<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="3"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">SOUL CITY INSTITUTE<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="3"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Media Release<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><strong><u><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="4"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Soul</span></font></u></strong></st1:placename><strong><u><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="4"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></span></font></u></strong></st1:place><strong><u><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="4"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> and Soul Buddyz&nbsp;prove their impact again</span></font></u></strong><u><font color="#000000" size="4"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></span></font></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">23 M<em><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">ay 2007</span></em>:&nbsp;&nbsp;A recent survey of nearly 4 000 South Africans aged&nbsp;15 - 24 has revealed that television programmes, such as Soul City and Soul Buddyz, play a critical role in HIV prevention in South Africa.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The Kaiser Foundation / SABC survey reinforces research commissioned by the Soul City Institute which highlights the critical role that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Soul</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> plays, and confirms the importance of the institute as a key player and producer of a very popular and impactful HIV and Aids programmes on television.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Television and r<st1:personname w:st="on">adi</st1:personname>o have the most reach when it comes to young people in this country - who are most affected by and vulnerable to infection with HIV.&nbsp; The young people in the Kaiser Foundation survey say they want more information about HIV and Aids, and they are open to receiving the facts from the media.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The study shows an impact statistic of 65% from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Soul</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> and of 46% from Soul Buddyz, which are both produced&nbsp;by the Soul City Institute.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is compared to the next most impactful programme Tsha Tsha which came in at 41%.</span></font><font color="#000000"><span style="COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoAutoSig"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">&ldquo;This independent survey&nbsp;corroborates&nbsp;our own evidence that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Soul</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> and&nbsp;Soul Buddyz have a significant impact on their intended target audiences, improving knowledge and changing behaviour relating to HIV prevention and other health and development issues.&nbsp;It certainly shows our donors that&nbsp;what we are doing together is working,&rdquo; said John Molefe Senior Manager Marketing and Public Affairs, Soul City&nbsp;Institute.&nbsp;</span></font><font color="#000000"><span lang="EN-GB" style="COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Around 75% of young people have a television in their home and the Soul City TV series, was named as the second&nbsp;most watched&nbsp;programme, after Generations. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Respondents&nbsp;mentioned that not only are programmes like Soul City important for young people as a whole, but that they have helped them&nbsp;make&nbsp;better choices about&nbsp;their&nbsp;sexual behaviours.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">For children between 8 and 12 the Soul Buddyz materials and <st1:personname w:st="on">Soul Buddyz Club</st1:personname> assist in learning and developing skills that improve their lives, schools and communities. &nbsp;The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Soul</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> / Soul Buddyz brand is thus firmly entrenched in the hearts and minds of even the youngest South Africans.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">With a mandate to make an important contribution to social change in <st1:country-region w:st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region>, both <st1:placename w:st="on">Soul</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype> and Soul Buddyz are proving to be forerunners in the bid to positively shape young minds, their behaviour and in so doing, the future of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Soul</span></font></st1:placename><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></span></font></st1:place><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">&nbsp;and Soul Buddyz are product of the Soul City Institute, developed as a public private partnership between the Soul City Institute, BP and Old Mutual. Soul Buddyz is a co-production with SABC Education. The series is also supported by the Department of Health. International donors include Development Co-operation Ireland,&nbsp;the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and PEPFAR through CDC. ENDS<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><em><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">For further information please call Onyx Marketing Communications:&nbsp;&nbsp; Mpume Ncube on 083 222 5184, <a title="mailto:georgina@onyxmarketing.co.za" href="mailto:georgina@onyxmarketing.co.za"><font title="mailto:georgina@onyxmarketing.co.za" color="#000000"><span title="mailto:georgina@onyxmarketing.co.za" style="COLOR: black">mpume@onyxmarketing.co.za</span></font></a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">For the editor:<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The full Kaiser Report Foundation can be sent on request as a .pdf.<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Soul</span></font></strong></st1:placename><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></span></font></strong></st1:place><strong><font face="Verdana" color="#000000" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> Evaluation 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><a title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/
blocked::http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/" href="programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/"><font title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/" color="#000000"><span title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/" style="COLOR: windowtext">http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-city-series-7/</span></font></a>&nbsp; (There are 2 reports)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Soul Buddyz Evaluation 2006<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><a title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view
blocked::http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view" href="programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view"><font title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view" color="#000000"><span title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view" style="COLOR: windowtext">http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-series-3/soul-buddyz-evaluation-report-2006.pdf/view</span></font></a>&nbsp;(one report)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Soul Buddyz Clubs Evaluation 2005<o:p></o:p></span></font></strong></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><a title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view
blocked::http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view" href="programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view"><font title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view" color="#000000"><span title="http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view" style="COLOR: windowtext">http://www.soulcity.org.za/programmes/research/evaluations/soul-buddyz-clubs/soul-buddyz-club-evaluation-reprt-2005-2.pdf/view</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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