Dance4Life

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This article is about the organisation. For the song, see Dance4life (song).
Dance4Life
Image:Dance4lifelogo.jpg
Founder(s) Dennis Karpes
Ilco van der Linde
Founded 2003
Headquarters Amsterdam, Netherlands
Key people Dennis Karpes, co-founder and co-chair
Ilco van der Linde, co-founder and co-chair
Peter Dirks, co-chair
Marjolijn Aarnoudse, co-chair
Jan Bless, co-chair
Pepijn Nicolas, co-chair
Roos Vermeij, co-chair
Area served Global
Focus HIV, Aids
Method Donations
Slogan "Start Dancing, Stop Aids."
Website www.dance4life.com

Dance4Life is an initiative originating in the Netherlands designed to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS in secondary school-aged youth. The initiative aims to have one million participants dancing for AIDS awareness world-wide on World AIDS Day 2012.

Contents

[edit] Dance4Life International

[edit] History

Dennis Karpes and Ilco van der Linde founded Dance4Life as they decided to quit their jobs and start dancing to fight back HIV and AIDS. Their message is:


Start Dancing, Stop Aids. Dance4Life


Since then Dance4Life has achieved the participation of 173,000 young teens in the "Heart Connection Tour", 52,000 Agents of Change adolescents, the distribution of 3 million Dance4Life condoms to youth, over €3 million raised for local HIV prevention projects in the Global South, and a worldwide hit known as the "Dance4Life (song)" anthem by Tiësto featuring Maxi Jazz between 2003 and 2006. [1] It has been estimated that by the Saturday before World AIDS Day 2014, the foundation will have created a total of one million Agents of Change. An Agent of Change is a young person who has participated in the Dance4Life "Schools4Life" and is actively involved in pushing back HIV and AIDS.

In 2004, during the first Dance4Life episode, thousands of people in the Netherlands, South Africa and Indonesia participated. Dance4Life chose a song called "Breathe Sunshine" by Dino Sofos as their official anthem. The song was also remixed by DJ Paul van Dyk, released on vinyl and CD worldwide and was played successfully by Paul van Dyk and at all the Dance4Life world events over the course of 2004 and 2005.

"What I like about it is that we raise money in the western world and create awareness in the countries that get hit the hardest like Africa and Asia. The whole concept behind it is to let the whole world dance, which is a very positive message."

- said Tiësto to Sterling McGarvey. [2]

As of May 2006, DJ Tiësto is the official worldwide ambassador for the Dance4Life foundation. He recorded a track with Maxi Jazz (of Faithless) of the same name. The song was a huge success, peaking for five weeks in the Dutch Singles Chart. The song was also a success outside the Netherlands, peaking at number five in Belgium, six in Finland and also charting in the UK and Germany.

The last event was in 2006 but Schools4Life activities occur yearly, In 2006 ten countries took part with thousands of young people dancing for the future of their lives in three continents. The countries which have been involved in the events are: Germany, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, USA, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. [3]

[edit] Schools4Life

Schools4Life has nothing to do with books, preaching or homework, instead it is about dance, music, media, events, drumming, videos and taking the responsibility of living a life under protection. Using the language of people younger than 25 years-old the school begins with the Heart Connection Tour in which each school is visited by the Dance4Life Tour Team; The team is composed of dancers, musicians, peer educators and young people living with HIV. Students later take the responsibility by participating in "Skills4Life" which deals with the teaching of what is HIV and what it does to your body, other topics are it's prevention, sexuality, drug abuse, and the rights of the teens, communication, and decision making. "Act4Life" stands for taking action as a volunteer, fund raising or the spreading of the information as it is important to make people aware. To conclude Schools4Life, at the Dance4Life event which takes place every two years on the Saturday before World AIDS Day, on November 29, 2008 the Agents of Change are present at the event live or via satellite. [4]

[edit] Ambassadors

  • Nafis Sadik, Patron of Dance4Life
  • Tiësto, International Dance4Life Ambassador
  • Paul van Dyk, International Dance4Life Ambassador
  • Priscilla Jana, International Dance4Life Ambassador
  • Ilco van der Linde, International Dance4Life Ambassador


[edit] NCOs

  • Kenya - Africa Alive! is the Kenyan NCO, which educates and provides the youth with the skills necessary to push back HIV and AIDS. It works in five African countries and it's regional office is in Nairobi, Kenya. It counts with the support from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP).
  • Mexico - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), it promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. It consists of four organisations: MEXFAM, AVE de México, ELIGE, and VIVIR.
  • Moldova - AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) is a Dutch NGO in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, The work began in Moldova in 2004. Dance4Life Moldova is working with many partners to make the projects successful, including: Ministry of Education and Youth; Ministry of Health; Country Coordination Mechanism; National AIDS Centre; [[Republican Dermato Venereal Dispenser; National Scientific Centre of Preventive Medicine; UNAIDS Moldova; SIDA; UCIMP TB/SIDA; NGO National Health Journalists Communication Network; Credinta Association (PLWH); Centre of Young Journalists Moldova (CTJM); Association of Young Trainers from Moldova; NGO Gender Doc M; Representation in Moldova of TV and radio company MIR; and radio Station KISS FM.
  • Netherlands - STOP AIDS NOW! is an organisation which is a partnership between AIDS Fonds and four Dutch organisations providing internatioanl development aid.
  • Nigeria - There are two NCOs in Nigeria. iEARN Nigeria takes the lead and responsibility over the content of the project and Storm Vision will take the lead and responsibility over the media and television part of the project. Combined they have a great network in the private, public and government field. It is sponsored by the Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), Adolescent Health and Information Project (AHIP), Girls Power Initiative, Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) and Education as a Vaccine against AIDS (EVA).
  • Russia - The FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation uses social marketing techniques, education programs, and mass media campaigns based on promoting options and personal responsibility.
  • Sierra Leone - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.
  • South Africa - Dance4Life South Africa is a registered not-for profit Section 21 Company that has been established especially to co-ordinate, develop and organise the Dance4Life concept in South Africa. The office is located in Durban, South Africa and it works with organisations like God's Golden Acre, and DramAide; Companies like The Three Cities Hotel Group and Gear House support Dance4Life South Africa.
  • Tanzania - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.
  • Turkey - UNFPA is the National Concept Owner of Dance4Life Turkey. Y-PEER, the Youth Peer Education Network launched by the UNFPA which deals with young people in broad areas of adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and both North and East Africa. The Positive Living Association and the Turkish Education Association help this foundation.
  • Uganda - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.
  • United Kingdom - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.
  • Vietnam - The World Population Foundation has an office in Hanoi which holds the right that sex is a free and well-considered choice for all men, women and young people in the world. It is sponsored by TRG International and Durex and partners Rosette event organising company and Thang Long Song music and dance theater.
  • Zambia - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.
  • Zimbabwe - The National Concept Owner is Student Partnerships Worldwide that recruits and trains young adults (aged 18-28) as volunteer Peer Educators, to lead programmes addressing urgent health and environmental issues in Africa and Asia.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hisotry
  2. ^ Tiesto Interview. music.ign.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  3. ^ Countries
  4. ^ Schools4Life