We joined approximately 200 Washington, D.C. youth at the second annual Golden Ticket: Party for HIV Prevention this month in commemoration of World AIDS Day. Metro TeenAIDS (MTA)Exit Disclaimer , a local community health organization, sponsored the affair with the support of community, corporate, and government partners.

Building on last year’s success, the party was named after Trojan Magnum condoms, which DC youth often call ‘the golden ticket’,” noted Raul PosasExit Disclaimer, MTA’s Social Marketing Manager. In addition to the booming music, stirring spoken word, energetic dancing, and an appetizing buffet, attendees took advantage of free onsite HIV and STI testing. The youth were also offered an opportunity to create a personal campaign against HIV/AIDS as part of MTA’s “REALTalkDCExit Disclaimer initiative.

Throughout the evening, MC Paul SpiresExit Disclaimer , an MTA Youth Center Associate, inspired the crowd with high energy commentary and encouraged his peers to get tested and spread the message by checking-in to FoursquareExit Disclaimer and FacebookExit Disclaimer on their mobile phones.

The event drew a cross-section of young people and showcased an innovative approach to delivering HIV prevention that leverages MTA’s “REALTalkDCExit Disclaimer social marketing and education campaign for area youth. Such responses to the HIV epidemic have been called for by the National HIV/AIDS Strategy .

The organizers leveraged both traditional and digital media ranging from palm cards to mobile technology to online social networking websites to reach one of the groups most impacted by the HIV epidemic. In 2009, approximately 20 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV were aged 13-24. Within this group, African American teens are disproportionately impacted, accounting for 65 percent of HIV diagnoses among youth and young adults in the same year. [CDC Fact Sheet . Video of the 2nd Annual Golden Ticket: Party for Prevention can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUcerbqavwsExit DisclaimerAre youth and young adults apart of your target audience? If so, which strategies are you utilizing to reach them?