Cobh YMCA in Ireland produce powerful film on World AIDS Day

1 December 2010

To mark World Aids Day today (1 December), Cobh YMCA in County Cork, Ireland, has created a short film titled ‘Masked'

With the call to action: ‘Don't stigmatise HIV/Aids - unmask it; face up to it’, Masked deals with the stigma that is still attached to HIV and Aids in Ireland and around the world.

While medicine and treatment can control the symptoms and education has helped to reduce the number of cases of HIV in Ireland, the stigma surrounding it is still very real. Many people do not know the basic facts about HIV and this perpetuates the myths about it..A recent study showed that of all the cases in the UK today, there are still a quarter of people who do not even know they are infected.

The film was made by young people involved with the YMCA’s STEP course supported by Y Care International’s Global Youth Work programme.

The STEP course is a training course for marginalised young people in the area which teaches life skills and gives opportunities to find employment. Y Care International has funded the YMCA to incorporate a project which uses art to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

STEP coordinator James Bilson said, “This was a very challenging subject for young people to take on and try to relate to other young people, let alone using the medium of film. Despite the challenges, the trainees have succeeded in making a very powerful film which will be extremely useful for raising awareness with young people.

Mike O’Donovan, Global Youth Work Coordinator at Y Care International said: “This is a really moving film which shows clearly how a young person with HIV can be stigmatised by their friends and community, but also shows that with the right understanding and support those attitudes can be turned around. We are delighted to be supporting this work.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:
1. Y Care International work with local YMCAs and their staff to develop specific global youth work projects for their YMCA.

2. Y Care International is the international development and relief agency of the YMCA movement in the UK and Ireland, working in partnership with YMCAs across the developing world to help young people build alternatives to a future of poverty and disadvantage. We support a number of projects supporting young people with HIV/AIDS and/or educating young people on the subject.

3. Globally there are over 33 million people with HIV/Aids. Two thirds - over 22 million - are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to education and medicine and treatment is a far cry from what we here in Ireland are used to. HIV/Aids is a huge threat to the development of these countries, already the poorest countries in the world.

4. For more information on Y Care International Global Youth Work contact Mike O’Donovan, Global Youth Work Officer at Y Care International on 020 7549 3158 or Sue Wheat on 020 7549 3156 or email globalyouthwork@ycareinternational.org

5. For more information on ‘Masked’ and the STEP programme, contact James Bilson at Cobh YMCA. Tel. 00 353 21 481 4060 mailto: step@indigo.ie or www.ymca-cobh.org