After Nicholas Platt, President of the Asia Society, introduced the evening's event, producer and director Rory Kennedy showed the educator's version of her powerful and moving documentary, "Pandemic: Facing AIDS" which follows the lives of five people living with AIDS in different regions of the world. The film is effective in documenting the global nature of AIDS as well as the diverse responses to it among Uganda, Russia, Thailand, India, and Brazil. The film succeeds in transporting its audience into the lives and struggles of the individuals affected by AIDS. After the film, Ms. Kennedy discussed the origin of the film and the profound impact her personal interactions with individuals affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa had on her desire to make the film. Upon return from Africa, Ms. Kennedy recognized the alarming rate at which the disease was spreading to other parts of the world and believed that the global community must learn from its experiences with AIDS in Africa and apply that knowledge elsewhere in the world. Through making the film, she was encouraged by what she recognized as the ability nation-states such as Uganda and Brazil to reduce the rate of AIDS infection.

"We witnessed what happens when communities and governments come together, when individuals come together, and say, 'this is a priority' and 'we're going to take this issue on'…We saw AIDS beaten and hopefully that's a message that comes out in the film that this is not a hopeless situation…that there is something that can be done and that all of us can do something and can contribute to that fight…Educating people and spreading the word and getting people involved in this effort is critical to the success of this battle."

In that vain, the Pandemic Project created an educational packet that includes the Educator's Version of the film (the version that was shown on Tuesday evening), pamphlets, and workbooks. These packages, which were available for audience members to take after the discussion, have already reached 800,000 students in the United States.

Dr. Malcom offered a different way to view HIV/AIDS education. Noting that it may seem odd to talk about the disease in the context of science, Dr Malcom explained, "in some ways, discussing [HIV/AIDS] in the context of the science that is surrounding it, is one of the most powerful ways to actually have this conversation". Science, and the scientific method, provides a nonjudgmental medium for explaining what HIV/AIDS is, how it can be prevented, transmitted, and treated. Dr. Malcom pointed out that "this notion that something you cannot see can make you sick is a powerful idea and it is one that people have to come to understand in order to be able to deal with this particular condition [of] HIV and AIDS" (975). Training students to use logical reasoning, test hypotheses, and reach sound conclusions and giving them objective language are integral parts of science education for children and are also necessary for understanding HIV/AIDS. Through scientific training, this invisible illness can be made clearer to young people and can help protect them from poor decisions.

Dr. Malcom warned, however, that educating youth is not enough. In "Pandemic: Facing AIDS," the story of an Indian woman who knew the consequences of having a child with her HIV positive husband but did so anyway, was illustrative to Dr. Malcom of the need for science education for adults. Dr. Malcom argued: "It is not enough to just reach into the younger populations through school…we must also try to reach people in communities. We have to reach older people." Dr. Malcom suggested that radio, science journalism, and materials that can be distributed in libraries would provide the same tools that science education does to youth. Through these new skills, people would understand their choices and consequences better, make different choices, and modify their behavior.

While Dr. Malcom and Ms. Kennedy provided different ways that knowledge of the disease might be achieved, they both stressed its necessity. The panelists also had similar views on the nature of the international crisis as different from that of the crisis in the United States. Dr. Malcom agreed with Ms. Kennedy that AIDS in the United States is "somewhat of a separate issue" from the international crisis and was therefore not included in the film. Helping Ms. Kennedy respond to the audience member's question of why the United States was not included in the film, Dr. Malcom suggested that the film is still a useful springboard for discussing HIV/AIDS related issues in the United States and would be useful in tackling the denial that exists here. Ms. Kennedy informed the audience that for this reason, the situation of AIDS in the United States is discussed and included in the "Pandemic: Facing AIDS" educational packet, website, and exhibit. As Rory Kennedy, Shirley Malcom, and the Asia Society continue to raise awareness about AIDS, we continue to strive for universal understanding, response and eventual elimination of disease.

Please refer to the following websites for more information:
Pandemic: Facing AIDS
AAAS
Asia Society AIDS in Asia Initiative