(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean HIV and AIDS Edutainment Project under the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM), the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Programme is to stage its first theatre production at the Grotto at Samaan’s Park, Castries, Saint Lucia on 6 June 2008.
The play titled In Half-an-Hour is the first product of the partnership to use alternative communication approaches such as the edutainment strategies to raise the awareness on HIV and AIDS, reduce HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination and promote Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) through the use of the Visual and Performing Arts.
This strategy was supported by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) as a mechanism for increasing public awareness on various issues, such as the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), HIV and AIDS and drug abuse. At the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in St Kitts and Nevis, in July 2006, Suriname’s President Dr. Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan, the Head of Government who is responsible for Culture, Youth, Gender and Sport in the Quasi-Cabinet of CARICOM Heads of Government, recommended that edutainment should be more widely developed and promoted as a tool for advocacy and behaviour change especially among youth.
Funded by the World Bank at a cost of US$100, 000, the project is aimed at producing the basic building blocks of a Caribbean HIV&AIDS edutainment kit. The kit will provide each country with materials to cover aspects of HIV&AIDS communication, using a wide array of alternative communication approaches complemented with information sheets on CDs that can be adapted to the specific needs of each Member State. The kit will also include lesson plans, videos and DVDs of edutainment films and documentaries, classroom simulation exercises and materials previously produced by Stichting Projekta, the Suriname based Non-Governmental Organization responsible for the management of the project.
In Half-an-Hour is jointly produced by Lighthouse Theatre in Saint Lucia and Stichting PROJEKTA. The play focuses on the protagonist Stephen’s (played by Shayne Cherry) half hour wait at the doctor’s office where he goes to do an HIV rapid test. During that time Stephen reflects on the circumstances that had brought him to this point, his relationships with women, with friends and family. The play through a series of flashbacks from Stephen’s point of view examines each of those character’s attitudes towards sexual behaviour, fidelity and morality and raises issues of healthy lifestyles, culture, gender and education.
Written and directed by renowned Saint Lucian playwright Kendel Hippolyte, the play’s objective is to provide public education to a targeted audience of 15 -24 year olds on the VCT drive and to illuminate the issue of stigmatisation.
Other activities that are undertaken during the project’s implementation period – June 2007 – December 2008 – include research on HIV&AIDS related stigma and discrimination and its causes in the Caribbean and the production of a 30-minute edutainment video.
Education to promote awareness of HIV&AIDS is seen as a key factor in the fight against the disease and in reducing stigma and discrimination. An integrated approach with education, culture and media is considered an excellent tool in effectively undertaking HIV&AIDS awareness activities.
