Shared Interest to Honor South African AIDS Activist and Organization

Shared Interest, a New York-based non-profit social investment fund, will honor Vuyiseka Dubula and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) for leading efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Treatment Action Campaign is a South African movement that works to ensure that people living with HIV have access to quality comprehensive prevention and treatment services. TAC General Secretary Vuyiseka Dubula, who was diagnosed with HIV at age 22, is an outspoken advocate for the rights and dignity of people living with HIV. The awards dinner will also recognize Calvert Investments and Calvert Foundation for their commitment to social investments in South Africa. Prudential Financial, Inc. will receive the Corporate Award for the companys dedication to investing in South Africas economically disadvantaged communities. Distinguished U.S. and African leaders and top diplomats will gather for this celebratory annual event that recognizes leaders for their ongoing work towards economic democracy and development in the new South Africa. Shared Interests mission is to mobilize the resources for South Africa's economically disenfranchised communities to sustain themselves and build an equitable nation. Since Shared Interest began in 1994, its loan guarantees and technical support have benefited more than 1.9 million black South Africans - the majority of them women. The evening performance will feature Tony Award-nominee singer and actress Tsidii Le Loka Lupindo. Tsidii, who is from Lesotho, is best known for originating the role of Rafiki in the Broadway production of The Lion King. Sandra Bookman, anchor of WABC-TV Eyewitness News, will serve as the evening host. This years major corporate sponsors are Prudential Financial Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Calvert Investments, and The Nielsen Company.