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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Latin American Website Offers Adolescents A Safe Place to Find Answers to Questions About Health, Sexuality, NutritionInteractive Act Now! First Comprehensive Site for Spanish YouthBALTIMORE - How do I know if I'm in love? What is the best garage band? What does democracy mean? What will I be when I grow up? Where can I find a good pizza place? Adolescence is all about questions, no matter where you live. Now, young people in Latin America have a new website, www.entraenaccion.org, to help answer these questions and many more.
Act Now! is the first Spanish-language website to take a comprehensive approach to adolescent development by allowing young adults to express themselves online while having fun as they learn about health, sexuality, nutrition, democracy, environmental conservation, drug and alcohol prevention, vocational training, and life skills. The site provides a range of services to visitors, including information, online counseling, e-greetings, a search engine, and links to youth organizations. Act Now! also provides the latest sports, music, fashion, and entertainment information. "Young Latin Americans now have a safe place to go on the Web to find news, information, orientation, and resources that are factual, up-to-date, and non-judgemental," said Maria Raguz, PhD, head of REDESS Jovenes in Peru. "Parents don't have to worry about their teens accessing the Act Now! portal because they can trust the information found there." Today, in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP), the Advocacy for Population Program (APROPO) launched the website in Peru. The project is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). CCP, APROPO, and USAID are interested in establishing partnerships with other organizations and groups interested in adolescent development to increase access to Act Now!. APROPO is carrying out the Act Now! project, which began under CCP's completed Population Communication Services (PCS) project. In addition, the website will provide a calendar of upcoming events, news from the programs, and links to materials such as reports and printed brochures. With representatives in more than 30 countries, Johns Hopkins' CCP is a pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based communication programs for behavior change and health promotion that have helped transform the theory and practice of public health communication. APROPO is a non-profit, nongovernmental institution devoted to the promotion of a culture for democratic freedom on sexual and reproductive health rights and gender equity towards sustainable development. APROPO was founded in 1983 by a group of entrepreneurs and professionals committed to promoting family planning rights in Peru. Contact in Peru: Carola de Luque, Los Lirios 192, Lima 27-Perú, T. (511) 442-7440, (511) 441-0155, F. (511) 442-2111, apropo@terra.com.pe For further information contact: Kim Martin at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA. Tel: 410 659-6140; Fax: 410 659-6266 e-mail: press@jhuccp.org. |
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