World AIDS Day:  The Red Ribbon Award Ceremony

UNDP India activities on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2008

On World AIDS Day on 1 December 2008, UNDP held a special award ceremony and film screening at the Stein Auditorium, Habitat World. In addition, UNDP organized a week long radio campaign on HIV with FM 104.8 that reached 48 lakh people in five cities of India.

At the Habitat World, representatives from Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, Sanghamitra, and People like Us (PLUS) were felicitated with the Global Red Ribbon award by the UNDP Resident Representative Maxine Olson. Eldred Tellis from Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, Maya Lama from Sanghamitra and Agniva Lahiri from PLUS received the award for the outstanding work of their organization. Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, which works with injecting drug users, and PLUS, an organization of transgender youth dancers, both won a $5,000 grant. Sanghamitra, a collective of sex workers, was a special recognition winner and won a $20,000 grant. The Red Ribbon Award is a joint award by the UN family and the International AIDS Conference to honour outstanding community initiatives to reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS.

The felicitation ceremony was followed by the screening of 68 pages. The film is about five lives marked by pain and bound by hope in 68 pages of a counselor's diary. The film was produced by The Humsafar Trust and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. The Director General of NACO, Sujatha Rao, appreciated the film and expressed her desire to use clips from the film in different settings and for varied audiences.

The World AIDS day special campaign by UNDP and Meow FM 104.8 consisted of numerous activities on the air & on the ground. Almost 45 lakh listeners tuned into six shows that were aired in the first week of December on Meow 104.8Fm in five cities. On 1 December, during Meow Zindagi,   three short interviews were aired with directors who have made movies on people living with HIV or sex workers. Author Mukul Kesavan spoke of his experiences in writing a chapter in the book, “AIDS Sutra” on Tu Tu Meow Meow. Radio Jockey Anil hosted the very popular show called Between the Sheets and spoke of the importance of using condoms. Movie Speak was aired with six short capsules about films like Chandni Bar, Nidaan, Phir Milenge, My Brother Nikhil, Chameli and Salaam Bomba, which capture issues on HIV, or sex work, homosexuality, injecting drug use and poverty. Medical Meow helped bust some myths about HIV, and the presenters answered common queries about HIV and AIDS. All shows were aired in Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patiala and Jodhpur.

Red Ribbon Award Brief