World AIDS Day is an incredibly important day, not just for WAAC but also for all people living with HIV.
World AIDS Day aims to encourage people to educate themselves and others about HIV; to take action to reduce the transmission of HIV by promoting prevention strategies; and to ensure that people living with HIV can participate fully in the life of the community, free from stigma and discrimination. The day provides an opportunity to learn, educate and highlight the issues that still need facing.
World AIDS Day 2021 theme
The 2021 World AIDS Day theme for Australia is 40 years of HIV – Where to next?
We have come an incredibly long way in the last four decades since the first HIV diagnosis. We have made incredible medical and treatment advances. We’ve changed and educated communities. We’ve provided support to countless people. We have come so far and yet there is so much more that needs to be done.
As a community and as individuals, there is a lot we can do around HIV.
Working in partnership with people with HIV, we can encourage others to understand how HIV is transmitted. We can support people to access testing, treatment and care, as we know that commencing treatment at the early stages of HIV results in better health outcomes and reduces the likelihood of onward transmission.
UNAIDS theme for World AIDS Day 2021 is End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics. UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The focus of UNAIDS is on stopping new HIV infections, ensuring that everyone living with HIV has access to HIV treatment, protecting and promoting human rights and producing data for decision-making.
What’s planned for World AIDS Day?
WAAC has a lot of incredible things in store for our World AIDS Day celebrations on Wednesday 1 December 2021.
We will be having an activation in Yagan Square all day, with a series of events to mark this extremely important day.
These events will include include:
- Welcome to Country
- FREE community breakfast in the Amphitheatre at Yagan Square (book here)
- Information stalls showcasing WAAC and other peer organisations
- Art installations
- FREE movie event on the Yagan Square Digital Tower in the evening (book here)
We welcome as many people to come and join us on the day.
The community breakfast and the movie event will be free, but still ticketed for planning purposes. Please note the community breakfast will have limited places available, so priority will be given to community members first in terms of tickets, and then to partnering organisations and other stakeholders thereafter.
We are so excited to be commemorating World AIDS Day in such a special way this year, and we really hope to see you there.
How can I get involved in World AIDS Day?
There are lots of different ways you can get involved on World AIDS Day, including:
- Running a World AIDS Day event at your workplace/school/organisation
- Raising funds for WAAC and international AIDS organisations
- Raising awareness on HIV by educating those around you
- Sharing our content on Facebook and Instagram
- Joining us at the different events taking place
- Inviting a speaker to talk at your workplace/school/organisation
- Get the word out by downloading, printing and displaying these free online resources.
If you have questions about World AIDS Day or what to do something on the day but don’t know what to do, please reach out to us and we can support you
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