Extended How-To Guide for the Giving Women Power Over aids exhibit

Background on “Giving Women Power Over AIDS”

In 2003, reporter Paula Bock and photographer Betty Udesen of the Seattle Times traveled to Zimbabwe to get a first hand look at the reality of HIV/AIDS. The resulting photo-essay, In Her Mother’s Shoes, tells the story of Ruth, a mother who is dying, and Martha, one of some 11 million children orphaned by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Bock and Udesen have produced one of the most gripping visual representations to date for deepening the understanding of women’s vulnerabilities and the role that new prevention technologies, such as microbicides and the female condom, could play in reducing women’s risk. To view the article “In Her Mother’s Shoes go to: www.seattletimes.com/aids

The Global Campaign transformed this remarkable photo-essay into a traveling exhibit so that others, too, can break through the disbelief, isolation and “mind-numbing” statistics that serve as a barrier to understanding. The resulting exhibit, “Giving Women Power Over AIDS” is designed to serve as a centerpiece for local efforts to raise awareness and support for microbicide research and global AIDS funding. The exhibit is intended to give a compelling account of why citizens should care about global AIDS and embrace research into new prevention technologies -- especially for women. It is a walk-through exhibit of high quality, enlarged reproductions of the photos, together with captions, music, artifacts, and accompanying materials aimed at telling the story of why microbicides would be a critical new tool for addressing the HIV pandemic.