India: Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society Launches Workshop for Folk Artistes in Coimbatore

On August 6, India's Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) launched a four-day workshop at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, to help teach folk artistes how to deliver more meaningful HIV/AIDS- and STD-related messages to their rural audiences. The workshop has drawn 120 folk artistes and 11 master trainers from 16 districts. Once properly trained, each troupe of artistes, which includes a musician and seven performers, will travel from village to village with a propaganda van that will provide free HIV/AIDS testing. The artistes will disseminate HIV/AIDS information to villagers in rural areas through dance, street plays, and puppet shows. According to TANSACS Project Director Rajendra Ratnoo, the workshop will teach artistes magic tricks and ways to tighten their scripts to attract larger audiences.

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