PRESS RELEASE: TALK TO THE FUTURE DEBUTS WEB MAGAZINE
TALK TO THE FUTURE
PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS WITH TODAY'S BOLDEST VOICES
Anne-christine d'Adesky
Producer & Host
PRESS RELEASE: Embargoed until August 3
'TALK TO THE FUTURE' WEB MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHTS
VISIONARY PEOPLE, SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL AIDS & OTHER CRISES
Pilot issue features special guest Stephen Lewis; progress on AIDS & rape in Congo.
San Francisco - Talk to the Future, a new global multimedia magazine featuring online video conversations with exciting minds and voices, is launching a pilot issue on August 1 to coincide with the upcoming AIDS2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The new web magazine is the brainchild of veteran journalist Anne-christine d'Adesky, who is producer and host. She is author of the 2006 book, "Moving Mountains: The Race to Treat Global AIDS" and co-producer of the companion documentary, "Pills, Profits, Protest: Chronicle of the Global AIDS Movement," aired on US Showtime.
Talk to the Future features in-depth, video 'public conversations' spotlighting pioneering individuals whose ideas, programs or visions represent a way forward on critical global problems we face today. The magazine will showcase innovation, successes in the field, and important or new concepts that deserve wider debate or application. The magazine has an initial thematic focus on global AIDS, but will cover cross-cutting topics in global public health and broader topical issues.
"My interest with Talk to the Future is to focus on what's really working, and to more deeply discuss, debate and showcase the people and programs and approaches that represent our best effort to fight global problems like AIDS," said d'Adesky. She has covered AIDS as a primary beat since the mid-1980s, and worn multiple hats during her career, including as a community AIDS activist, AIDS educator, and human rights advocate. In a departure from journalism, she co-launched the Women's Equity in Access to Care and Treatment initiative (WE-ACTx) in 2004 as a global partnership that today provides free, comprehensive HIV treatment to over 6,000 Rwandans, many survivors of genocidal rape.
"I think we're at a critical juncture in the field of global AIDS right now - after 25+ years," d'Adesky stated, explaining her new magazine. "We're not sure of the best direction to take in HIV prevention, especially for Africa; we've hit setbacks with basic science, vaccine and microbicide development. We've also seen other topics emerge as very important, such as TB and malaria, sexual violence, poverty, the global crisis of food and hunger, and economic development. But I've seen a lot of successes on the ground, and things we might try. We're also in the middle of a technology and innovation revolution - so many emerging tools and novel approaches to solving global problems. All that spells a wealth of conversation to explore."
She describes the magazine as a sort of "lo-fi, You Tube, Rough Guide version of Charlie Rose-meets- Anderson Cooper 360° --with an accent on positive action." Adds d'Adesky: "We have brilliant people and concrete solutions that need to be shared more widely. People working in the AIDS field and other global problems are passionate about what they do and that passion and their journeys are exciting, at least to me. I want to show that. I want you to see what's working in Africa, or could. I think many people in the world, not just AIDS advocates, are hungry for this kind of information, for vision, for what we can do now, and what we haven't even thought to dream about. They're ready to be inspired."
Talk to the Future offers a free, direct-to- email web 2.0 magazine, combining text, audiovisual content, blogging, and will offer a mobile portal interface for cell phone access in the future. Viewers and readers can directly post comments, join the conversations, and learn how to get involved or take action on the magazine's website. The project is being designed with two Internet audiences in mind: those using slower, dial-up computers or cell phones, and those with higher-end, faster computers.
Talk to the Future is a not-for-profit project under the fiscal sponsorship of World Pulse magazine, and received seed funding from the Elton John AIDS Foundation for the pilot. The magazine invites potential sponsors, organizations, educators, advertisers and broadcasters to support its programming with innovative messages, media and educational campaigns on selected topics.
TALK TO THE FUTURE GOES LIVE ON SUNDAY AUGUST 3. TUNE IN!
IAC Attending Media Note: Ms. d'Adesky is attending AIDS 2008 as a media representative, and will discuss the magazine as part of a scheduled press conference on War & Rape, Wed, August 6, at 3 pm in IAC Room 3. For press and other inquiries, please email: talktothefuture@gmail.com.
www.talktothefuture.org
PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS WITH TODAY'S BOLDEST VOICES
