LIVE UP: Love.Protect.Respect.

LIVE UP is a media-led AIDS education effort spanning the entire Caribbean region that involves major broadcasters on every island working together - across different media but with unified messages and a shared approach. One element of this approach involves drawing on the popularity of sport , particularly among youth, to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to promote respect and compassion for those dealing with the disease. Organisers broadcast a LIVE UP PSA during the 2007 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony; similar announcements were aired during each match. (More than two billion viewers across the globe were expected to watch the ICC World Cup). (To view these, and other LIVE UP PSAs, click here.)

In tune with this strategy, CBMP has galvanised a wide range of celebrities to endorse the campaign in an effort to reach Caribbean youth. Images of these celebrities endorsing the campaign (many of them wearing LIVE UP tee-shirts) may be viewed on the LIVE UP website. This site also features a variety of information and interactive activities designed to engage young people. Quizzes, games, and animated scenarios are designed to educate those who "play safe". In addition, visitors to the site can learn facts about the disease and access details about where to get tested and how to protect themselves. A page listing local organisations and hotlines is designed to encourage youth to connect with others and find out how to get involved in prevention efforts, such as by volunteering in their communities. Interactive features are central; for instance, one page is designed to fight HIV-related stigma and discrimination by featuring the stories of people living with AIDS ("You'll see that they are no different from you and me!"). Visitors to the site are invited to share their photos, poems, artwork, and videos for display on the website.

As part of this process, several in-person workshops and summits were held to gather Caribbean broadcast executives, journalists, and producers in an effort to inspire innovative programming that uses media such as radio and television to heighten HIV/AIDS awareness, address stigma and discrimination, and promote personal action in the fight against AIDS.

HIV/AIDS, Youth.

According to CBMP, the Caribbean has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the western hemisphere, and is second only to sub-Saharan Africa in terms of the impact of the disease. AIDS is the leading cause of death among adults in the Caribbean, and 250,000 of the region's residents are living with AIDS; half of those are women and a third are young people between the ages of 15 and 24. HIV-related stigma and discrimination are extremely common in the Caribbean, according to the international AIDS charity Avert's website. "The effects of this prejudice are numerous. For one thing, it causes a great deal of stress and suffering to people who are living with HIV and their families, who often face social isolation and harassment. In another sense, stigma stops people who are at risk of infection from accessing information on prevention and testing, and reduces people's willingness to buy condoms or alter their sexual behavior."