Scenarios from the Sahel - Senegal, Mali & Burkina Faso

Scenarios provides youth in the region with an opportunity not only to learn more about the relationship between HIV/AIDS and their everyday lives, but to also inform peopke across the African cotinent about the dangers presented by the epidemic. During the Scenarios process, youth work in partnership with some of the regions premier artistic talents to produce a series of short films. In early 1997, youth in the 3 countries were invited to take part in a contest by drafting a scenario for a short film on HIV/AIDS. The second contest was carried out in 2000, with special emphasis on participation of girls/young women, rural youth, and youth not attending school. The 2 contest together attracted nearly 22,000 perticipants. Seven Scenarios films (2-10 minutes in length) have been completed [Nov 2000]. The films are broadcast on a non-commercial basis across Africa on national television stations, as well as on international networks such as TV5, CFI and Canal+Horizons. During 2001, non-profit distribution of a compliation VHS casette containing all of the films will begin.

Youth, HIV/AIDS.

A key lesson learned from the contests is that that approach effectively encourages young people to explore existing sources of relevant information and creates an environment conducive to open discussion of HIV/AIDS and its many implications. The contest provides a forum for girls and boys to exchange views on topics generally considered taboo; to date, nearly one of every two participants was a member of a mixed team.

In order to optimize the linguistic accessibility of the cassette, all of the films will be dubbed into several languages, and groups will be able to choose from the following versions of the compilation cassette: Swahili, Hausa, Fulani, Bambara, Moré, Wolof, English, French and Portuguese. The cassette will come with a User's Guide.

The contributions of all contest participants, gathered together at the Scenarios archives in Dakar, are available to researchers, prevention specialists, trainers, members of theater groups, and so on. The archives are structured around a searchable, computerized data base so as to make it easy for interested individuals to locate and study scenarios written by a particular group or on a specific topic. The archives provide insights into the language used by young people, their perceptions of HIV/AIDS, the relevant difficulties they encounter in their everyday lives, and the solutions they suggest. The archives are also a way for members of the HIV-prevention community to measure the impact of past activities and to formulate strategies for future actions based on needs expressed by the young contest participants.