NATIONAL COMMUNITY RADIO FORUM (NCRF) AIDS NETWORK

For a long time there has been talk about the importance of networking between and among community radio stations in South Africa. However, talking is not enough if there is no action or implementation. The NCRF AIDS Network seeks to ensure that community radio producers act by sharing and exchanging programming on HIV/AIDS issues.

Formation of the Network

Prior to the International AIDS Conference in Durban in July 2000, producers from NCRF stations were given training on HIV/AIDS and other related health issues, sponsored and facilitated by the AIDS Foundation, based in Durban. After the workshops, the participants strongly felt that the South African community radio sector needed to play an active role in fighting the pandemic. South Africa and other countries in the southern African region have some of the highest levels of HIV infection in the world. And so, the South African Community Radio HIV/AIDS Network was born. The basic structure of the Network was formulated at a workshop in October 2000. Again, it was the AIDS Foundation that funded and facilitated the process. But now it was time for the stations to take the lead.

Network Objectives

The station producers at the meeting committed themselves to:

• playing an active role in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic .
• increasing their production of HIV/AIDS programming at their stations
• producing local programming together with their local clinics, schools, NGOs, CBOs, youth clubs, women and local branches of the South African National Association of People Living With HIV/AIDS (NAPWA);
• sharing their script and audio programming with each other via fax, cassette exchange through post, and e-mail where possible.
• Linking with local clinics, schools, NGOs, CBOs, youth clubs, women and local branches of NAPWA in other non-radio communications projects such as festivals, poster campaigns and plays.

The stations, through their producers, are the ?owners? of the Network. It is up to them to make it happen. The NCRF, as the umbrella body for community radio stations in South Africa, supports the Network producers through co-ordinating the Network's partnerships for programming and training. As an organisation that strives for the development of the community radio sector and broader civil society, the NCRF encourages the Network's producers to do local programming together with their local clinics, schools, NGOs, CBOs, youth clubs, women and local branches of NAPWA.

The Motto: ?Try It!?

The motto, chosen by participants at the Durban Workshop in October 2000, is a call for young South Africans in particular to try new types of behaviour that can help them: -- to avoid HIV/AIDS; -- to behave sensitively towards those who are HIV-positive; -- to live a full life if they are living with HIV or AIDS.

Examples of possible new behaviours include:

respecting and loving your partner, accepting and working together with people living with HIV/AIDS, respecting and loving yourself if you are living with HIV/AIDS, always using condoms when having sex, and abstaining from sex until one has found a long-term partner. Whichever new behaviour is needed, this Network aims to dare community radio listeners to ?Try It!?:

For more information, contact:

Manana Monareng - Communications Manager on 082 534 6752 Visit 1st Floor Cosatu House Building, 1-5 Corner Biccard and Leyds Streets, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa, or post a letter to Suite 109 Private Bag X42, Braamfontein, 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa PHONE: 011 403 4336, FAX: 011 403 4314, e-mail : [email protected]

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