Z+

HIV/AIDS AFRICA | SWAZILAND Project:
HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention
Organization:
The University of Cincinnati’s Global Service Studio and Hope Education Foundation

Our heart has been drawn to Africa over these last few years and the immensity of the concerns and needs present among the African people.

‹‹ Select thumbnails to view images from the trip

HIV/AIDS AFRICA | SOUTH AFRICA Project:
HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention
Organization:
Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Collaboration (SAHAC)

Our heart has been drawn to Africa over these last few years and the immensity of the concerns and needs present among the African people.

AFRICA | SWAZILAND

Description: In the early summer of 2005 two Z+ designers who also serve as faculty in the Digital Design program at the University of Cincinnati, along with eight students traveled to Swaziland for 10 days, visiting schools, orphanages, a community center, hospitals, the country’s only AIDS Hospice, drug rehab centers, the Country’s Cultural Center and Museum, a National Park, and government officials. Extensive interviews, photography, video and artifacts were collected as well as contact with AIDS victims and orphans, both those infected and affected by the pandemic. The team in Africa conversed via the internet in real time with a team of students in the classroom in Cincinnati to share experiences and evaluate work in progress. The research collected was sorted, catalogued and organized and delivered to the sponsor in appreciation for their support. The result was a deep appreciation for the depth and complexity of the cultural issues enabling the dramatic spread of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. The conviction was formed that stories and narratives would need to be developed, to supplement and in some cases replace traditional curricular content, in order to effectively deliver necessary content.

Upon their return the students rejoined their peers and using the content collected in the field, with direction from the faculty, they developed for the sponsor a branding system prototype, a comprehensive curriculum model integrating characters, narrative communication models, graphic story telling and animations, novel teaching games and other prototypes to be developed into a comprehensive educational and awareness Program designed to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.

AFRICA | SOUTH AFRICA

Description: Johannesburg, South Africa. Late June of 2005 a Z+ designer traveled to Soweto outside Johannesburg, South Africa as part of a team developing strategies for the fight against AIDS in South Africa. The team is part of the leadership of an organization entitled the Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Collaboration (SAHAC) which combines leadership from the US with leadership in South Africa. The SAHAC initiative hopes to help stem the tide of the disease by working on four concurrent, interrelated pillars—youth, the church, care and jobs. These meetings were designed to build relationships with community leaders, healthcare workers, relief organizations and strategists, to obtain the best thinking, align on key concepts, and identify steps to bring them to life in one or more pilot locations in 2006. Z+ was present to assess needs and lend design expertise and strategy to subsequent communication issues.

The goal is to attempt to seed a youth movement through: united community by community campaigns, equipping and encouraging existing resources, coordinating a branded program of integrated messages and materials involving deep consumer insights that motivate behavior, and developing versioned curriculum for different audiences.