Taking place towards the end of November, the live event Positive Storytelling: Sharing Your Status welcomed People Living With HIV in Ireland to Dublin’s Temple Bar to share their stories and experiences.
Now, to mark World AIDS Day, the organisers and those involved have released a short video of the day to use the occasion as an opportunity to combat stigma and raise awareness of the realities faced by People Living With HIV.
As co-host Robbie Lawlor previously shared, “Gone are the days that People Living With HIV are expected to remain closeted. We are going to stand proud on November 21st and refuse to be silenced.”
During the video, the brave speakers told those gathered about their own experiences of battling stigma and navigating living with HIV, while other speakers who work to support those affected also shared the realities that many in the community otherwise would not be aware of.
In a powerful moment, one of the speakers described, “If you are living with HIV in this country, and you don’t feel comfortable to say it, just think about this – the world is not going to change. But your own world will change.”
Robbie Lawlor closes the video by sharing, “Although we’ve come far medically in Ireland, we have so much to do. And not everyone is doing it for us, but every single one here, if we can make a little bit of a difference, it will mean the world to so many of us who are in this country.”
Directed by Anna Rodgers and Shaun Dunne, Positive Storytelling was produced by Zlata Filipovic, Catherine O’Mahony and Invisible Thread Films. The creators would like to thank Dublin Pride, Mind and Body Works, and BeLonG To.
In honour of World AIDS Day, GCN marked the occasion with the exhibition Living – a collaboration with HIV Ireland. An innovative, first-of-its-kind photographic exhibition showcasing inspiring portraits of people Living With HIV in Ireland taken by the wonderfully talented Hazel Coonagh, the exhibition also highlighted the stories of those involved, alongside their messages of support for the community.
© 2021 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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