[:en]ASA and CIG – Arcigay Milano launch the U=U campaign #zeroviral
the real revolution to defeat stigma and prejudice against people with HIV.
On December 1, 2019, World AIDS Day, ASA Associazione Solidarietà AIDS and CIG Arcigay Milano are organizing an event at 10 Corso Como Tazzoli to reaffirm their commitment to fighting the stigma and prejudice that still affect people living with HIV today.
During the event, in partnership with ALA Milano Onlus, Anlaids Sezione Lombarda, and Fast Track Cities – Milano ferma l'AIDS, and sponsored by ATS Milano, the Consulate General of the United States of America, CORDA, and Milano Check Point, a powerful campaign will be presented on the theme U=U: Undetectable=Untransmittable. The campaign was coordinated by Marco Gucciardi, a communications professional who partnered with an international communications agency to develop a creative concept reiterating that HIV-positive people undergoing treatment cannot transmit the virus. Hence the idea for the U=U #zerovirale video campaign, which will be unveiled during the event and subsequently launched on social media. This initiative aims to inform young people, especially those who are more uninformed than ever about how the disease is transmitted. Marco Gucciardi comments: "Today, living with HIV means living a normal life, like everyone else. Especially if you have a zero viral load. Starting from this principle, this year ASA has developed a communications project with DLV BBDO, one of the most important and award-winning international communications agencies. This multi-subject campaign will be launched on social media, aiming to raise awareness among a younger audience. It follows the international campaign U=U – Undetectable = Untransmittable, with a message encouraging people to overcome mistrust towards HIV-positive people who still face discrimination.".
To engage and engage young people, a special project will also be presented in which artists and fashion designers have created artwork for a limited edition of t-shirts sold during the event. The project featured illustrator Lucia Emanuela Curzi, artist Mariano Franzetti, and fashion labels Andrea Pompilio, Salar Milano, Salvatore Vignola, and Huge Underground Business. Lucia Curzi's evocative illustration was chosen as the event's image. All the t-shirts were produced by Manuel Ritz, who has renewed his commitment to this cause by designing and selling this special edition.
Part of the event will be a video by Andrew Quinn, a renowned Australian videographer, who has created a spectacular and moving interactive show entitled "IN QUILT," an interactive audio-visual installation, created to celebrate the Quilts of Names that ASA has been collecting since 1989. The Italian collection of AIDS Memorial Quilts, considered the largest collective artwork in the world, has been partially digitized thanks to technologies made available by the Google Arts & Culture team. Since June 2019, the Quilts of Names have been accessible to everyone at any time on the Google Arts & Culture website.
Massimo Cernuschi, President of ASA, concludes: "People undergoing effective treatment do not transmit the virus through sexual intercourse. We summarize this epochal turning point as U=U. Yet in Italy, the media and institutions ignore it. With #zeroviral, we hope to provide a significant boost.".
This special initiative, hosted by Disco Radio speaker Fabio Marelli, features Fabrizio Sclavi and DJ Claudio De Tullio, who will be livening up the evening.
