to Reduce Stigma in Covering HIV/AIDS

Following training on June 14 in reporting effectively on HIV/AIDS, Vietnamese journalists are writing stories that contain significantly fewer stigmatizing words and phrases. Besides, trainees say they have now a much better understanding of the negative impacts of discrimination against HIV-positive people.

HIV Turnaround Project that helps journalists based in the Mekong region to improve their reporting on HIV/AIDS.

“Most of the participants in this workshop had previously participated in basic trainings with Internews, and their stories show a great improvement in terms of accuracy and reduced use of stigmatizing terminology,” said Lyndal Barry, Internews Mekong Project Director.

“This is the most interesting and fun journalism training I have ever attended,” said a radio reporter who was one of the 22 journalists participating in the training. “And when it focused on discrimination, which is a big issue here, it was very useful.”

Internews workshops encourage active participation and a practical approach, writing skills building to provide quality and available information in the Mekong region. Post-training support and mentoring helps the local journalists to produce stories for publication or broadcast. One of the stories is "By For and About Positive People" by Cheng Siv.

This article was published in Global AIDSLink,#104 , July/Aug.2007