from a participatory research process on young Africans’ stories about HIV/AIDS. Cult Health Sex.

from a participatory research process on young Africans’ stories about HIV/AIDS. Cult Health Sex.

This paper presents the findings, shares the methodology, and outlines the benefits of a multi-country participatory research process on a unique data source: stories about HIV and AIDS written by young Africans. Between 1997 and 2005, more than 105,000 young people from 37 countries participated in competitions inviting them to think up storylines for short fiction films to educate their communities about HIV as part of the ‘ Scenarios from Africa’ communication process. The winning stories were selected by juries made up of people living with HIV and other local specialists in prevention, treatment and care; former contest winners and other young people; and communication specialists, including the top African directors, who went on to transform the ideas into short films. In 2005, over 200 jurors selected 30 winners from the 22,894 stories submitted that year by 63,327 contest participants. After reading around 200 stories each and participating in the selection process, jurors compiled their observations and recommendations. The jurors’ findings reveal notable persistent shortcomings in existing communication efforts and identify key emerging needs. In some areas, they show remarkable consistency across the continent. Jurors view this as a powerful needs assessment, networking, and capacity building process that motivates action.

Editors’ note: Between 1997 and 2005 the Scenarios in Africa participatory communication initiative ran four contest cycles for storylines for short fiction films, producing an average of three films a year by Africa’s most celebrated filmmakers (viewable at www.globaldialogues.org) to trigger discussion about the epidemic in communities across West Africa. Analysis of 2005 submissions revealed a high level of understanding of basic facts, most marked among younger contestants. The most common recommendation made by the jurors was for destigmatisation to counter moralisation of the epidemic and to humanise people living with HIV. Jurors placed primary emphasis on fostering the life skills of young people so they can enact HIV prevention. Mobilised to submit stories by more than 1000 local organisations, the participating young people communicated rich insight into their contextualised understanding of the epidemic, information from the front lines of youth prevention in Africa with direct relevance for creating more enabling environments for HIV prevention.