This years World AIDS Day marked a vital opportunity to tell the new government “We are here! We are not going away! We know AIDS is POLITICAL! So do something about it! Treat AIDS Now!”
This was the shout of students up and down the country as World AIDS Day approached. During the week, groups held events and did actions both to raise awareness and call the government to action. They also raised money for People & Planet’s highly important campaigning.
Check out people’s personal video messages to the government.
If you or your group have any stories and pictures of your events, let us know! Email treataidsnow@peopleandplanet.org and we will display them here as soon as possible.
Concerts
Students at Cheney School held a benefit concert. They also went into assemblies for all years and baked yummy cakes. Students at Cardiff University held ‘Raid’ their annual World AIDS Day party and Aberystwyth held a fundraising party.
Petitions
Bradford and Roehampton People & Planet groups both collected mass petitions. Roehampton presented their petition to their MP at Thursday’s parliament square lobbying action. Bradford added a unique twist to their campaigning by creating a petition out of red hand prints to support the demand ‘Treat AIDS Now!’ Liverpool collected a petition and action cards. Other groups such as Bath and Cambridge also collected action cards.
Roehampton P&P handed in more than 720 student petitions to their local MP, Justine Greening, who agreed to support the campaign
Anne-Marie Briscombe
Getting POLITICAL
We know that AIDS is a POLITICAL issue and we know why. On World AIDS Day many groups took this message and pushed it out there…
Reading created a graveyard, with graves representing the number of people who die from AIDS every 20 minutes. They also made a film, had a stall and collected a petition.
WAD 2007 Reading P&P’s gravestones showing the number of people dying of AIDS every 20 mintues.
The London groups LSE, Kings and UCL took over Trafalgar Square with their Big World AIDS Day action. They collected signatures and ‘sold’ cakes in exchange for donations, raising £150 for P&P! Additionally, LSE raised £60 for P&P on the door of the auction they held during their Big AIDS Awareness Week.
A delicious cake baked for World AIDS Day
Kate Hand
Groups really got to grips with the AIDS is POLITICAL message by using the stencil to create t.shirts and collecting video messages. Royal Holloway wore AIDS is POLITICAL stencilled T-shirts, collected video messages, and attended the mass lobbying session at Parliament square. Glasgow also shot video messages, as did Imperial.
Portsmouth went as far as getting AIDS is POLITICAL T-shirts printed! They also had themed games, held a stall and distributed condoms. Teeside got together with the LGBT group and promoted the political side of AIDS. Leicester students filled an entire week with WAD activities and lobbied their MP.
Lancaster students held a club night where they spoke out to over 100 other students about AIDS while wearing AIDS is POLITICAL T-shirts. Students were entertained with live music for the rest of the night. They also gave out lots of literature on AIDS and sold AIDS ribbons.
WAD 2007 Lancaster Students talk to an audience of over 100 while wearing AIDS is POLITICAL T-shirts
Other Events
Groups also did other things for WAD. In the sixth form network, Seven Kings used lollipops as prizes during a quiz on HIV/AIDS and gave out red ribbon badges. Steyning P&P group got into the local paper by making a human red ribbon with all of the students wearing red and they sold AIDS ribbons.
In the university network, Derby had speakers, Sheffield held a stall, as did Chester, and Chester raised £45 for P&P. Oxford students dressed up as pills locked in a cage, to represent barriers to the treatment that exist and Warwick held ‘Red or Dead Friday’, where they had a vigil and a film showing.
World AIDS Day and beyond…
Thank you to all those groups who did something for World AIDS Day and more importantly who did something for the millions out there who are suffering unnecessarily. Also a special thankyou to those who fundraised for P&P.
The time is NOW. We have to keep the pressure on the government to make them commit to the 2010 promise in their next three year strategy. You cannot reduce poverty without treating AIDS. This crisis is at the forefront of injustice in modern life. Treatment exists, so why aren’t these people getting it.
Keep up the pressure. We have until spring. Collect video messages, use the stencil. Get the message out there, Get the government to listen and thus to act. They are not doing enough. We must act to make them act.
If you haven’t already, order your TAN Campaign Pack NOW.