Overview of what we do

Shout-It-Now was founded in 2007. We are passionate about youth and the issues affecting their future like drug abuse, teen pregnancy and HIV and AIDS. We develop a holistic education-based solutions underpinned by technology, celebrities and rewards.

After years of collaborative research between IT and marketing experts from the U.S. and social scientists from South Africa, Shout-It-Now developed a methodology that communicates openly and honestly with youth about the issues that affect them like drug abuse, teen pregnancy and HIV and AIDS.

We talk to youth about the issues in a way that's engaging, fun and relevant. We use new tools to engage with young people, encourage them to be best that they can be and show them the path toward making the right decisions.

Due to the alarming rate of new HIV infections among SA's youth, which we believe is the single biggest problem affecting youth an their future, our first project was developing a programme with partners aimed at increasing HIV testing among youth.

Why technology?

We focus on results. Technology gives us an opportunity to measure attitudes and measure the impact of our programmes on youth attitudes and behaviour about issues like sex, HIV and staying in school. Through technological innovation like fingerprint identification we give youth (our clients) comfort that their rights to confidentiality is maintained and that results of the programmes we conduct are anonymous.

Furthermore we've realised that using technology gives us an opportunity to probe the minds of our youth like never before on issues that most youth do not feel comfortable discussing with adults.

Finally, social programmes are expensive. Technology is scalable, which means our average cost per person reduces as the number of clients in our programmes increase, not the other way around.

Why Celebrities?

Let's be honest. In this MTV-age parents, teachers and religious leaders are competing with the likes of Lady Gaga, Lira and the Parlotones for our youths' attention.

We can't change this, but we can take advantage of this.

We use celebrities to talk to our youth about the issues that matter. Celebrities easily attract the attention of our youth and are seen as a credible source of information

 

 

 

Why rewards?

Many issues affecting youth like sexual behaviour may be taboo in certain communities or just downright embarrassing for some.

Rewards gives them a legitimate reason to be part of our programmes without possibly being stigmatised or feeling embarrassed.

To date we've achieved unprecedented success. Within two years, Shout-It-Now tested more than 120 000 youth for HIV and AIDS. Furthermore through our methodology we are able to probe the minds of our "clients" like never before and share data with interested parties. This data also enables us to modify and improve our programme.

For example, our data shows that less than one in three youth are willing to undergo HIV testing. After our 15 minute education programme, more than 99% of participants agree to be tested "today".

In addition to educating, we provide counseling and testing on site. If a person tests positive, we first verify results and stabilise the individual, provide additional counseling and refer them to a healthcare centre as part of our Links To Care programme.

While we're currently immersed in HIV and AIDS, our communication platform can be deployed to address any issue relevant to youth like smoking, alcohol abuse or gangsterism. We recently launched a programme aimed at educating young adult men about the importance of circumcision. We decided to get involved because getting circumcised reduces the probability of contracting HIV by up to 60%.

In 2013 we will launch a national programme aimed at keeping youth in school.
Our licensed technology is available to government and non-governmental organisations. We are always open to looking into new issues that are aligned with our objectives and welcome new partnerships.