8 December 2001
Gifted kids search for answer to AIDS
MANCHESTER's brightest youngsters are getting their heads together to tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS prevention.
Fifteen-year-olds from across the city will take part in a debate at Manchester Metropolitan University's Institute of Education, on Friday, December 7 to mark the end of World AIDS Week.
Around 50 pupils on the Government's Excellence in Cities Gifted and Talented Programme are invited to have their say in a chaired debate at the University's Didsbury campus.
The youngsters have chosen key questions for the debate and other related activities for the day.
A video of the debate will be sent to schools in Africa to allow them to understand Western perceptions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The schools involved are Burnage, Levenshulme, Oakwood in Chorlton and Trinity in Hulme.
The debate is being organised with Manchester City Council's health promotion team who, on a recent visit to Zambia, found the overriding health issue was AIDS.
HIV/AIDS is again on the rise in Greater Manchester too, with cases up by a third in Salford to 135 cases this year.
Sue Botcherby, a lecturer in education, who helped organise the visit day with colleague Janet Palmer, said: "Millions of children across the world live with HIV/AIDS, yet we only rarely hear their voice."
