Half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. occur among people ages 25 and younger, but no national platform currently educates young people on preventing the virus. To address this issue, community leaders Howard Brown Health Center, Beyondmedia Education and About Face Theatre joined forces to produce Condom Sense: A Real Life Education. This innovative sex-ed program was created in collaboration with Chicago youth living with HIV.

Howard Brown Health Center, Beyondmedia Education and About Face Theatre are bringing Condom Sense: A Real Life Education into high school classrooms and beyond. The sex-positive LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum aims to change the conversation about AIDS through theater, media, sexual health workshops and demonstrations.

HIV: Hey, It's Viral! is a groundbreaking sex-positive 20-minute video from Beyondmedia Education addressing HIV/AIDS prevention and activism from youth perspectives. The video shows young people what HIV is, how it is transmitted, and how it can be prevented - all spun with a fun soundtrack and entertaining animations to illustrate the science of HIV/AIDS. Focusing on risk reduction, safer sex practices and the importance of testing, the movie stresses the idea that anyone can get HIV, and everyone can help prevent it.

The HIV: Hey It's Viral DVD includes the 20 minute video, plus extra bonus features that explain in depth:

• the biology of HIV
• how to use a condom
• how to get tested for HIV
• individual personal stories of young people living with HIV

Other features include a workbook for educators, an action guide for activists, educational visual aids and more.

Set against the backdrop of high school, Fast Forward, a production of About Face Youth Theatre, depicts a world replete with gay-straight alliances, abstinence-until-marriage sex education, cyber-bullying, and gay prom. What has it meant for this generation to grow up in the era of HIV and AIDS? How has it affected the outcomes of their lives? Fast Forward bridges the generation gap between the start of the epidemic and now, and with the audience's help, the ensemble envisions a leap into a better future.

Howard Brown Health Center, one of the nation's leading LGBTQ health organizations, wrote a lesson plan with Beyondmedia Education and About Face Theatre to accompany the play and video to bring the topics addressed into the classroom. "After $1 billion was spent on the 'abstinence-only-until marriage' curriculum, no federal funding exists for a comprehensive sex education," said Joseph Hollendoner, Director of Howard Brown's Broadway Youth Center. "Statistics like these must spur a new dialogue to combat the spread of HIV and expand the definition of sex education in schools."

Beyondmedia Education collaborates with under-served and under-represented women, youth and communities to tell their stories, connect their stories to the world around us, and organize for social justice through the creation and distribution of media arts. Beyondmedia has partnered with over 100 community organizations and schools to produce award-winning documentary films, multimedia installations, websites, spoken word performances and photography exhibits. Beyondmedia specializes in media literacy and production workshops that equip marginalized communities to use these powerful tools to explore their lives, develop their voices, and education the public to their stories. The work is screened across the U.S. and internationally in film festivals and cultural centers, schools and universities, on television and via the Internet.

For more information about Beyondmedia Education, visit www.beyondmedia.org.

Howard Brown is one of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) healthcare organizations. Through a wide array of health, wellness, social service and research programs, Howard Brown cares for more than 28,000 adult and youth clients annually. The Broadway Youth Center (BYC) is a program of Howard Brown, offering comprehensive services to all youth, 24 and under. The BYC offers youth a place of refuge and a safe environment to socialize with their peers. Services including, case management for youth who need help with housing or job placement, free HIV and STD testing, medial care and counseling are also available at the BYC.

For more information about Howard Brown or the BYC, visit www.howardbrown.org.