MEDIA BACKGROUNDER Brief introduction

dance4life is a dynamic international initiative, which actively involves and empowers young people all around the world topush back the spread of HIV and AIDS and the stigma and taboos that surround it. Young people receive the informationand tools needed to make healthy choices for themselves and lead others in doing so.Young people are hit hardest by HIV and AIDS and at the same time they have to power to halt its further spread. Byuniting all over the world and demanding change, they can make a difference. dance4life provides them with thisopportunity. It teaches them the important life skills they need to protect themselves but more than this, with the use of dance, music and youth icons, it inspires them to go out there and actually do something about it, to become activelyinvolved – an agent of change.

agent of change is a young person who makes a positive active contribution in pushing back HIV and AIDS onan individual, community, national and international level

Through dance4life, young people:

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Learn the facts about HIV prevention and transmission.

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Meet face-to-face with young people living with HIV and learn about their difficulties.

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Learn and practice life skills.

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Organize activities to raise funds or advocate on HIV and AIDS and the stigma’s and taboos surrounding it to theirpeers, family or communities.

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Dance for life, celebrating their achievements with young people in Vietnam and around the world and making a visiblestatement to world leaders to keep their promise in the Millennium Development Goals.Between now and 2014, dance4life aims to create one million ‘agents of change’. In 2014, this visible youth platform willmake one last urgent call for action to all governments to respond to HIV and AIDS. This objective is reached byimplementing the dance4life program in schools around the globe using teachers and peer educators.

Countries dancing 4 life

dance4life is a fast growing international movement. Twenty countries are involved already including: Barbados, Germany,Ibiza, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda,UK, USA, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.dance4life Vietnam is now in its 4

year. The program is coordinated by the World Population Foundation Vietnam based inHanoi and is implemented in cooperation with other international and national organizations such as VAAC (VietnamAdministration for HIV and AIDS Control), the Hanoi DoET, Hands to Hands Theatre group and the Youth Union. Up to date,dance4life Vietnam has achieved:

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4700 youth reached

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47 workshops at 14 schools

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2400 agents of change

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3500 youth at dance4life event

Program components

dance4life Vietnam consists of two program dimensions: The

dance4life schools project

and