Around the horn

Okay, enough about that primary color that isn't blue or yellow.

But here is another effort to fight the AIDS epidemic.  Africa is not the only part of the world that is suffering.  The Caribbean and other surrounding areas including Guyana are suffering from this scourge as well.

UNICEF and UNAIDS are leveraging the Cricket World Cup being held in locales throughout the Caribbean this year to talk to youth about AIDS.  Organizers say children and youth are the forgotten victims of AIDS.  It is not just an adult disease.

When my oldest son, Brady, was in the Peace Corps in Guyana, he saw first hand the impact that AIDS is having in that entire region.  He helped organize a health club at his school to help educate his students on the island of Leguan.  Part of the World Cup is going to be played in Guyana - like a Super Bowl to us - and hopefully this AIDS campaign will persuade some Guyanese youth to think about AIDS and how to prevent it.

Speaking of Brady.  Don't forget to visit he and Alicia's fair trade online store - Two Hands Worldshop.  This commercial brought to you by Dad.

And speaking of fair trade Britt tells us about Oxfam's effort to give Ethiopian coffee farmers their fair share of the profits from their beans.  And they are using Flickr to push a petition.

Finally, I may have found some allies in my attempt to remove the word consumer from the vocabulary and replace it with engager.  A word which more accurately reflects all of us in the marketplace today.  Tom Monahan talks about Tim Williams, a consultant with a presentation titled Engagement: New Ways To Connect Brands With Consumers.  I like what Tom says about Tim's presentation:

"Tim knocks you over with facts and figures, and plenty of examples from the new order, across industries and regions, including enough cases from large marketers to prove it’s now not just a few progressive little guys. And part of Tim’s credibility comes from the fact that he’s not selling you anything. But if you’re smart, he’s unselling you on any of your old lingering beliefs. Beliefs that die hard. Or he’s giving you help to unstick the stuck ones."

Unsticking the stuck ones.  That is the secret.

Comments

[Brady]

The Windies are a bit of an underdog this World Cup - but they do have home oval advantage. The new stadium in Guyana will be rocking when Shiv and Lara and my fellow Essequibo Islander, Sarwan take the oval. I'll be following the Windies online, but wish I could be there for the free-flowing rum, wonderfully hot weather and cricet madness!