The films are based on ideas put forward by young people in a contest that was held from October 7 through December 9, 2002. Open to individuals or teams of young Africans under the age of 25, the contest invited participants to submit an original idea for a short film related to HIV/AIDS in the form of a written description up to 10 pages or a video up to 15 minutes in length. (Twelve topics were provided on the Scenarios from Africa site to inspire ideas, but any idea related to HIV/AIDS was welcomed). The film could take the form of a short story, a comic strip, or a song. (Because materials had to be submitted in English, part of the instructions included urging the formation of teams so that those who could not write in English could work together with their peers. Each team was required to choose a leader).

The proposals will be 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 30 winners or winning teams will receive a prize of US$75, as well as the chance to have the finished film, which will be between 2 and 9 minutes long, broadcast on TV. In addition, one of the international contest winners or winning teams will be awarded US$1,000. Thireen short films will be produced in 2003-4 based on the winning ideas. Specialists from a wide range of scientific and artistic fields will collaborate on the readaptation of the original scenario. The adapted script is then pre-tested with the help of community-based organisations and support groups of people living with HIV. Then, filmmakers from the region, working in tandem with African producers, direct teams made up of African actors and technicians create the films. Wherever possible, the young author will play a central role in the entire process.

The films will be distributed on a non-commercial basis across the African continent and beyond, for broadcast on national television stations and on international satellite networks. Films from an earlier series of contests have been broadcast locally-based television stations in almost every country in sub-Saharan Africa, including 20 stations in Nigeria. The films are also collected on a cassette for use by organisations and schools.

Children, Youth, HIV/AIDS.

This project was initiated in 1997 as Scenarios from the Sahel (click here for this Programme Description). In 1997 and 2000, when the Scenarios contests were held in Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso, almost 22,000 young people took part. They ranged in age from 7 to 24 and lived in rural, urban and peri-urban areas throughout their countries. Contest winners often become key resource people in subsequent phases of the project, and are called upon by local partner structures to serve as specialist outreach workers in community-based prevention activities.