The 60-minute special finds Mandela tackling several controversial issues facing young people today, including topics such as HIV/AIDS and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

"Young people face so many difficult decisions to make in life today," Mandela told South African media.

"It is important to talk openly about subjects like HIV/AIDS, war, political leadership and religion so that young people can make informed decisions about these issues and to understand that they have the most vital role to play in helping shape the future," he added.

Knowles said: "Mandela is one of the most important figures in history and I am incredibly excited to host this special on MTV to celebrate his extraordinary life. I hope audiences around the world are touched by the young people who traveled so far to meet with Mandela to share their incredible stories of hope and compassion."

Bill Roedy, MTV Networks International president and an ambassador for the United Nations program UNAIDS, said: "Never before has Mandela engaged in a dialogue of this kind with young people on television, addressing their personal conflicts in the context of his own struggle for the freedom of democratic principles.

"The raw emotion of the young participants who discussed their personal tragedies as part of world conflicts were matched only by Mandela's guidance, which enabled them to embrace his messages of tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation as the only way forward in the struggle for a better future."

Produced in association with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, UNAIDS, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Family Health International's Youth Net, the special TV program marks the start of the 2003 Staying Alive HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. A series of TV programs on this theme will be shown on MTV and other broadcasters worldwide from today to a potential audience of more than 2 billion people.

The TV special is being offered rights-free to all third-party broadcasters worldwide, and many broadcasters have already signed up to air the special.

For the second year, the European Broadcasting Union will distribute the campaign's programming free via satellite to its 71 member broadcasters in 52 countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The special will air worldwide as part of the network's Emmy award-winning "Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself" campaign, an ongoing effort to educate and empower young people on their sexual health.

(China Daily July 18, 2003)