Open to individuals or teams of young Africans under the age of 25, the contest invites participants to submit an original idea for a short film related to HIV/AIDS. Applicants submit a written description of up to 10 pages or a video of up to 15 minutes in length. The films can take the form of a short story, a comic strip, or a song. The proposals are examined by juries made up young people; specialists in HIV prevention, treatment and care; people living with HIV; and experts in film production. According to project organisers, the selection process itself is meant to serve as a means of assessing young people's needs and of evaluating the communication work around HIV/AIDS that has been carried out to date.

Each of the winners or winning teams receives a prize of US$75, as well as the chance to have the finished film, which will be between 2 and 9 minutes long, produced and broadcast on television and on the web. In addition, one of the international contest winners or winning teams is awarded US$ 1,000. The adapted script is then pre-tested with the help of community-based organisations and support groups of people living with HIV. Then, internationally acclaimed filmmakers from the region, working in tandem with African producers, direct teams made up of African actors and technicians to create the films. Wherever possible, the young author will play a central role in the entire process.

The films are distributed on a non-commercial basis across the African continent and beyond for broadcast on national television stations and on international satellite networks. According to the organisers, films from an earlier series of contests have been broadcast on locally-based television stations in almost every country in sub-Saharan Africa, including 20 stations in Nigeria. The films are also collected on DVDs for use by organisations and schools. To date, nearly 100,000 copies have been distributed. Local partners are urged to burn copies of the DVDs at will and to create additional language versions ("dubbing" the films) as they wish. In support of such initiatives, Global Dialogues provides a free film master with a separate "music and effects" track to facilitate dubbing, as well as complete English, French, or Portuguese texts for the translator and background documentation on the creation of new language versions of the films.

The soundtracks of the films have been adapted for use on the radio in French, Moorè, Dioula, Pulaar, and Wolof, and over 1,000 copies of those audio CDs have been donated to radio stations in Africa, where they are often used as a way to spark listener involvement in call-in shows.

A growing number of Scenarios from Africa partners (including TV5Monde, CFAO, Creative Associates International, OneWorld TV, Ouaganet) have made some or all of the films available for viewing on their websites. The films can also be seen on YouTube in English, French, and Portuguese. Anyone wishing to include the films on their websites, or make links to the Scenarios from Africa films on YouTube, may do so. In 2009, Global Dialogues is creating a new website from which it will be possible to stream and download all of the films for free, as well as the radio adaptations, in all language versions currently available.

In 2009/10, new Scenarios from Africa films based on winning scripts from the 2008 contest are being created. The next Scenarios from Africa contest will be held in 2010/2011.

Click here to watch the films on the Global Dialogues website. The films also have accompanying User Guides available in English, French, and Portuguese.

Children, Youth, HIV/AIDS.

The Scenarios from Africa films are now available in 27 languages. The tens of thousands of texts submitted by contest participants are studied by Scenarios jurors with a view to identifying strengths and weaknesses in young people’s HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Summaries of the jurors’ “Observations and Recommendations” can be found on the selection page of the Global Dialogues website.