Gathering A Crowd

When it comes to turning ideas into reality, the Internet is a proven tool to recruit people, raise funds, and carry out a plan of action. Using the same idea behind websites including KickStarter.com, which helps artists find money for their projects, and MeetUp.com, where people with common interests plan gatherings, the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS is hoping to use its clout to help young people teach each other about HIV. Kazakhstan's UNAIDS coordinator, Roman Gailevich, said recently that the key to empowering young people to educate each other and fight HIV is to allow them to grab the reins. CrowdOutAIDS.org is UNAIDS's way of bringing youth together, allowing them to figure out the best ways to lower the alarming rate of HIV infections among those aged 13-29 and then to put these ideas into practice. Though the plan, like its participants, hasn't fully matured yet, CrowdOutAIDS.org aims to connect young people through eight regional open forums (on websites such as Facebook) and get them to talk about new ways to encourage HIV prevention. After several brainstorming and planning phases, an official strategy will be developed, which will then be submitted to the UNAIDS Secretariat for approval. Pending approval, the plan will be put into action.