Totally outRIGHT is a free leadership workshop series for young gay and bi guys in the Toronto area interested in sexual health. Sponsored by ACT, these workshops are for a cross-section of young gay and bi guys (ages 18-29). They are open to HIV-negative and HIV-positive guys, trans guys and guys from different ethnic backgrounds. 

The workshops consist of 17 modules over four days that build resilience and community. They are based on the success of the Totally outRIGHT program that was pioneered in Vancouver by Health Initiative for Men.  

Totally outRIGHT is a great way to meet other young gay and bi guys and connect with leaders in our community. It’s for guys who identify as gay or bi, want to learn about love, life, sexuality and sexual health and who want to apply that knowledge in their community. 

For more information go here.  

Want to be part of this amazing experience? Registration is now open for the workshop series being offered over four Saturdays: May 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2013. (Registration closes on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 5:00 pm.) Register at http://www.actoronto.org/to.

The challenge.

Over the last decade, tremendous progress has been made in the global response to HIV and AIDS. In some countries, overwhelming epidemics have begun to slow, and even reverse, governments have begun to overturn discriminatory laws and policies, and medical advances continue to remove barriers for people living with HIV or AIDS.

Despite this progress, however, obstacles still remain when it comes to delivering effective HIV and AIDS education in our classrooms despite the importance that education will play in ultimately halting the spread of HIV. In some communities, stigma continues to prevent balanced HIV education from reaching students. In others, where HIV programmes have been a long-standing norm, finding new and innovative ways to reach young people is paramount. 

Enter Art for AIDS International. As one of many volunteers at Art for AIDS, I have the unique privilege of supporting an organization that is working hard to change this fact in Canada, and in communities across Africa that continue to bear a tremendous HIV burden.  While Art for AIDS is one of a host of organizations working to reduce stigma associated with HIV and support prevention and awareness, they are unique and truly remarkable in their approach, and the simple tools they use to reach young people, like paint, paper, and photography. 

What has perhaps impressed me most about Art for AIDS’ approach, however, has been seeing how the arts can not only influence the educational experience for those involved in the creative process, but how they create a distinct ‘domino-effect’ that reaches well into the community beyond. 

The Art for AIDS Process

Art for AIDS hosts workshops with young people that are comprised of two key elements: The first half of the work shop uses fact-based knowledge sharing, experiential learning, peer-peer support to explore issues related to HIV and AIDS, as well as broader discussions related to social justice, discrimination, and social responsibility. During the second half of the workshop, participants are taught to create collage artwork, building confidence and self-esteem by exploring the artistic process and translating their insights and opinions into the development of a unique and beautiful final product.

Art for AIDS believes that effective change can stem from the passion, energy and creativity of young people and works to nurture that passion by providing the opportunity to communicate verbally and/ artistically.

After the workshops end, each collage is produced as a limited edition print which collectively make up a portfolio unique to the school or community.  These prints are exhibited to raise awareness and reduce the stigma often associated with HIV and AIDS, and sold to raise funds to support organizations that work with women and children affected by HIV and AIDS in some of the hardest hit communities in Africa.  

To date, Art for AIDS International has hosted workshops with over 10,000 young people in nine countries (and counting!). 

The Value of Art in Education

Community-driven art initiatives and art programming in schools are often considered less valuable than programs related to math, science or languages. As a result, the arts have faced severe cutbacks and have either been dramatically reduced or eliminated entirely from school curriculum. This represents another barrier to providing an effective and diverse academic experience that focuses on broadening a student’s horizon.

While HIV education has long been a part of the health and physical education curriculum in many school boards, simply telling students about HIV and AIDS and is often just not enough to motivate young people to take meaningful action in its prevention and awareness.

At Art for AIDS, we’re working to address this and reaffirm how art and less conventional approaches to education are equally valuable and capable of enriching student life. By blending a traditional informative process with the more creative, kinesthetic art-making process we encourage young people to explore opinions, communicate insights and even convey messages. 

Hendrikus Bervoets, the founder, Executive Director, and main facilitator of Art for AIDS International represents the organization and its cause with passion and complete resilience. For more then 20 years, Hendrikus has committed himself to supporting the social wellbeing of young people, and his experiences led him to cultivate the belief that they are a force powerful enough to evoke substantial societal change; they merely need the positive reinforcement and some support to do so.  Through the workshops, Hendrikus inspires passion and engages participants to think critically about world issues and to “…look beyond your own backyard…” 

While Art for AIDS will continue to hone its programme and develop new ways to engage young people through art, ensuring that more schools adopt creative programmes focused on educating people about HIV and AIDS is essential.

As for the student response, I think the art speaks for itself. 

“The workshops really taught me to believe in myself not to think about what people will say behind, from today I will stand up for myself and for me to achieve my goals as a young woman.” – Fons Luminus, South Africa

As you may recall from a recent post of mine, I've been quite surprised by the strength and resilience among our community to challenge homophobia. After delivering a series of workshops on homophobia to youth, I was shocked at how willing these youth were to engage with issues surrounding homophobia and how able they were to understand the connections between experiencing homophobia and HIV risk.

At AIDS Service Organizations like ours, we are now seeing this connection more and more in our line of work and we're really beginning to understand the consequences that experiencing homophobia can have on LGBTQ individuals' health. Particularly, experiencing homophobia can significantly increase one’s risk of HIV infection, as well as increase the burden of disease for those living with HIV. Research is now showing that those who experience homophobia in forms such as isolation, bullying, exclusion, and violence, may have a lessened sense of self-worth or self-esteem, which can lead to an increase in the likeliness of partaking in “risky behaviours”, which in turn can lead to an increased risk of HIV transmission.

Realizing this connection, the agency I work for, AIDS Committee of Guelph (ACG) wanted to develop a resource targeting youth that would help prevent HIV transmission by increasing capacity to address homophobia, help resolve internalized homophobia, and increase knowledge on HIV transmission. But how could we do this in a way that would be fun and accessible?

Knowing that something like 90% of youth use cell phones, 60% of which use smart phones, what better way to disseminate this info but through an iPhone app? I have to hand it both to my predecessor and Executive Director - what a fabulous way to allow youth to access information in a confidential and fast way, using a tool that they spend the majority of their day on anyway!

This app functions to provide witty comebacks to homophobic slurs or phrases, as well as to answer questions and help dispel myths about HIV transmission that you may be too shy to ask your teacher, parent, or health care provider. It even has a quiz that rates your homophobia. Our aim is to provide accurate information that youth may feel too uncomfortable to find elsewhere, as well as to open up discussion and help build capacity to challenge homophobia.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Guelph is a relatively progressive town and may be more accepting of people’s sexual orientation in general than other regions. But that's not to say that people here don’t still experience homophobia. It’s also important to remember that homophobia can take on more subtle forms like the derogatory use of the word “gay”, or even as constant heteronormative images that infiltrate our daily lives. That's why it is important to recognize the effect all these different forms of homophobia can have on our lives and to be able to challenge them together, regardless of sexual orientation.

We hope this is precisely what our app, and the launch party we are having for it, will begin to do. Our app launch party takes place this Thursday January 31^st, 2013 upstairs at the Albion Hotel (49 Norfolk, Guelph, ON) at 8:30 pm and is a chance to try out the FREE app if you haven’t downloaded it already, to mingle, dance, maybe win some prizes, and to simply open up much needed discussion around homophobia and HIV. It's our hope that this app is another step toward challenging homophobia, increasing knowledge, and decreasing stigma and HIV transmission.

Come celebrate the release of this great app with us. See you at the party!

This post originally appeared October 28, 2012 on the blog  of HIV Poz Guy here. 

Nothing in this world will ever prepare you for that dreaded moment a stranger you hardly know says the words ‘you are HIV positive’. At that one moment, time slows down, your head implodes, suddenly you think death is all you have to look forward to.

The last place you want to be is sat in a tiny hospital room, on your own in that moment, with a man who is probably the same age as you, well educated, good looking and a nurse looking at you with such pity, telling you to ‘breathe’. The most basic function we take for granted, the first thing we do when we enter into this world, and all you can think about in that moment is death.

Well…I am HIV Positive….there….I said it…it’s out there.

I decided to write this blog because I think a lot needs to be said about HIV, all the negative and positive aspects that go with it (believe me, there are positives!). I want other people to be able to read this and have the assurance I so desperately searched for when I needed it the most, I almost craved good news to keep me going some days and I want to be able to share all of this with you. I want to keep this going for as long as I can, to track my life anonymously in the hopes that this one day becomes my legacy which is passed between all who read and need this.

Where to start though I guess. Well judging by the above you can imagine I was pretty gutted but let’s take you on my trip on how I ended up in that ill-fated hospital room sobbing my heart out thinking my world was ending.

As the title may suggest, I look back on this day and see it as the start of something new, a milestone if you will, of when my life began (don’t worry, I’m not gonna get all philosophical on you and spout on about how I found god or anything!). So… A week before I found out, I was in hospital having had a bad allergic reaction to something, whilst there. A routine blood test was carried out and my platelet count was half that of a normal person. I had platelet problems as a child so thought nothing too much of it. Well thankfully the hospital decided to run other tests on my blood as a result of this.. ‘Routine stuff’… they told me. So my liver, kidneys got tested, I was tested for hep b and c, as well as HIV. I was told the results would be with my doctor within a day or two.

Having called my doc up, he had no results and so I rang the hospital up, was told everything came back fine but the HIV test was being sent elsewhere for testing.

This was the initial warning bell in my head, I’m not thick and not a lot gets past me, once I have a bad feeling about something, I don’t let go of that instinct to find out what the hell is going on. I became a man possessed that week from what I can recall, searching the Internet like a detective, trying to find clues and reasons why it was all taking too long to get these bloody results back.  

I found out that HIV testing involves the initial test followed by a further one to double check it using what’s called a ‘western blot’, which is basically never wrong. Having spent the rest of my week ringing my docs and hospitals up for the results, I ended up being quite pushy and demanded to speak to a doctor at the hospital. He called me to say I should go in and see him for a chat….well straight away in that moment I knew why.

I threw care to wind on what clothes I was wearing, opting for comfort over style, I mean what clothes do you wear to something that could potentially change your life forever?! My hair was short and scruffy; bed head comes to mind. I parked up outside the hospital and ran in, this was in the morning by the way. By this point I had messaged by boyfriend to come as well. I walked and met the doctor, with the nurse that showed pity and kindness to me, as well as a plastic cup of stone cold water.

When the news was given to me, as mentioned above to you, it was horrid. One of the worst experiences of my life that I would never want to relive.

I’m a tall guy, but sitting in that room, I felt like I was sat in a stadium, I felt so small and insignificant, like a bug waiting… no not waiting… wanting… wanting to be squashed, anything to get away or out of this vacuous hell hole of a room. I’m trying to describe this in as much detail as I can so others can relate to this feeling, it’s certainly like no other.

To be continued . . 

About the writer

This is the story of me, I’m an engaged gay guy, in my 20′s, and living with HIV – diagnosed in Oct 2012. I'm from Bournemouth, England.

I wanted to tell my story to help and inspire others… to provide hope to those that need it, just like I did and still do. A little about me, I’m at college at the moment and preparing to go to Uni. I have a loving boyfriend who i love with and who turned into my fiance at the end of 2011, but I’ll just refer to him as my partner or boyfriend, fiancé to me sounds too.. Um… uppity or supercilious to me.

I’m also on twitter, bizarrely no one else has a twitter name of @hivpozguy, so that’s where you can tweet me or follow me at to get tidbits, thoughts and news I feel is relevant

Editor’s note; This post first appeared on the blog Beyoncé is Real ...and so is HIV. The writer is POZ Boy PH, also known as Sawyer, from the Philippines. This is how he describes himself. “Tall and dark in mid 20s. Flamboyant and carefree. A former blogger making his way back to the virtual world to expose his life after HIV diagnosis. He loves GIFs.” We love how he used GIFs too, so we asked Sawyer if we could republish this. Sure, he said. Thanks Sawyer!

*******************

Hey, Sawyer! Welcome to the Poz World!

My thoughts about HIV/AIDS when I didn't have it yet  were 

Good looking people don't have HIV / AIDS.

No way I'm getting it, seriously. I'm young, therefore, I'm invincible. Snap snap!

Only a few people have it: Blacks. Drag queens from the West. Idiots and junkies.

I don't do drugs! I will not get it.

A cure will be coming out soon so stop panicking!

GOOD LOOKING PEOPLE DON'T HAVE HIV/AIDS.

Where did it come from, anyway?

***

That day, 25th of September 2012, when I had my first ever HIV test, I was kinda' preparing myself for a stereotypical reaction like that of an actor making hugot of emotions to showcase it in a certain scene and it should be followed accordingly.

And that should end up like this:

A. If it's negative

My initial reaction.

wear that Miss Universe winning moment

then strut my way out singing ♫ tra la la la la ♫

waving my non-reactive HIV result.

NE.GUH.TIV. Eat that!

and dance... dance... dance... outside the clinic

B. If it's positive

Fuck y'all! Fuck you universe!

and walk out the clinic..

And the time has finally come. The moment of truth. The counselor handed me an envelope containing the HIV test results.

Dub-dub. Dub-dub. Dub-dub. Dub-dub

I open it with my fragile shaky hands.

Ta-dah!

HIV 1 REACTIVE

HIV 2 NON - REACTIVE

My heart stopped for a second. But I guess it's much longer than that in my own perspective.

Expectations of course would be somewhere in the  "if it's positive" part.

But then I ended up like an idiot there..

then I was like...

Everything went blank after that.

******************

Sawyer is on twitter at @PozBoyPH 

The photo mosaic above (created by the YAHAnet team using AndreaMosaic) is made up of all the scanned hand photo messages of the people who participated in this project at the IAS 2012 YAHAnet booth!

What do the hands of 313 people visiting Washington DC tell you?  A lot if they were visitors to the YAHAnet booth at the International AIDS Society's conference in July 2012. But you don’t have to have been there to see the evidence, because the good folks at YAHAnet brought it all home.

Here’s how their website describes what they did “From July 22 to 27, 2012, YAHAnet ran an interactive booth (#633) in the Global Village of the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). Chandra, Lukas, and John of the YAHAnet team met and had wonderful discussions with amazing youth leaders, activists, not-for-profit representatives, health researchers, and healthcare providers. 313 photos of visitors' hands were printed off and attached to clotheslines around the booth, with handwritten messages on the photos declaring what is needed to "take the LEAD to get to zero"!

“Getting to zero” relates to the UNAIDS 2010-2015 strategy - getting to zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Neat idea,  eh?  Better still, YAHAnet took all the photos home and with a bit of techie wizardry, all the photos are online in a virtual exhibit.

You can view that virtual exhibit here. 

Some message are in English but there are also many other languages represented, from 68 different countries.  A lot of them speak to youth empowerment  - “ Empower Young People”,  “Listen to Youth”, “It’s Our Turn” are examples.  But other participants chose to leave more general, sometimes  touching messages – like “Love Conquers All”,  “Love, peace, hope, coolness”, “Start dancing, stop AIDS”. You’ll love browsing through this exhibit, believe me.

Almost all the images are also on YAHAnet’s Facebook page . Look at them here.

Big kudos to YAHAnet for doing something engaging, powerful and lasting. In the words of the Who’s’ 1965 song, which predates the  organizers by quite a bit, the kids are alright.

About YAHAnet:  YAHAnet is an innovative networking platform that provides young people from around the world with the opportunity to actively and creatively participate in the fight against HIV & AIDS using an interdisciplinary approach which combines public health, education, art, and technology. Follow them on Facebook here or twitter @YAHAnet here.