World AIDS Day 2022: Importance of wearing red ribbon on AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day 2022: Every year December 1, People around the world are marking World AIDS Day To create awareness about the symptoms, causes and preventive measures of HIV/AIDS, which has claimed an unprecedented number of lives. red ribbon, Worn year-round by people in memory of those who have died of the disease, it is perhaps the most recognizable symbol of AIDS awareness worldwide. It is very interesting to understand why the red ribbon was chosen for this purpose. While some feel it is used to show love for everyone with HIV-positive results, others believe it is meant to express the helplessness of those afflicted, and since it is primarily transmitted through blood, red is the best fit. .
Do you wear a red ribbon on World AIDS Day?
However, the history of this symbol dates back to 1988, when, as a reaction to the effects of AIDS on the art community and as a means of mobilizing artists, art institutions, and art audiences to take direct action on AIDS, art professionals formed a group called Visual AIDS. Some of these visual AIDS artists came together three years later, in 1991, to design a visual symbol to express compassion for people living with HIV and their caregivers.
After being inspired by the yellow ribbon worn by American soldiers participating in the Gulf War, the artists decided to create a red ribbon to show support and solidarity for people living with HIV and to remember those who died of AIDS-related illnesses.
According to the website of Switzerland-based non-governmental organization UNAIDS, the reason for choosing red was the project’s “association with blood and the idea of passion – not just anger, but love, like a Valentine.” said the founders. The project was to become known as the Red Ribbon Project.
Volunteers from the Red Ribbon Project banded together to send letters and red ribbons to everyone attending the Tony Awards in the USA that year. It was here that actor Jeremy Irons was spotted on national television with a red ribbon pinned to his lapel.
On Easter Monday in 1992, during the Freddie Mercury AIDS Awareness Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, more than 100,000 red ribbons were distributed, marking the beginning of the mass introduction of the symbol in Europe. The television program was watched by more than one billion people in more than 70 different countries. Inspired by Princess Diana’s pioneering advocacy for AIDS, many celebrities wore the red ribbon during the 1990s.
Wearing a red ribbon is a simple and powerful strategy to combat the stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS. Hence, the red ribbon is now a universal symbol of solidarity and support for HIV-positive individuals.
(with ANI inputs)
