Print

Print


Dear fellow comics scholars and enthusiasts,
 
I wanted to tell you about a collaborative project between Cardiff University’s Centre for Language and Communication Research and South African charity Whizzkids United, to produce a comic book in which teenagers tell their own stories to support HIV/AIDS education.


The charity’s main programme involves using football training as a metaphor for how to keep safe from HIV, but they wanted to find new ways of attracting young people to their Health Academy, which offers counselling, HIV tests, and general social and medical support. 
 
Together we decided to run a series of comics drawing workshops, so that the teenagers could produce something relevant to others in their community, as well as sharing their experiences with counsellors and each other. 
 
Now a booklet has been produced of some of the best work created at an advanced workshop. The booklet was coloured and designed by comics artist Steve Marchant. It will be handed out to all participants in the charities football programme to reinforce the key messages and encourage better attendance at the Health Academy. 
 
The booklet can now be viewed (and downloaded) at http://bit.ly/19HSuyD
 
If you have any comments about this project, or experience with similar programmes, I’d be delighted to hear from you. 
 
Best wishes
Lisa