Do You Have What it Takes?

For the past year AIDS Calgary has been working as a member of the Steering Committee for the “Do you have what it takes?” national sexual health campaign, for gay men, bisexual men and men who have sex with men (MSM). Sero Zero, an AIDS Service Organization in Montreal, has been the lead agency in this campaign and has brought together the 8 members of the Steering Committee. The 2009 campaign builds on the successes of the past 2 national campaigns; Assumptions and Gay Men Play Safe.

“To reinforce these previous messages of prevention, the present campaign continues to disseminate information that will enable men who have sex with other men to identify their own areas (factors) of vulnerability that may lead them to sexual risk taking. A resolutely playful, sexy, and provocative tone gives a particular color to Do you have what it takes?—a new campaign based on data and observations gathered by community groups as well as on data from social research.” Source: http://www.what-it-takes.org/en/campaign.html

The campaign works to assist gay men/MSM in understanding different areas of vulnerabilities and options to reduce HIV/STI transmission, while still maintaining a healthy and satisfying sex life. The campaign materials utilize the slogan “Sex, Passion, Romance, Adventure... Do you have what it takes?” with fun and provocative visuals that encourage people to visit the website for an interactive experience. The materials include posters, condom pack inserts, table top displays with post cards, Youtube video, computer wall paper, website and interactive self assessment quiz. The website based quiz allows individuals to identify potential areas of vulnerability and provides specific strategies to reduce risk. In some regions, the campaign will be complimented by offering a sensual risk reduction workshop series, for gay men/MSM, based on the Pheonix Project.

AIDS Calgary has benefited tremendously from being a part of this campaign process as it has allowed us to contribute a local perspective to this national campaign. We would not have the resources to do such a large scale and interactive campaign alone. We will integrate the campaign concepts and materials into our ongoing outreach via the HEAT Program. The HEAT Program has been a longstanding service of AIDS Calgary. HEAT (HIV Education and Awareness Today) - is a program designed to address HIV/STI education, awareness and prevention for gay men/MSM. The program provides HIV/STI education, support and health promotion, and free safer sex supplies, through outreach at GLBT events, venues, and online.

We encourage you to visit the website http://www.what-it-takes.org/en/campaign.html take the quiz, watch the fun video, review the information and find out What it takes, for you!

Resources:
HEAT Program
HEAT Facebook Profile: “Heat Worker”
Do you have what it takes? Website
Do you have what it takes? Quiz
Youtube Video
Pheonix Project