Photo: #iminred campaign participants
On the 14 of February, St. Valentine’s Day, UNESCO Moscow Office summed up the social campaign #iminred aimed at raising awareness about HIV and promoting solidarity with people living with HIV.
Those who wanted to join the #iminred campaign took photos of themselves in red, tagged them #iminred and posted them in social nets (VKontakte, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) inviting their friends to join the campaign. All published #iminred photos appeared on the website iminred.com as part of a red ribbon – international symbol of the global response to HIV and solidarity with people living with HIV.
During two and a half months thousands of people from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine visited the campaign's website iminred.com and its pages in social networks, leaned key facts about HIV, expressed their support to people living with HIV and posted photos which comprised the largest virtual red ribbon in the region.
Campaign participants say:
Alena Yevgrafova: The main reason of HIV positive people discrimination is lack of knowledge. Read more about HIV at iminred.com
Rustem Gatin: I don’t know people with HIV but there are a lot of disabled people among my friends. On behalf of them I wish HIV-positive people to remember that there is always someone who needs you and that we can love and be loved! We should not think that life ends with a disease. That’s not it. You can always change your occupation and find new talents and hidden possibilities! The most important thing is to want to do it!
Felicia Korf: I do not post my personal photos online: do not like to show my face to Internet–trolls. But today I am making an exception. I am posting my photo “in red” to become part of a red ribbon – the symbol of the awareness and support for those living with HIV. I cannot stay apart from #iminred campaign.
The collection of photos was stopped when 1,111 images fully covered the space for the red ribbon.
The campaign attracted that many people thanks to youth Internet-societies which informed about it their members. UNESCO's longstanding partner, the Russian edition of PSYCHOLOGIES international magazine supported the #iminred campaign. The group picture of the magazine's editorial board in red was posted at the magazines' website to urge readers to join the campaign.
PSYCHOLOGIES editorial staff
Famous Russian photographer and author of social art-projects against HIV, cancer and tuberculosis, Serge Golovach contributed to the campaign several of his masterpieces - photos of celebrities in red. Olesya Gribok, a Belarusian actress who starred in a TV-serial “Above than sky” about a young man living with HIV, and Yulia Lasker, a Russian singer who actively supports many HIV prevention campaigns, took part in #iminred as well.
The authors of the most inspiring photos and words and those who had sent correct answers to all questions of #iminred quiz received prizes.
"When I see people who put on red and write words of support, I consider them to be my good angels", says Anna who lives with HIV. "At my worst moments I imagine them standing behind me and I feel relieved".
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