I wanted to pass on to this network an opportunity for input from The Global Forum on MSM & HIV:

Survey Opportunity: Help Inform New WHO Guidelines on HIV Testing and Counseling for Young People!

Dear all,

The World Health Organization is in the process of developing new international guidelines on HIV testing and counseling for young people. It is essential that young MSM and transgender people actively participate in this process so that their unique needs are addressed in the final guidelines. The WHO has launched an online survey to better understand the testing and counseling experiences of people below the age of 30. We have sent this notification to you because you are a member of the MSMGF and you have indicated an interest in youth issues. As many MSM and transgender people should participate as possible, so please circulate this widely among your networks.

  ... - More

Hi,

I wanted to let you all know that the Center for International Media Ethics (CIME) has just announced the essay topic for its
Ethicontest 2011: "What are the ethical pitfalls of news photography from conflict or disaster zones, and how should a journalist
choose what to publish?"

The contest is open to aspiring and established media writers of all varieties, from journalists to freelancers to students. All the details about how
and to whom to submit an essay are available here: http://cimethics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60 The deadline is
November 30 2011.

Please also send your thoughts through here to the group on how you would respond to the essay topic at the centrepiece of this competition!

~ Kier ... - More

Hi folks - for those of you whose ICTs work and interest involves Democracy and Governance issues in Africa could I please encourage you to complete this brief IDS/Soul Beat Africa survey at
http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=21cf6cf77cba770184b5a9703acd3119

This will really help to inform the planned democracy and governance webspace and will ensure that your information and networking needs on this important theme are met.

Completing the survey will take about 15 to 20 minutes of your time. To access the survey follow this link http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?m=21cf6cf77cba770184b5a9703acd3119 ... - More

The aim of the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for Sustainable Development (FOSSDeva) survey is to investigate the potential impact of FOSS for sustainable development in Africa. The survey is part of UNU's activities in and on Africa. Take part in the survey: http://servnet.ias.unu.edu/limesurvey/index.php?sid=86668&newtest=Y&lang=en ... - More

Hi to everyone in this Drum Beat "Future of ICTs and Development" network. Thanks for joining. A question:

Related to your local, national or international development goals and priorities what is the one piece of technology you would love to have - something that you assess would make your work much more effective?

(It may exist now or it may be a wish for the future)

Thanks - Warren ... - More

We are now a network of 893 members. I'd like to survey all of you for some information and comment. I continue to be interested in the role that men play in gender, education, and HIV prevention and treatment. Those organisations that take the larger gender justice view seem to me to be on a track that might yield beneficial lessons. This document, for example: Policy Approaches to Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality and Health Equity http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241500128_eng.pdf points out the pressure that cultural concepts of masculinity create, resulting in negative effects on men’s health and ability to develop identities that yield positive relationships. ... - More

Hi,

I wanted to call your attention to - and spark discussion about - this blog entry - http://lindaraftree.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/3-films-about-the-devadasi/ - which discusses the portrayal of prostitutes in India in a 2010 film and posts a short rebuttal by members of Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad (meaning 'Prostitutes' Freedom from Injustice') or "VAMP".

Blogger Linda Raftree writes, in part, "Their reaction is one of anger and feelings of betrayal. They denounce the filmmaker (Sarah Harris) for laughing at them, making fun of them, disrespecting them, misinterpreting their stories and making public judgment calls on their religious practices....What is interesting about this case is that the community saw it and reacted publicly." ... - More

Hi and a very happy new year to you and yours! Many thanks for having joined this "Future of ICTs and Development" network, part of The Communication Initiative process.

Silvio Waisbord, Associate Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University has just submitted a blog entitled "Net Thinking" to The Communication Initiative platform - see http://www.comminit.com/en/node/328504/bbc

In this blog Silvio focuses on the relationship between technology developments and development progress observing that:

"Policy makers, the media and aid organizations usually throw nuance aside to hail the arrival of the latest technology. Recent hopes for mobile telephony and “social media” and applied to aid and development follow in the footsteps of the past."

and ... - More

I recently posted information about this guide: Happy, Healthy, and Hot: A Young Person’s Guide to Their Rights: Sexuality and Living with HIV, here: http://www.comminit.com/en/node/327946/347 and wondered if there were other documents, campaign materials, or strategies you were aware of that approach informing HIV-positive teens about sexual and reproductive health. I am supposing that cultural adaptation of materials would be a norm in any setting, and I think it would be useful for all of us in the network to be aware of examples of this since reaching teens is so critical and often challenging. The description below from Katherine de Tolly on HIV counselling via MXit text-chat, for example, seems like a teen-centric means of reaching this age group. Thanks for that entry. ... - More

Best wishes and thanks for joining this Gender, Education, and HIV/AIDS network. It is World AIDS Day (WAD) tomorrow (as I write). In the special DB Click: HIV/AIDS (copied below) focused on the WAD theme of Universal Access/Human Rights, with significant Gender and Education perspectives, we open with a quote from Michel Sidibe's UNAIDS message on this theme including:

"This is...the first time we can show that reductions in the number of new HIV infections are clearly linked to an increase in knowledge about HIV, changes in social norms and the adopting of safer behaviors. It has given us evidence that HIV prevention programmes are producing significant results." (reference is below)

This is obviously really good news. In support of continuing this momentum through everyone's extremely hard work to bring about these results could you please share through this network (your user name is above and you can request a new password if forgotten!) the following: ... - More