World AIDS Day Honoured at the Cape Town International Convention Centre | Western Cape Government

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World AIDS Day Honoured at the Cape Town International Convention Centre

20 November 2006
The event's beneficiary, @heart, is a Stellenbosch-based organisation launched in April 1999 in response to the lack of supportive services to people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. In line with their vision, CEO Lynette Rademeyer-Bosman says @heart respects the gift of life and strives towards creating an environment of total acceptance and support for people living with the virus.

A star-studded line-up of musical virtuosos and performance artists join renowned musician Jimmie Earl Perry in honouring World AIDS Day (WAD) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 1 December 2006.

This year's WAD event, run in conjunction with the Western Cape Provincial Government, is intended to celebrate the good work and efforts towards eliminating HIV/AIDS globally, and places special emphasis on the work done by the Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management and the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University.

Says Professor Jan du Toit, director of the Centre: "The Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management presents a unifying theme for events and activities taking place around the world under the WAD banner in a bid to raise awareness about the growing numbers of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa, the rest of the subcontinent and around the world."

"The partnership between these two Stellenbosch University institutions is important. In fact, it is crucial that everyone in the HIV/AIDS and TB fields work together", says Prof Nulda Beyers, director of the Desmond Tutu TB Centre. "An HIV positive person with a compromised immune system is much more vulnerable to contracting TB, and so both diseases should be fought simultaneously".

Under the theme " Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise" , the event reinforces the goals of the UNAIDS-driven World AIDS Campaign to energise and support an effective and sustained response to HIV/AIDS; and appeals to governments and policy makers to ensure they meet the targets they agreed to in the fight against the pandemic under the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment***.

Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool, the keynote speaker at event, welcomes being part of this event. "Government together with its multiple partners continues to provide a very successful HIV and AIDS programme in this province and we must celebrate and acknowledge the contributions made by all involved. However, the challenge remains to continue to expand our HIV and AIDS programme to reach even more of those affected, especially in those areas where the annual HIV/AIDS antenatal surveys indicate higher infection rates. In the fight against AIDS, there should be no competition. We must share information and best practices so that the greatest benefits reach the greatest number of people. In the same way, we must work proactively with our medical and healthcare workers to develop strategies to prevent infection. In this regard, one of the best weapons in our arsenal is testing, and I call on our people to get tested and to know their status".

CONCERT LINE-UP

The compere for the evening, Ruda Landman , is most noted for co-presenting M-Net's in-depth magazine programme Carte Blanche for the past 18 years. But she is no stranger to the World AIDS Day event or the cause of fighting the pandemic. She has covered HIV/AIDS in her journalist capacity from all sides, including the developing science and understanding; the arguments about how to deal with HIV positive people; the orphans and how to care for them; the difficulties companies experience in making policy and management decisions around it.

Jimmie Earl Perry , producer of the gala concert, is also the director of educational theatre and creative arts at the Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management. A highlight of the concert is the launch of Perry's first self-produced CD, Power of the Dream .

The album is distributed worldwide by Gallo South Africa . Perry's impressive repertoire includes principal parts in numerous Andrew Lloyd Webber productions, such as Jesus Christ Superstar , Starlight Express and Cats , around the world (even occasionally in German!).. He was also an original cast member in Cameron MacIntosh's Miss Saigon in Toronto , and made several appearances in the television court drama series The Judge as well as the comedy series Kids In The Hall . This US-born performer now lives in Stellenbosch, and locally he has featured in Laugh Out Loud , as well as the drama series Orion

Says Perry: "We have the power to eradicate poverty, HIV/AIDS and TB - from the most vulnerable and poor to those who are aware and have everything. There was no doubt that using my gift of voice and the music and lyrics of the songs on this CD could possibly motivate awareness in each of us to remake ourselves and help humanity overcome so many desperate challenges."

Perry will be joined by a stellar cast of performance artists, including:

•  Kat Dyson, a multi-talented guitarist, vocalist, composer and artist who has worked with The Artist Formerly Known as Prince as a member of the New Power Generation (NPG), and has performed alongside musical greats such as BB King, Chaka Khan, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder;

•  DNA Strings , the popular instrumental group from Stellenbosch who won the 2005 GMT Award for best duo/group, as well as the 2005 Tempo Award for best contemporary band and best contemporary album. This year they were nominated for the Tempo Award for Best Contemporary Group/Artist, the Vonk Award for Best Instrumental Album and the Vonk Award for Best Group of the Year .

•  Lize Beekman , one of South Africa 's foremost singer-songwriters whose composition "All the Same" deals with issues around HIV/AIDS.

•  Dance for All Youth Company, the community-based project which seeks to uplift children in underprivileged communities by providing the opportunity for enjoyment and promotion of self-esteem through the medium of classical ballet, African, Spanish and contemporary dance, musical theatre and jazz.

Tickets for the gala concert range from R150 to R200 and are available through Computicket.

Venue: Cape Town International Convention Centre

Date: 1 December 2006

Doors open: 19:30

Event begins: 20:00

About the various organisations:

The Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management at Stellenbosch University (http://www.aidscentre.sun.ac.za/) is an institution for teaching, research and community service at Stellenbosch University , under the umbrella of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

The aim of the Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University (http://academic.sun.ac.za/tb/ ) is to conduct original, basic and applied research, as well as to provide education and training to students and the community on all aspects relating to tuberculosis. They furthermore facilitate the collaboration between the many researchers involved in both HIV and TB, to ultimately contribute significantly to the control of tuberculosis in Southern Africa, the African Continent and other global communities.

The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment was signed by all 189 members of the UN in June 2001. The governments of these countries committed themselves to taking action on HIV/AIDS in the fields of leadership, prevention, care and support, treatment, reducing vulnerability, as well as human rights. The agreement by heads of state and representatives of government to support the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS sent a signal from governments that urgency would be needed to address the devastation of the pandemic with leadership, honesty and action.

Issued by:

Mango-Omc

on behalf of: Africa Centre for Hiv Aids Management

For further info:

Nicole Capper
Tel: 021 461 9289
Cell: 073 148 3561
Email: nicole@mango-omc.com

Contact:

Prof Jan du Toit
Director of the Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS management,
Tel: 021 808 3004
Cell: 083 626 3082

Amelia Burger
Wordworx, communication consultant to the Africa Centre for HIV/AIDS Management
Tel: 021 914 4336
Cell: 082 824 8440

Media Enquiries: