Events Archive
Digital Video Conference on “Reporting on HIV/AIDS”
The Public Diplomacy Office of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Service in Paris, France, conducted a Digital Video Conference (DVC) on July 17, 2007 featuring Diane Seligsohn, an independent American journalist, filmmaker and journalism instructor, who gave a presentation about “Reporting on HIV/AIDS.” Participants, who included eight journalists and five representatives from governmental and non-governmental agencies working on HIV/AIDS issues, also posed questions and provided Seligsohn her first glimpse into the HIV/AIDS problem in Sudan.
Seligsohn offered tips to the journalists on how to cover the HIV/AIDS phenomenon and how to sell their stories to their editors and news managers. She also discussed the myths surrounding HIV/AIDS and also how to overcome the social taboos associated with HIV/AIDS. Seligsohn urged journalists not to rely solely on government sources of information, but also to get firsthand accounts from persons suffering from HIV/AIDS and grassroots organizations working on prevention and education. Female journalists can be especially effective in reaching out to women, who have a higher incidence of HIV infection than men in Africa, Seligsohn said.