Ithemba means "Hope" in "Xhosa", one of the languages spoken in South Africa.
Ithemba aims at developping icome generating projects supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, especially in Southern Africa and fight against stigma towards people affected by the virus.
ONE MONTH OF LOVE - NOV 2006
One Month Of Love is a useful and playful booklet including artworks from contemporary artists supporting the "I Love You Positive or Negative" campaign fighting stigma attached to the virus ("Artists4life" Projet), printed on 24 cases containing one condom. Some messages supporting the campaign are also printed on these boxes.
USEFUL - This booklet is an original way of promoting condoms in European countries where use of condoms is facing a dangerous decrease. "Fnac" stores have already confirmed their support to "One Month Of Love" for lauching and distributing this booklet in their network of art and culture items stores.\
PLAYFUL - “One Month of love” is created in a format similar to an Advent Calendar
also starting on World Aids Day, the first of december.
Each condom once detached from the booklet reveals a message or another visual.
SOLIDARITY - Ithemba, who imagined and designed this innovative concept, will distribute the calendar within its network. A donation of 4 Euros attached to each booklet sold will contribute to the free distribution in Africa of condoms packed in a similar way. The “I Love You Positive or Negative” message will also be translated into several languages and reproduced on the packs along with signatures of African icones supporting the campaign. ONE MONTH OF LOVE
EXPOSITION AT BERLIN DEPARTMENT STORE KADEWE - NOV/DEC 2006.
KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store, offers an exceptionnal exhibition to ITHEMBA for Christmas 2006. Ithemba lightbulbs have been displayed throughout the department store, with a huge wall displaying 30 models, together with a framed reproduction of the original drawing from each fashion designer. Chandeliers also display teh bulbs, associating the beadwork of another group of women from Orange Farm township, near Johannesburg. KADEWE
LE CHALET DES ILES RESTAURANT - PARIS.
Le chalet des Îles reopened in May 2006 in the heart of the "bois de Vincennes" parisian largest park.
New owners of the place Jean-Baptiste Aubertin & Jean-Michel Calvert, asked Cyrille Varet to design lightings for this place, associating his humanitarian initiative Ithemba, and the skills of Southern African women involved in the project. 35 chandeliers and wall lights have been designed for this place.
Two groups of women, in Swaziland and South Africa, have been associated to this project.
Thousands of strings of beads have been hand-made in Africa and assembled in Paris on metal structures of the lightings. CHALET DES ILES
Ithemba's conceptFollowing 10 years of furniture design, Cyrille Varet launched "Ithemba" in 2002.
A line of objects has been designed, inspired by local cultures, developped together with people affected by poverty and AIDS, especially women living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
This activity, supported by a strong distribution network in Europe, has become a long-range and steady income generating activity.
300 women benefits at this stage from Ithemba's support in southern Africa.
The
Ithemba lightbulb, flagship of the projet.
This lightbulb, decorated with beads silicone and wire, brings a regular
income to more than 30 women from the Wola Nani association living with
HIV AIDS in the townships surrounding Cape Town.
La Mode Dessine l'Espoir
60 Well-known fashion designers and Haute-Couture creators (such as Christian
Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano...) have been asked to design
one decorated lightblub.
The auction of the original drawings and prototypes in Paris, together
with a donation of 5 euros
included in the price of each object have raised funds for a distinct
partner NGO, Dessine l'Espoir and allow the developpement of a medical
and psychological complementary action
supporting more than 2000
people in Swaziland and South Africa.
more info on La Mode Dessine l'Espoir: www.ithemba.fr/lumiere/indexeng.html
2005-2006:
Campaign "I Love You Positive or Negative"This campiagn is a joint initiative of Ithemba, Dessine l'Espoir and its local counterpart Designing Hope Africa.
Concept of the campaignIf access to treatment remains a major issue in Africa, many countries, even the most affected ones, have the ability to supply people with Anti-retroviral therapies. However, the stigma against testing and acknowledgement of a positive HIV status, is recognizably the greatest barrier:
the will and determination to get tested is drastically lacking.
Fear of exclusion is extremely high, and millions of people who choose to remain unaware of their status. HIV positive status is very often linked in people's minds with an impossibility of rebuilding one's life with a steady partner. In a context of extreme social precariousness, women often have to support children and members of their extended family as well.
The attitude of the majority of the male population is reflected in their lack of concern for becoming infected or passing on the disease.
The message “I love U Positive or Negative” has been chosen as an affirmation for all men and women, to help them face the daily reality of a continent affected at an extreme level by the virus. This message also has the strength to transcend cultural barriers and address the growing problem of decreased vigilance globally, In Europe and North America especially, where sophisticated therapies are available to almost anyone, and HIV/AIDS has the false image of a solved issue.
More information on the campaign: www.ithemba.fr/iloveu/indexeng
Artists for Life - Opening of the project to 30 contemporary artists
30 contemporary artists have been invited to explore and demonstrate the
slogan "I love you Positive or Negative". The campaign will
gain strenght from the various artistic and cultural perception and interpretation
of the same and universal message.
Ithemba, Dessine l'Espoir and Designing Hope will use this creativity
to bring the message to the concerned populations in Africa, and as a
communication and fund raising tool for Europe and America.
Artworks from Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard & Duncan
Wylie.
Music
for Life - Mobilization of 15 personalities of the musical scene.
In order to sensibilize the public, pop stars have been asked
to sign and personalise the message,
and bring their support to the campaign.
Véronique Sanson, Zazie, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy, M, la Grande
Sophie have already accepted to support the campaign.
French
singer Véronique Sanson on Maison & Objet to support the campaign.
Photo: Anne Emmanuelle Thion.
Ithemba and Designing Hope Africa link up this initiative to a new project
"Music4Life" started within a collective of women affected by
HIV/AIDS in Soweto.
They create miniature guitars decorated with beads, made as broches reproduicing
the musicians guitars. T-shirts carrying the same guitars are also handmade
by the women.
Prototypes and original messages signed by the artists will be auctioned
on the 22nd of November by Remy Le Fur at the Intercontinental Grand Hotel
Paris to the exclusive profit of Dessine l'Espoir to fund its actions
in Africa.
More information
on Music4life: www.ithemba.fr/music4life/indexeng.html
| A
project supported by: The Intercontinental Grand Hotel Paris, Belgian Technical Cooperation, Fried freres & Creanog. |
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Role and positioning of Ithemba in the campaignIthemba decided to involve all its African income generating projects in Africa around the campaign message, creating a range of hand-made objects carrying the campaign message.
Awareness T-shirts "I Love You Positive or Negative"finances the free distribution by Designing Hope of one similar T-shirt
to a targeted individual in Africa. The 10000 T-shirts distributed
in 2005/2006 will carry the message of tolerance to some 500 000
people in Africa and provide work to a 120 HIV/AIDS affected & infected
African women who decorate the T-shirts.
Ithemba developped with the women in Swaziland a range of awareness T-shirts carrying the message "I Love You Positive or Negative". These T-shirts, sold to the public, both spread the message in Northern country, and finance a paralell action of free distribution by Designing Hope of similar T-shirts to targeted communities in Africa.
An objective of 10000 T-shirts to be distributed in 2005/2006 will carry the message of tolerance to some 500 000 people in Africa and provide work to a 120 HIV/AIDS affected & infected
African women who decorate the T-shirts.
(price of each T-Shirt includes the supply of 2 plain T-shirts, salary for a women to decorate
2 T-Shirts, and local logistics expenses.)
View the T-shirts: www.ithemba.fr/objets/tshirt
300 women involved in designing and hand-decorating objectsIthemba gathered 300 women from Swaziland and South Africa to create a range of object carrying the campaign message:
Cape
Town
-Ithemba lightbulbs "I Love you Positive or Negative"
(Wola Nani women)
-Silicone decorated T-shirts using the same technics as the lightbulbs
-Cushions and Teddy Bears (Mfuleni Township)
Swaziland
-50 models of T-shirts using traditional embroidery technics
-Embroided cushions and bags carrying the slogan.
View the objects: www.ithemba.fr/objets
Presentation of the campaign on Maison & ObjetIthemba & Dessine l'Espoir have been invited in September 2005 on Maison&Objet international decoration fair to present the "I Love You Positive or Negative" campaign.
This first confrontation of the campaign with an international professional public has been a real succes. More than 1000 T-shirts were ordered on the fair, leading to an equivalent number of T-shits to be distributed in Africa.
View the exhibition: www.ithemba.fr/maisonobjet
More
information on Ithemba and its partners
Dessine l'Espoir www.dessinelespoir.org
Designing Hope Africa www.designinghope.org
Network of shops supporting the project: www.ithemba.fr/shops
Press release: www.ithemba.fr/pressrelease
Communication tools presenting the campaign: www.ithemba.fr/visuals
Documentary film "Ithemba, mission humaine" : 85mn documentary film on Ithemba. produced by Arnaud Contreras - A360 productions
Press Contacts : Europe - Marion Schnauffer - marion@ithemba.fr
South Africa - Alet Fick- afick@designinghope.org
ITHEMBA - 67 AV DAUMESNIL - 75012 - PARIS - FRANCE - (+331) 44 75 88 88