Gold award for Takalani Sesame's Kami
'talk to me...' has won the Gold Plaque 2005 Hugo award at the Chicago International Film Festival - the highest honour presented at the festival for productions of superior quality that achieve effective communications through technical excellence and creativity.
The one-hour special 'talk to me...', broadcast on SABC2 on World AIDS Day last year, was awarded in the educational adult audience category by judges familiar with the industry and audiences of entries.
The programme features South Africa's well-known five-year-old orphan living with Aids - Takalani Sesame's Kami - who encourages all South Africans to communicate with children about HIV and AIDS.
Yvonne Kgame, General Manager at SABC Education, says the programme has been singled out in a competition filled with hundreds of entrants from around the world: "Before 'talk to me...' the view existed that children were too young to hear about AIDS, but Kami and friends have shown viewers that young children are capable of understanding the disease and its consequences. Kami plays a specific role in telling preschool children about AIDS."
