WELCOME ADDRESS BY DAVID ASTLEY, SECRETARY ... - ABU

WELCOME ADDRESS BY DAVID ASTLEY, SECRETARY-GENERAL, ABU
TO AMAI REGIONAL SEMINAR ON HIV and AIDS
NIKKO HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR, 26 MAY 2008
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It is my pleasure to welcome you this morning to this important
seminar which has been organised by the Asia-Pacific Institute for
Broadcasting Development (AIBD) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting
Union (ABU) as an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Media AIDS Initiative
(AMAI) which is a joint venture of the AIBD and ABU and the regional
arm of the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) which was launched by
the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, in
January 2004, and conceived by and organized by the Joint United
Nations Programme of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Kaiser Family
Foundation.
Since 2004, GMAI’s activities have been gaining momentum in Africa,
the Caribbean, Russia and other parts of the world, and here in the
Asia-Pacific region we hope to emulate some of the successes that
have been achieved in those other regions through activities that will
leverage the power of the media – and the broadcast media in
particular - to help prevent the spread of HIV and reduce the stigma
facing those already living with the disease.
In January 2004, the founding members of the GMAI pledged to
“recognize that the world's media are in a unique position to
help fight the AIDS epidemic. Through its extensive reach, media is a
powerful force for educating and informing the public about the
HIV/AIDS epidemic”. They resolved that through their companies they
would “expand public knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS."

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At a Global HIV/AIDS Creative Meeting in November 2004, Dr. Peter
Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said: "The creative community has
the power to shape behaviours of individuals and set positive lifestyle
trends for communities. This coming together of the world's best
creative minds to focus on AIDS is a significant boost in the response
to AIDS. Getting to the hearts and minds of people is key to stopping
AIDS."
And Drew E. Altman, President and CEO of the Kaiser Family
Foundation, said: "Media companies usually compete and keep their
best creative ideas to themselves. Today, companies across the globe
are sharing experiences and ideas about how best to reach people with
critical information on HIV."
That is what we plan to do today – to share experiences and ideas.
This seminar is the second such event organised by the AIBD and ABU
under the AMAI banner, and its objectives are to formulate strategies
to reach out to target audiences with effective campaigns, and to lay
the foundations for minimum quality standards in HIV prevention
efforts through the media.
As I said a few moments ago, the mission of the AMAI is to leverage
the power of media to help prevent the spread of HIV and reduce the
stigma facing those already living with the disease.

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But there are some other important objectives. We want to:
• Create a structured framework for leveraging broadcast media
resources with the goal of significantly expanding HIV/AIDSrelated
broadcast programming across the Asia-Pacific region;
• Increase the number of media companies in Asia-Pacific actively
developing or airing HIV/AIDS-related programming;
• Support exchange of best practices and rights-free
programming;
• Promote collaboration among media companies in hard hit
regions to undertake more coordinated responses to the
epidemic;
• Promote the integration of HIV/AIDS-related messaging across
all broadcast platforms and program formats; and,
• Engage and build support among non-traditional media and
other relevant sectors.
It’s an enormous challenge. But the media has the power to meet that
challenge.
HIV/AIDS threatens the health and security of all nations, but media
can play a unique role in helping to stem the spread of this disease.
Through media's reach and influence, we can be a powerful force for
educating the public about HIV/AIDS, thereby helping to reduce its
further spread and the stigma facing those already living with
HIV/AIDS.

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As broadcasters serving in the public interest, we can use our
communications expertise and resources to contribute to changing the
course of the pandemic and thus improve the economic well-being of
all the nations in our region.
I thank you for the time that you have committed today to attending
this seminar, and to those of you who have traveled from abroad, I
thank you for the efforts that you have made to be with us here in
Kuala Lumpur.
I hope you find it a though-provoking and productive day, and we look
forward to working with you through the various AIBD, ABU and AMAI
programmes to implement the strategies that we hope to formulate
today.
Thank you.