On Saturday December 27, Ctrl.Alt.Shift headed  down to the ‘We The People’s’ Film Festival at the BFI. There was a host of activities and workshops on offer for young people to learn more about using film and media to highlight important issues and change the world through their creativity. The films and performances focussed on issues like health, poverty, and prejudice, and our very own Ctrl.Alt.Shift short films (War School and HIV:The Musical) walked away with two awards at the end of the day.  As the event took place just before World AIDS Day, we thought we’d approach some young people to see what they really knew about the virus, and asked them about possible solutions to treat it in the future. Rosie Underwood reports:

Josh, 21
I think here in the UK we have a lot of the facilities in terms of HIV treatment, and there’s a lot more readily available access to drugs, which might seem cheap to us, but in the developing world, they’re very expensive. From what I understand, the widespread HIV problem in developing countries is due to lack of finance and treatment. Many developing countries don’t have a National Health Service, and it is too costly for them to introduce one. We need to raise awareness and educate people to tackle this problem. Maybe we could do this through events like this, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot today.

Devante, 16
One thing I think effects HIV in developing countries is a lack of contraception, which means it’s harder to actually stop the spread of the disease. This leads to a larger outbreak and it becomes even more difficult to prevent. Education can effect the spread of the disease, as if people are educated, they become more aware of the problem. To tackle HIV / AIDS we could focus on contraceptives, as I think this is one of the most important elements of the problem.

Georgina, 25
I think it is important to invest in education. If you are having sex, you think contracting HIV will never happen to you, but realistically it can happen to everyone. In a lot of cultures it’s not allowed to use condoms. To stop the spread of HIV, people need to know more about it. Not all schools have proper educational programmes that cover HIV / AIDS prevention methods.

Christie, 23
Because there’s less education, we need to make people more aware of HIV by using grassroots methods, where you actually get the villages to decide how they can best tackle the issue, instead of having people from outside of the community impose rules and practices upon them. I think people in the UK have become more aware of HIV in the last few years, although I am still shocked by the statistics I’ve learned today, which makes me feel really guilty for not knowing more.

Chloe, 17
Money and funding help control HIV. The disease can really split families apart. People with HIV can be stigmatised, so education could help relieve this prejudice. Contraception is also a big issue surrounding HIV, because if you don’t use it then it can spread quicker. Finding a cure for HIV is basically about money. We also need a lot of funding to support people who are affected by the virus. We need more informative articles and information available here in the UK, as I feel Idon’t know that much about HIV/AIDS.

Arif, 17
I think HIV hits developing countries harder because there is less awareness around the virus than there is here, as well as a higher prevalence of rape, particularly in situations of conflict. Lack of contraception and the use of needles are also causes of HIV. Every year awareness is raised, and this definitely helps things. There should be more free condoms available in developing countries.

Words: Rosie Underwood
Photos: Eva Baker

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