Positive Life – social and cultural campaign dedicated to the World AIDS Day

From 18 to 20 January the first Positive Life Fair of Civil Society Organizations was held in the Kyiv Fortress museum complex, attended by representatives of 40 volunteer and civil society associations implementing programs to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine.

The fair was initiated by Small Heart with Art civil society organization and held with the support of the US Embassy in Ukraine and the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People Living with HIV.

“For the first time, Small Heart with Art public organization undertook such responsibility and held a Fair of Civil Society Organizations. It was a unique experience for us, an open platform for communication, discussions and acquaintances was created, where more than 40 public organizations with a remarkable history and experience in countering HIV/AIDS presented themselves. I consider it to be the special achievement of the organization, which managed to bring together organizations that have been working quite recently, as well as those which operate for more than 20 years, to the Positive Life Fair. We hope that the Fair will become an annual project and next year we will unite even more civil society organizations”, says Yevgenia Smirnova, Director of Small Heart with Art.

Positive Life is a social and cultural campaign dedicated to the World AIDS Day, that was launched in Kyiv on December 1, 2017. It featured two large-scale events, the B Positive exhibition and the Fair of Civil Society Organizations.

Фото: Small Heart with Art

“Positive Life Fair is the apex of a greater initiative launched on the International AIDS Day. On this day, we honor and commemorate those who were affected by the epidemic, died of HIV/AIDS, or continue to fight the disease. Ukraine successfully increased the number of people on antiretroviral therapy. This is proof of strong cooperation between civil society, government and international partners. The US government supports the idea of preventing HIV/AIDS in Ukraine and provides support through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR. The US government plays a leading role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS through this initiative. But despite all the progress achieved, we should not forget about the difficulties that still exist. After all, thousands of Ukrainians are still dying from HIV/AIDS every year and about 16,000 people become infected. Stigma and discrimination remain the key obstacles faced by people who get to know that they are HIV-positive. They have to overcome these barriers when they seek medical and other types of assistance. Until the society and public authorities accept HIV-positive people, we will not be able to free Ukraine from AIDS.

I admire the activists who organized and participated in the Positive Life Fair! They inspire others. And I want to thank all the talented people and organizations for their continuous committed work to improve the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS”, says Pauletta Walsh, Assistant Information Officer of the US Embassy in Ukraine.

The goal of the Positive Life Fair is to promote activism and social mobilization to ensure the responsibility of leaders and governments, increase their commitment to counteracting HIV/AIDS through evidence and awareness of human rights.

“Over the past two decades, the public sector in Ukraine has gained a unique experience in providing extremely important social services to vulnerable populations with little or no state support and engagement. Therefore, the idea emerged to create an open space for self-presentation, so that successful experience would stimulate the establishment of new volunteer organizations and projects. The volunteers in Ukraine have much higher level of credibility than the government, therefore, public organizations are still more effective, especially in communicating with key communities associated with the HIV epidemic”, said Vladimir Zhovtyak, President of the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People Living with HIV.

Фото: Small Heart with Art The Positive Life Fair promotes the creation of innovative partnerships with business, the community, government and science to strengthen HIV prevention and treatment.

“Thanks to the Positive Life Fair, our partnership and friendly relations were promoted to a new positive level of development, we outlined plans and mutual goals that will be important to implement in the near future. The engagement and understanding that prevailed during these extremely intense days of presentations, helped to realize the significant role of the public sector in continuing the reforms and changes in our country that can contribute to improving the situation in the Eastern Europe region in the prevention of HIV and other epidemics of socially dangerous diseases and phenomena among youth and adults. There unforgettable three days of January were prepared and held at the highest possible level, ensuring cheerful and encouraging atmosphere”, Vitaliy Lavrik, member of the ICF “Vertical” and ICF “VOLNA”, shares his impressions.

“I appreciate any opportunity to communicate with people and talk about the work of the organization, because often it is invisible to ordinary Ukrainians. I am, therefore, grateful to the organizers for such a wonderful opportunity. I hope that such events will continue and the audience will increase, bringing together devoted and interesting people”, says Timur Levchuk, Executive Director of the AUCO “Fulcrum”.

During the Positive Life Fair, lectures and trainings for activists were held, where the experts presented trends and tools for effective communication.

“Communication in the modern world is an integral part of the strategic activities of public organizations, especially those engaged in advocacy and social services. If people decided to participate in public activities, then it is their duty to communicate with the community, inform them of their intentions, projects, report on their implementation, enter into an open dialogue. Thus, they contribute to the development of civil society. The Positive Life Fair promises to become an efficient and respectable communication platform for Ukrainian volunteers. The first experience is very successful and we should congratulate the organizers, partners and participants of the event”, says media consultant Alexander Stasov.

“The ECUO is a network of networks, uniting activists in the area of HIV/AIDS and advocacy in fifteen countries of our region. We are an inspiring network, providing opportunities for development to all of them. That is why we are well aware of the situation, and we support projects for sharing experiences and building bridges, establishing relationships and partnerships between organizations and various key communities. We are very pleased that the first Fair took place in Ukraine, which has long been in the frontline of social activism. I hope that the Positive Life Fair will become the impetus for activists throughout the region. Therefore, we should continue to meet, share experiences, provide knowledge and opportunities”, says ECUO Senior Project Management and Social Programs Specialist Andrey Agafonov.