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Mexico XVII - Communication

Communication perspectives - Mexico XVII AIDS Conference
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VIA LIBRE - Ecuador

Country

Ecuador

Region

Global, Africa, Latin America

Programme Summary


The Project "Communication and Sexual Education" was carried out by the Foundation for Alternative Development - FUNDEAL and IMAGCOM with the sponsorship of the Netherlands Embassy in Ecuador from December 1998 to December 2000. The Project designed, developed and produced an EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM to provide sex education to teenagers, their teachers and families in urban areas. The SYSTEM contains a multimedia kit named VIA LIBRE aimed to:

  • Enforce the application of the Law for Sexual Education, which makes it compulsory for every school and high school in Ecuador to provide information and counselling in this area
  • Increase the treatment of sexuality and sex education by the mass media in Ecuador, overcoming a traditional taboo and silence around the topic.
  • Provide information, guidance and counselling to teenagers in order to promote a healthy and responsible exercise of their sexuality.
  • Contribute to the decrease of problems such as teenager pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, AIDS, violence.

Main Communication Strategies

VIA LIBRE is a kit which contains: a tv series, a guide book, a web site, an in-school educational model, and a volunteer scheme, all designed around the needs of youth, their culture, values, and codes. VIA LIBRE TV was transmitted by ETV Telerama a tv channel with national coverage from August 19 to November 9, 2000. Following its television transmission the series VIA LIBRE is available for schools and counselling centers as an educational video kit. A Guide Book, VIA LIBRE PARA HABLAR DE SEXUALIDAD, complements the TV series with a methodology and a step by step guide to use the kit. The Guide Book was designed for an easy to use approach and is intended for teachers, counsellors and volunteer workers. The Young Volunteer Scheme trains Volunteer Counsellors to work in school and youth groups. The web site has information on sexuality presented in coloquial and everyday language and includes self-tests to find out the level of knowledge on certain topics related to sexuality and Online surveys with more than 1.000 visits per month.

Development Issues



Children, Youth, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, family planning.

Key Points



The audience responded enthusiastically to the television broadcast, with loads of phone calls by youngsters from cities as diverse as Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Quito, Machala, Loja. The audience asked for reprise of the programs and expressed their interest in participating in the TV series. A multinaltional publishing company, Grupo Editorial Santillana sponsored the publicaton of the Guide Book. The Volunteer Group VIA LIBRE worked with 47 members who worked during March and April 2000 as counselors of their classmates, and covered in two months more than 5.000 students in 15 schools of Quito.


Currently VIA LIBRE is under last agreements to be broadcasted by the Iberoamerican Association for Educational Television in Madrid/Spain via satellite to all their member countries in the Americas and Spain.


The TV series plus the Guide book have been aproved by the Ministry of Education in Ecuador as an official material for in-class use.

Contact

Lourdes Páez, VIA LIBRE, Coredero y Reina Victoria, Ed. Torres de Almagro, Torre C, 9-C, Quito, Ecuador. Tele: 239-725
email lopaez@pi.pro.ec
website

Source

Promotional Document sent to The Communication Initiative by Lourdes P


Placed on the Communication Initiative site July 31 2001
Last Updated July 31 2001

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Culturally Effective Strategies

If culturally delicate HIV/AIDS factors such as male circumcision or fewer multiple concurrent partners are to be effectively addressed, which communication strategies are most required? [choose a maximum of 3]