Caribbean Broadcasters Debut LIVE UP: THE SHOW To Bring AIDS Information to the Region
Special Guest Appearance by Influential Jamaican Reggae Artist Tanya Stephens
BRIDGETOWN, November 27, 2007 – The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP) today announced the debut of a new television magazine program , LIVE UP: The Show, to bring information about HIV/AIDS and fight the stigma associated with the disease in the region. The show, which premieres throughout the region next week to mark World AIDS Day 2007 (Dec. 1), is part of the LIVE UP campaign, the CBMP’s multi-platform public information campaign, which also includes targeted public service ads (PSAs) and online and mobile telephone information resources in its ongoing effort to inspire and empower people across the Caribbean to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.
LIVE UP: The Show, a new monthly magazine program produced by the CBMP in collaboration with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), takes a fresh and unique look at HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean to engage viewers to help stem the spread of the disease by “LIVING UP” in their own lives. The series features show hosts Mitzi Allen of Antigua and Garfield Burford of Jamaica as they take an up-close look at issues that surround HIV/AIDS in different Caribbean countries. With each episode, three CBMP member broadcasters contribute segments to share the experience of countries across the region. The premiere episode features stories from Barbados, Jamaica and Belize, as well as a special guest appearance by popular reggae star Tanya Stephens. It will introduce the six ways that the campaign encourages all people to “LIVE UP” in an age of AIDS: know, test, protect, speak up, take action and respect.
In Barbados, viewers are taken into a nightclub to hear candid conversations with young people about their knowledge of HIV/AIDS, their concerns, and how they are protecting themselves; traveling to Jamaica, LIVE UP: The Show takes a behind-the-scenes look at Jamaica AIDS Support, an AIDS advocacy program that serves people living with the disease; and, in Belize, viewers learn about how HIV/AIDS education and awareness can impact the workplace. A regular “Hot Topics” feature highlights current developments in AIDS. Another recurring segment – “How I LIVE UP” – profiles an individual in the Caribbean who “lives up” in his or her daily life. The Show is available rights-free to all 53 broadcast members of the CBMP across 23 territories in the Caribbean, who have agreed to air the program in prime-time during the first week of December.
“LIVE UP: The Show is a fast-paced, informative program that seeks to inform audiences about how the AIDS epidemic affects all of us across the region,” said Dr. Allyson Leacock, Executive Director of the CBMP. “The Show combined with our PSAs, HIV/AIDS text messaging services and online content, demonstrates the multifaceted approach we’re taking to reach people throughout the Caribbean region with potentially life saving information.”
Accompanying the debut of the show are a new series of LIVE UP PSAs for TV and radio – which feature impromptu LIVE UP “jam sessions” that encourage viewers to speak up and take action against HIV/AIDS. These new spots direct viewers to a new text messaging resource that allows Digicel customers across the Caribbean to access basic information about local HIV/AIDS resources directly from their mobile phones. This service which goes live on Decmeber 1st is being provided free-of-charge by the Digicel Group in partnership with the CBMP. Using SMS mobile phone technology, Digicel’s mobile phone customers can have HIV information sent directly to their mobile phones as follows:
- In Jamaica: Text LIVEUP to 444-INFO (4636) on your Digicel mobile.
- In Haiti: Envoyez un message texte avec le mot ANNVIV à INFO (4636) à partir de votre téléphone mobile Digicel
- In Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, and Curacao: Text LIVEUP to INFO (4636) on your Digicel mobile.
The LIVE UP campaign’s website (www.iliveup.com) has been expanded to feature new resources and highlights from LIVE UP: The Show, including an in-depth look at topics presented on the premiere episode, information about the show hosts, and interactive features that allow viewers to share their personal stories and suggested topics for future episodes.
The next episode of LIVE UP: The Show will air in April 2007, with monthly episodes thereafter.
About the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS
The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP) unites more than 50 top broadcasters from 23 countries in the region’s first coordinated media response to the pandemic. The Partnership creates a structured framework for sharing information and resources among broadcasters that significantly expands HIV/AIDS-related programming and public education activities across the Caribbean. Member broadcasters deliver HIV/AIDS information across a variety of platforms and formats, including targeted public service announcements (PSAs), entertainment programming, news and public affairs programming, and online resources.
In March 2007, the CBMP launched LIVE UP: Love. Protect. Respect. – a new cross-cutting brand to support all of the Partnership’s programming components. Developed by the CBMP with support from a regional advisory committee of media and HIV/AIDS experts, LIVE UP aims to inspire audiences, especially young people, to consider what is within their power to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS. LIVE UP creates a regional movement by linking audiences together across the Caribbean with one message of hope and possibility in an age of AIDS. CBMP broadcast members have made HIV/AIDS a business priority – committing to a minimum of 30 seconds of airtime per hour (or about 12 minutes per day) to LIVE UP content, as well as pledging to cover AIDS across all programming genres, including news, public affairs, entertainment, and new media platforms.
With a recently established regional headquarters in Barbados, the CBMP receives strategic and technical guidance and production support from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Ford Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation provide additional financial support to underwrite production of campaign materials and informational resources. For more information, visit http://www.cbmphiv.org.
About Digicel
Digicel currently has in excess of 4.6 million subscribers and operations in 23 markets including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, The Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago. The company directly employs 3,500 and its total investment in the region exceeds US$1.9 billion.
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