Art imitates life in the recent film release, “Never Abandon, Never Give Up!” In partnership with the International Labor Organization (ILO), Mega-info Media, the company that runs China’s national railway station television network, launched a short, black and white film aimed at reducing HIV stigma and promoting condom use among the nation’s internal migrant workers. One of the film’s stars, Zhang Xiao Hu, is himself a migrant worker living with HIV. Hu was the nation’s first migrant worker to speak publicly about his HIV status.
The film is part of a larger, multi-channel BCC program targeting migrant workers across China. Sponsored by the ILO, China’s Ministry of Labour and the China State Council AIDS Working Committee Organization, the campaign, “Hometown Fellows,” is a collaboration with 19 large-scale companies in the construction, mining and transport sectors in China’s provinces most impacted by HIV. The film, which addresses high HIV-related stigma and low condom use among migrants, will be screened over a three month period in national railways stations in 450 cities. It is likely to be seen by 40 million people.
The Hometown Fellows campaign taps into powerful social networks among migrant workers who often move together from rural areas to work in large cities throughout China. These workers share a strong social bond based on their common provincial origin. Campaign channels, including the film, radio spots and peer education in the workplace, all deliver key messages through migrant voices.
Check out the Charlie-Chaplin style short here.
