TV Globo Hosts HIV/AIDS Summit

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 9:
Twenty three media executives from eight Latin American countries participated
in the first ever Global Media Aids Initiative Summit of Latin American Media
Leaders, hosted by TV Globo in partnership with UNICEF, and supported by the
Avina Foundation and MTV Networks International.

At the event, delegates
signed a Summit Declaration, committing to develop, produce and broadcast spots
for TV, radio, online and print, devoted to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. “TV Globo
approaches the issue of HIV/AIDS in every way television allows: journalistic
news pieces, educational campaigns for prevention, insertion of the theme in
telenovelas, and rendering of services in entertainment programs,” noted José
Roberto Marinho, the VP of social responsibility at Globo. “We believe that the
relevance of this issue deserves such an approach.”

There are said to be 1.6
million people living with HIV in Latin America today, with 140,000 new
infections last year. “The time to act is now,” said Nils Kastberg, the
regional director for UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean. “We have the
opportunity in our hands to change the course of the epidemic in Latin America
and television is critical in our efforts to achieve this important goal.”

Participants nominated a
Steering Committee to lead the alliance. The Steering Committee is comprised of
TV Globo, MTV, Medcom (Panama), TVEducativa (Brazil), Canal de Television Red
Guarani (Paraguay). The Summit is the first Latin American meeting of the
Global Media AIDS Initiative, launched by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in
January 2004.