PRNewswire - Wednesday December 13, 2000

The webcast linked teens via the Internet in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (East Africa), Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA. Teens in the Inglewood community of California explored and shared their experiences, which are different from those of teens in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Teens from the ARK Foundation of Africa in Dar Es Salaam, orphaned as a result of their parents' death from AIDS, watched the live discussions with great interest and were able to email the teens in the US. Despite technical difficulties in phone connectivity from Africa, the webcast highlighted teen concern over AIDS education and prevention. Dr. Keith Crawford, Research Associate, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, provided the teens with an overview of AIDS and its devastation on the African continent and implications for the future of AIDS prevention and treatment.

Controversy was generated when the question of the connection between race and health was posed to both the teens in Washington, DC and Inglewood, California. Vast differences emerged in their perceptions of race and socio- economic status and its impact on health. Access to healthcare and its relationship to HIV testing and treatment were essential issues of concern for all teens.

The 50 teen participants from Inglewood High School were very vocal in expressing their lack of knowledge on AIDS prevention. They stated that as high school seniors, they were not taught this type of detailed information in school. Many students were unaware of the modes of HIV transmission. These students attributed this lack of education to their location in an inner-city neighborhood of California. The teens in Washington, DC stated that they did receive AIDS education and had access to condoms. However, their views on race, culture and health differed sharply from the teens in California. Teens in both cities felt that the Internet was a very useful tool in obtaining information on AIDS prevention and wanted forums like the World AIDS Day 2000 webcast to continue dialogue, anonymously, with other students and health professionals.

``On behalf of the University of the District of Columbia, I want to commend the BeHealthyLifestyles Group, Inc. for taking the initiative to confront the issue of AIDS with our teens, and for using technology in a way that allows for such a collaborative effort between Washington and Los Angeles to occur,'' said Dr. Julius F. Nimmons, President of the University of the District of Columbia. ``As one of the original sponsors for the BHL TechTeens program, UDC has been and continues to be an advocate for our young people and stands with the BHLG in the struggle to bridge the digital divide and empower our young people with this type of health information and exposure to the many exciting new technologies available to us all. Again, you and all the participants and sponsors are to be commended!''

The BeHealthyLifestyles Group, Inc.'s TechTeens (BHL TechTeens) in Washington, DC will be joining in a strategic alliance with both the AmASSI Center of Los Angeles and the ARK Foundation in Africa to continue dialogue on health, lifestyle and technology issues. Portions of the BHL TechTeens curriculum will be tested and implemented in each of these locations with periodic chats and webcasts. The BHL TechTeens program will be developing a linkage with teens and young adults in the Caribbean by spring 2001.

``Efforts linking teens via new technologies to explore and examine our global community are vital in developing our next generation. I was pleased to be a part of this first time webcast by assisting in the recruitment of the Washington, DC teen panel'', said Mike Jones, Vice President Operations, Opportunities Industrial Center (OIC) of Washington, DC.

``Working with the technology, academic and entertainment communities, we have developed an effective outreach strategy which will contribute in narrowing the digital divide, reducing health disparities in communities of color and provide job skills training,'' said Les Butler, CEO & Chief Visionary Officer, BeHealthyLifestyles Group, Inc.

The primary site of the video press conference webcast will be from the studios of TVWorldwide.com in Chantilly, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C. ``Just like the World Aids Day 2000 webcast we're expecting good on-line participation for this webcast, so we're preparing our servers to make sure everyone who wants a video stream can get one,'' commented, Dave Gardy Chairman and CEO of TVWorldwide.com. TVWorldwide.com recently received first round financing from PSINet Ventures, Ltd., the wholly-owned corporate unit of PSINet, Inc.

CONTACT: Les Butler of BeHealthyLifestyles Group, Inc., 202-345-3047, or lbutler@behealthylifestyles.com.

SOURCE: TVWorldwide.com

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