ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Unicef Pakistan on Saturday appointed Strings, one of the leading Pakistani pop group, as national ambassadors for HIV/Aids. The group’s stars, Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood, and Unicef Pakistan Representative Omar Abdi signed an agreement in this regard.
Strings will join Unicef ambassadors around the world from the entertainment and sports fields to combat HIV/Aids.
Unicef Representative Omar Abdi said: “Strings’ involvement, through their appointment as national ambassadors, with the Unicef goal of giving youth in Pakistan increased access to information about HIV/Aids is a very important step.
“Strings’ popularity with young people and their ability to communicate directly with them means that there will be many exciting ways in which dialogue about HIV/Aids will be increased among Pakistani youth in future.”
He said it was an important responsibility and Unicef was confident that they would convey Unicef’s message.
The gathering observed that Strings’ stars have a role model status for the young people in Pakistan. Their music has become more popular and the group has won the ‘Most Popular Band’ award from MTV Asia earlier this year.
In their role as national ambassador, Strings are making a commitment to defend child rights in Pakistan. The band will use its prestige to help disseminate information and reach a mass audience while encouraging the young people’s participation so that they can be heard in society.
The group’s stars believed that their music could be both a means of social commentary and form of self expression. The impact of their music reflected the splendid power of the young people.
“We already have a synergy with today’s youth. The younger generation can relate to us because we speak their language and we are at the same wavelength.
It will be easier for the group to convey Unicef’s message to a generation which has grown up hearing pop music,” the group’s members said.
Speaking on the occasion, Project Officer, HIV/Aids, United Nations Children’s Fund, Bettina T. Schunter, said Strings and Unicef had worn team jackets to play a vital role in prevention and control of HIV/Aids by reaching out to young people in Pakistan and increasing their access to information about how to protect themselves. “Speaking the youth’s language, Strings will bring out into the open the facts about HIV/Aids that are not freely discussed.
Most importantly, Strings will bring back the youth’s message to policymakers and all those engaged in control and prevention of HIV/Aids. The youth know what their concerns are and what is required,” she said.
Strings will be visiting schools in Balochistan, Peshawar, Karachi and some parts of Punjab as part of the campaign and they will also produce music videos.
Unicef Pakistan introduced the pop singers to a group of children especially invited on the occasion to give them a chance to interact with pop stars.
