The eight short films contained in the series were produced at the Workshop for a Regional Co-production on HIV, organized prior to the 2010 Asia Media Summit in Beijing last May. The participants came from India, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Nepal and Vietnam. Their productions, in local languages with English subtitles, are about voluntary testing, safe sex, friendships and personal testimonies.

“The workshop offered us updates on HIV-related knowledge and provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions on critical aspects and sensitivities of HIV and AIDS,” reported lead trainers Juliette Vivier form AIBD and Savyasaachi Jain, media consultant.

Trainer Munkhtuul Togooch and three participants, Kumar Pathak (India), Nguyen Van Anh (Vietnam) and Asharia Behum (Sri Lanka) shared their experience with broadcast managers and professionals during a capacity building session at the regional Summit. They underlined that TV audiences have an interest in good health, while broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public, local authorities and civil society, facilitating their access to relevant information.

UNESCO’s Network of Young Television Producers on HIV and AIDS was initiated in 2002 to support skills enhancement, low budget short documentaries and to improve knowledge about the epidemic among TV professionals. More than 250 TV producers have participated in the Network and have created around 150 short films for transmission in 74 countries around the world. The pre-Summit event on HIV is expected to contribute to the increase of that total; the experience of its participants are to be used to inform and improve future similar workshops.


Positive Life (DVD series)