April 2005. Over the course of the past 18 months, he has challenged media companies to adopt five specific pledges, including a commitment to airtime of HIV prevention messages, production of content offered right-free and cost-free, appropriate messaging tailored for local audiences, a workplace policy and an active partnership.

“Under Bill Roedy’s leadership the Global Media AIDS Initiative has really taken off,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “I am especially pleased to see so many new partners in the response to AIDS. We look forward to working with Dali Mpofu as the GMAI continues to find new ways to spark, generate and deliver life saving messages to millions of people around the world.”

"We have long believed in the importance of mobilizing media worldwide in the fight against HIV, and that’s why we helped launch the GMAI,” said Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Bill Roedy’s leadership has been spectacular, and now seeing an African media leader of Dali Mpofu’s stature assume the helm of the GMAI marks another important step in its progress.”

Major GMAI-related initiatives include:

• Turn on TV: Seven of the world’s leading advertising and marketing agencies have collaborated to produce a new multi-platform campaign, Turn on TV. The agencies, which include 180 Amsterdam, Cake, Lowe Worldwide, Ogilvy, Wieden + Kennedy 12 and Y&R, partnered with WPP and MTVNI to debut the campaign today, World AIDS Day. The initiative includes 24 spots being made available to all MTV channels globally to a potential audience of more than one billion people, as well as on MTV’s Web and mobile platforms via Staying Alive. The campaign is also being offered rights-free and cost-free to any broadcaster or content distributor, with commitments so far from 35 broadcasters. The campaign can be seen at www.staying-alive.org/turnontv.
• Africa: The African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (ABMP), a coalition of 41 public and commercial radio and TV broadcast companies across 25 African countries, is launching the first coordinated, pan-African media initiative on HIV & AIDS under the theme “An HIV-Free Generation…It Begins With You.” The new initiative, which will encompass all types of broadcast media programming, begins with a series of public service announcements (PSAs) that encourage people living in Africa to consider what they can do as individuals, families, communities and nations to stop the spread of HIV. The PSAs feature iconic heroes of African history and youth promoting the message that individuals can create a personal response to the epidemic. Subsequent phases of the multi-year initiative will focus on the behaviours and attitudes that drive HIV infection in Africa, including stigma and gender inequality. The formation of the ABMP resulted from the African Broadcast Media Leaders Summit on HIV & AIDS, organised in Johannesburg by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the Kaiser Family Foundation and Nelson Mandela Foundation. More information about the Partnership can be found at www.broadcasthivafrica.org.
• Asia: Leading executives of China’s national and regional media met recently to discuss their role in the fight against the country’s AIDS epidemic, including MTVNI, Viacom China, CCTV, Beijing TV and People’s Daily, among others. At the meeting, clips of a new CCTV documentary on how AIDS is affecting children in East China’s Anhui province were shown, along with discussions on China’s current and future efforts to raise public awareness of HIV & AIDS.
• Caribbean: At an historic summit of Caribbean broadcasters, held in Barbados and organised by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) and the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 30 executives from top media companies joined in forming the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS. The Partnership creates a structured framework for sharing information and resources among broadcasters that will significantly expand HIV and AIDS-related programming and public education activities around the region. More information can be found at www.broadcasthivcarib.org.
• Latin America: A Latin American summit of 22 media leaders from eight countries was held in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by TV Globo in partnership with UNICEF and the GMAI. The event, which was supported by MTVNI and the Avina Foundation, resulted in delegates signing a ‘Summit Declaration’ committing their companies to prioritise HIV & AIDS when developing, producing and airing new TV, radio, Internet and print media output, as well as ensuring appropriate workplace policies are implemented. The meeting also established the Latin American Media Partnership as part of the GMAI to ensure that media throughout the region continue to strengthen their role in response to the epidemic.
• Russia: Immediately following the formation of the GMAI, Gazprom-Media began working with Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA), a Moscow-based NGO, and the Kaiser Family Foundation to establish the Russian Media Partnership to Combat HIV/AIDS (RMP) – a coalition that has grown to include more than 50 leading media and consumer goods companies united in response to the country’s surging epidemic. More information can be found at www.tpaa.net.
• US: The Kaiser Family Foundation continues its decade long work with several media organisations in the US, including with several of the key companies that participated in the launch of the GMAI, to develop multi-faceted campaigns on HIV, AIDS and related issues, including: KNOW HIV/AIDS, a joint venture with CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc; think:hiv with MTV; Rap it Up with BET; and Enterate with Univision.

About The Global Media AIDS Initiative
The Global Media AIDS Initiative aims to mobilize the media industry globally in the fight against the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Its strategy is to gain the commitment of media leaders in integrating HIV and AIDS messaging across programming (including: soap opera, talk shows, news, phone-ins and public service announcements), to give air time and page space to the issue, to put in place policies and training for staff on HIV and AIDS and to establish a formal corporate position on these commitments. Over 150 companies from 76 countries have become involved. The Kaiser Family Foundation, UNAIDS, MTV Networks and Viacom amongst many others have been key players in supporting and mobilising the media industry to increase their efforts on the issue of HIV and AIDS. For more information, please visit: www.thegmai.org.

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