As we told you earlier, it's World Aids Day. While most of the activities focused on "knowing your status," 1,500 primary and high school students from every district spent the afternoon partying at the Memorial Park in Belize City. There was music, dancing, poetry, all couched within the sobering message of HIV prevention and reducing stigma. The theme was "Youth and Aids in the 21st century: Move on." Shirlene Neal Tablada was the host and she told us why the reduction of stigma and discrimination is something to dance and sing about.
Shirlene Neal-Tablada, Emcee
"This is World AIDS Day, as you know, today is World AIDS Day and statistics show us that young people fifteen to twenty four are most affected by HIV in Belize and so we wanted to give young people a space where they could give a way and they could be involved in the response by promoting messages about HIV to other young people in the community.
You know that for young people entertainment is a primary means of communication and so they are expressing it through artistic forms; music, poetry, dance, drama, and various other forms that young people enjoy and also understand."
The rally was sponsored by the Belize Red Cross, UNICEF's Xchnage Project, the Ministry of Education, NICH, and Youth for the Future.
