The Ribbon Project's AIDS Awareness Ribbon

Posted by Jamie Robertson Nov 24, 2008

Worlds AIDS Day (Monday, December 1, 2008) is quickly approaching. I am thinking about AIDS ribbons because I am getting set to hand out a bunch of them for World AIDS Day, which of course means cutting ribbon, folding the pieces, and attaching safety pins. In between all this work, I have to remind myself why I am doing all this work.

The AIDS ribbon has now been around for 17 years, and, unfortunately, AIDS has been around longer. The Ribbon Project set out to create a symbol that would help raise awareness for AIDS and commemorate those who were living with HIV. Since its inception, the ribbon has become an international symbol that can be found on bracelets, t-shirts, bags, and just about anything else. Some people believe that because of the seeming commercialization of the red ribbon, it has lost much of its meaning. I would argue that no matter how many ribbons are out there, it is not enough. Too little thought goes into remember those who are living with this disease and those who have died from it.

This World AIDS Day, when you are wearing your ribbon, remind yourself that it is not simply a fashion statement, but a symbol of all that has already happened and all that has yet to come.