The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : AIDS message through cultural fete

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Monday, Aug 02, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

AIDS message through cultural fete

Special Correspondent

PHOTO: K.V. SRINIVASAN.

Participants at a youth festival to create awareness of HIV/AIDS in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: At a daylong cultural festival at Dr. MGR Janaki College for Women here on Saturday, scores of students presented a variety of cultural programmes aimed at spreading the message of preventing HIV infection and AIDS.

The event was a run-up to Ilavattam — a three-day cultural carnival for youth to be held in the city in August to encourage those in the 15-25 years age group to become health ambassadors and prevent spread of the infection and AIDS. The carnival, sponsored by Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) and being implemented by National Service Scheme volunteers in colleges, will bring together youths from 14 government universities and several private universities across the State.

Madras University Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam, who inaugurated Saturday's event, said every college and each of the university's 70 departments should take up two extension programmes every year to engage the community around them in scientific and cultural activities. “Make use of the resources available to you, take them outside or bring the community to your campuses and ensure that the rural community benefits,” he told the gathering of teachers and students.

TANSACS joint director Alex Parimalam said 4,000 finalists from various programmes held across the State over the last few months would participate in the carnival at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. Participants at the carnival will include representatives from 1,000 red ribbon clubs.

“Surveys have found that new HIV infection cases are reported more among youth aged below 25. The carnival aims to dispel misconceptions about the modes of HIV transmission,” he said, adding that at the end of the carnival another 500 red ribbon clubs would be created.

The carnival would have 16 events, including film making, script writing and photography competitions, Mr. Alex said.

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