Making the New Media Declaration a Reality

Content From: Aisha Moore, Communications Associate, AIDS.govPublished: October 23, 20123 min read

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HIV.gov New Media Declaration
“We call upon the HIV Community to declare that new media and emerging technologies are critical to help us connect, create, listen, learn and engage as we move towards and AIDS-free generation.” - New Media Declaration
This declaration was first made with more than 200 individuals at AIDS 2012 during our satellite session, “The State of New Media and HIV/AIDS.” We continued to hear support for this action during our two workshops at the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) where an additional 200 people read the declaration.

For us at HIV.gov, this type of action reflects a shift in the response to new media in the HIV community. At both AIDS 2012 and USCA, we observed an increase in participation by administrators and program staff, not just the staff who monitor the website and use new media. This change is helping us move forward because it means that we are beginning to see, as stated in the Federal Digital Strategy, “that building for the future requires us to think beyond programmatic lines."

All across the U.S., AIDS service organizations are increasing their use of new media to extend the reach of their programs. We are working with our federal and community partners to provide information, support, and technical assistance to assist in the development of new media efforts across the country. At USCA, we partnered with the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) to provide technical assistance during two workshops and at our respective booths. This provided us with opportunities to not only support our partners' efforts, but to learn and talk with many of you as well.

We heard from several of our colleagues about how they are supporting the declaration by using new media in response to HIV:
  • Daniella Rivera, NMAC , “The State of New Media and HIV/AIDS Assessment Findings”
  • Ingrid Floyd, Iris House, New York, NY, “Project Listen: Who’s Using What New Media Tools, When and How?”
  • Oriol Guiterrez, POZ and TuSalud, “Telling My Story, One Blog, Tweet, and Facebook Post at a Time”
  • Raul Posas, Metro Teen AIDS, Washington, DC, “Youth and New Media: A Case Study”
  • Michael Anderson-Nathe, Cascade AIDS Project, Portland, OR, “Developing a New Media Policy for your Organization”
  • Aisha Moore, HIV.gov, Washington, DC, “Developing and Implementing Your New Media Strategy”
We’re at a critical moment in the HIV epidemic. Our programs need to use the best tools available. We know new media can help us connect, create, engage, learn, and listen. World AIDS Day is December 1st, so this fall season is an opportune time to incorporate new media tools into your work if you're just getting started with new media. We are always looking for examples, and we want to hear from you how you're making this declaration a reality. Leave a comment to let us know.