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Several Playwrights who participated in a seven-day workshop concluded at Surajkund late last evening, scripted 15 skits to be used as Street-plays during the 24,000 Kms of train journey by Red Ribbon Express across the country to generate awareness about the HIV-AIDS. Apart from the Playwrights, the others who attended the workshop included experts on HIV-AIDS, media and communication, lyricists and copywriters.
The participants acquainted themselves of the enormous task ahead as they have to be a part of a country wide campaign which aims at generating awareness on HIV/AIDS in over 30,000 Panchayats. This would be an endeavor towards achieving the national objective of reducing the rate of new HIV infections in highly vulnerable states by the year 2007. The Red Ribbon Express is an ambitious project conceptualised by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and National Aids Control Organization (NACO) with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) as the chief implementing agency.
Four special trains will start from four different directions i.e. from Jammu (J&K), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) and Guwahati (Assam). These special trains will move on different routes, will cover a distance over 6000 Kms. each and hold over 29000 programs and activities in over 29000 villages/urban areas.
Each of the above trains will have over 60 young participants and few celebrities. Among the participants there shall be Street play performers/actors and theatre persons, orators, experts managing alternative communication devices, Doctors, Nurses, laboratory technicians and representatives from NGOs etc.
Speaking at the concluding session, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Sunil Dutt said that Nehru Yuvak Kendra volunteers along with experts, Medical teams, Street-play performers, and representatives of NGOs will fan out in the country to help fight the menace of HIV-AIDS. Shri Dutt said that 40 per cent population of the country was youth and they were the most vulnerable section as far as HIV-AIDS was concerned. He said that it was for the first time that the Government, NGOs, and bodies like National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) were coming together to fight this menace. He hoped that the concerted efforts would certainly bring good results in the effort to eradicate this disease.
The concluding session was also addressed by the Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Oscar Fernandes and the Vice Chairman of the NYKS, Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Khan.
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