Peace and tolerance worldwide © UNESCO/ L.Stijovic

Thanks to the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997), and the intellectual agitation that followed, health and culture were brought together and the diversity of their interactions was analysed. From this reflection, a working theme on "Culture and Health" was elaborated.

Currently, its main project is "The Cultural Approach to HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care". Recognizing the multiple aspects of an epidemic that continues to expand in spite of all efforts to halt it, UNESCO favours the comprehensive consideration of the specific cultures of the populations targeted by HIV and AIDS programmes. This socio-anthropological approach encourages mobilization of the cultural resources of such populations in fighting the epidemic, in order to effect long-term behavioural change.

• The Cultural Approach to HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care
• Creativity contributing to HIV and AIDS control : Through the theatre
• Teaching prevention to the young : The example of Jamaica
• Religious leaders opposed to stigmatization and discrimination
• Women migrants and HIV and AIDS : An anthropological approach
• Information and prevention : The case of the Caucasus
• A socio-cultural approach : Training methods and tools

	Mekong Performing Arts Laboratory and HIV/AIDS Prevention  Hanoi, Viet Nam 27 Aug 2006 - 16 Sep 2006  The 2006 laboratory (Hanoi) will consist of a three-week intensive training course linked with UNESCO’s project for innovative HIV-prevention approaches using traditional forms of performing arts in Asia.

	Culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive reporting on HIV and AIDS in the Caucasus Region  Tbilisi, Georgia 18 Sep 2006 - 22 Sep 2006  This sub-regional training-of-trainers workshop will highlight socio-cultural issues such as traditions, beliefs, gender norms, practices and religions related to HIV and AIDS in order to improve skills in reporting on the pandemic within the region.

Artists4life: a joint UNESCO/Dessine l’Espoir project  Paris, France 05 Oct 2006 - 07 Oct 2006  Following exhibitions in Paris at the beginning of 2006, the joint UNESCO/Dessine l’Espoir project, Artists4Life, recently displayed in several new venues including the international fair Maison & Objet (Paris, 1-5 September 2006), the 2006 Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society (Deauville, October 2006) and the Global Business Coalition Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Paris, October 2006).

Radio drama addressing trafficking, drug use and HIV prevention  Paris, France 12 Oct 2006 - 13 Oct 2006  Based upon extensive research and field work over the last decade, UNESCO has developed a unique and innovative methodology for producing culturally appropriate/adapted radio programmes in minority languages. These programmes broadcasted by local radio stations provide effective means to educate target audiences of ethnic minority youth and, in particular, young women on issues of HIV and AIDS, trafficking and drug use.

HIV and AIDS Vulnerability and Risk Reduction among Ethnic Minority Groups through Communication Strategies  Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic 21 Nov 2006 - 21 Nov 2006  During the mid-term review meeting, partners from the Greater Mekong Sub-region: Cambodia, China (Yunnan), Lao PDR and Thailand, will present a progress report on following components of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-UNESCO project.

	Launch of the ToolKit on Theatre and HIV and AIDS  Kampala, Uganda 30 Nov 2006 - 30 Nov 2006  This flagship event for English-speaking African countries is developed within the UNESCO Culture, HIV and AIDS project and is organized in a priority country, Uganda.

	Building your own Creative Teaching Practice  Paris, France 01 Dec 2006 - 06 Dec 2006  Using the Young Digital Creators Educator's Kit, the UNESCO DigiArts Team invites teachers and educators to participate, in a special session, in building their own creative teaching practices based on the Young Digital Creators (YDC) online learning platforms on the theme of Water and HIV and AIDS.

	Contemporary Arts in Response to HIV and AIDS  Moscow, Russian Federation 01 Dec 2006 - 01 Dec 2006  Commemoration of the World AIDS Day and mainstreaming of socio-cultural approaches to HIV and AIDS education.

UNESCO, BBC World Service Trust (WST) and UNICEF to train journalists in HIV and AIDS reporting  Baku, Azerbaijan 02 Dec 2006 - 05 Dec 2006  In the follow-up to the training-of-trainers workshop organized by UNESCO and the BBC WST, within the framework of the UNESCO/Flanders project “Culture, HIV and AIDS in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia”, UNICEF supports the organization of a series of training sessions at the national level in Azerbaijan.

“Artist4Life” on exhibit at Art Paris 07  Grand Palais, Paris, France 29 Mar 2007 - 02 Apr 2007  The French NGO Dessine l’espoir has been invited for the second consecutive year to exhibit the Artists4Life project in the contemporary art show, Art Paris 2007 at the Grand Palais. Presenting the project’s latest edition, the exhibit showcases the work of new selection of artists such as Robert Combas, Kimiko Yoshida, Kendell Geers, Ernest Pignon Ernest, Laurence Leblanc, Jérôme Btesh, Philippe Maurice and Brian Riley.

Theater and Audiovisual Arts, an innovative approach to HIV and AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean  Havana, Cuba 22 May 2007 - 24 May 2007  Organized within the framework of the Culture HIV and AIDS project, this regional workshop is a multidisciplinary space for the exchange of experiences and for the assessment of arts-based methodologies using socio-cultural approaches to making people sensitive to HIV and AIDS issues.

Jamboree 2007- Workshops on HIV, AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination  Chelmsford, United Kingdom 27 Jul 2007 - 06 Aug 2007  On the occasion of the 21st World Scout Jamboree, which marks the centennial anniversary of the Scouting movement and brings together 40,000 scouts from all over the world, UNESCO organizes a series of a series of 16 workshops on the theme "Youth Speak Out About Sexuality and HIV in the Community".