MTV Networks International is relaunching a global Web portal for young people to exchange views on life, love and relationships while also accessing vital information on HIV/AIDS prevention.
Kanye West, Nelly Furtado, Kelly Clarkson and Enrique Iglesias are among a host of celebrities sharing their personal stories and offer advice on Staying-Alive.org. Furtado encourages women to carry their own condoms, while West says that masturbation was his method of safe sex.
“When I was in high school, my mom spoke at schools to promote masturbation as a form of safe sex, and everybody in the class would look at me, and I’d be like, ‘Yes, I do masturbate,’ and it did help to keep me safe,” West tells the site, the latest phase of MTV’s Staying Alive multimedia campaign launched in 1998.
Produced in 13 languages, the portal features blogs, celebrity vlogs, real stories from young people and “the test to take a test” — 10 multiple-choice questions to help determine whether one should take an HIV test. The Staying Alive campaign’s rights-free content, including concerts, documentaries and PSAs, also will be available for viewing and in some cases downloading from the site.
“The Internet is one of the most effective ways of getting out education messages to young people,” said Georgia Arnold, head of public affairs at MTV Networks International. “Young people continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV. Of the 5,800 adults infected every day, 40% are young people aged 15-24 years old.”
Other artists to appear on the site include Kelly Rowland, Shaggy, Macy Gray, Sum 41, James Blunt and Good Charlotte.
