Arts for Creative Transformation: Activism, Lifeline, Inspiration, Vision, Education (ActALIVE)

The artists, advocates, and organisations in ActALIVE use or advocate the use of the arts to address HIV/AIDS and other issues. Art forms include: dance, drama, song, visual arts (painting, photography, film, video), multimedia, and the written word (plays, poems, narratives).

ActALIVE’s activities for 2008 - 2013 include the following:

• ActALIVE website: is designed to highlight the work of organisations and individuals, including urls, pictures, and materials related to the work of members. Samples of music, radio shows, and a list of upcoming events will also be featured.
• Practitioners Forum: for interchange of best practices, as well as online learning and sharing. People wanting to join should send an email to: actalive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
• Festivals: are being organised to highlight ongoing work in the edutainment field, showcase what is happening globally, foster a sense of unity and connectedness among participants, volunteers, artists, and audiences, and to help members and others in the field gain recognition and support for their work.
• ActALIVE country chapters: Chapters are forming in Kenya, Nigeria, The Gambia, and Zimbabwe, and more are planned locally, nationally, and regionally.

In 2006, Development Partnership International, ActALIVE, and the Standing Committee on Reproductive Health including AIDS (SCORA) of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) invited youth-led HIV/AIDS projects throughout Africa to participate in an evaluation process that led to the selection of best practices for the African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook. This initiative is part of a broader project through which the organisations involved wish to gather data on the work of young people in the region, for the purpose of showcasing outstanding initiatives.

HIV/AIDS

ActALIVE is an arts coalition founded by Janet Feldman, Director of KAIPPG/International, the international wing of a Kenyan HIV/AIDS NGO.

The organisers state that the arts are a unique way to address HIV/AIDS issues "...partly because anyone can be creative and share that with others, even in settings of low-to-zero literacy, the arts can communicate a powerful message through visuals and auditory means."