New York: Council Uses Social Networking to Talk About AIDS

Celebrities and activists in New York are turning to social networking to overcome fatigue about HIV/AIDS awareness.

"The goal of this campaign is to get New Yorkers talking to each other every day about HIV and AIDS," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a press conference on World AIDS Day.

The campaign, "I Talk Because," encourages New York residents to share why the HIV epidemic is important to them through the use of video posts. The site has about 50 videos and is targeting 500 by World AIDS Day 2010.

Several prominent New Yorkers helped announce the campaign, including Harlem Council member Robert Jackson, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Executive Director Wendy Stark, actor B.D. Wong, and actress Veronica Webb.

Webb used the opportunity to talk about the importance of the epidemic to her as a mother of seven- and five-year-old girls and the friend to several people who lost their lives to HIV. "It's responsible to talk, and it's good to talk," she said.

At the press conference, Quinn noted that the campaign has not been adapted for use in public schools, but she suggested that additional information on the issue would be forthcoming.

"There is concern on a lot of different levels that overall we aren't doing as well as we should as it relates to health curriculum on HIV/AIDS and other areas," Quinn said.

To view campaign materials, visit www.youtube.com/italkbecause, www.facebook.com/italkbecause or www.twitter.com/italkbecause.

Back to other news for December 2009