On Saturday in Düsseldorf, IWWIT and World AIDS Day role model Marcel Dams and the I KNOW WHAT I DO campaign of Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe were honoured with the EXIT Award
When the scene awards were presented in Düsseldorf on 21 January of the NRW gay magazine EXITThe EXIT Awards were presented to the German AIDS Service Organisation and the ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU! campaign, and there were two reasons to celebrate: The editors' honorary award for outstanding voluntary commitment went to Marcel Dams, who in 2011 and 2012 not only worked for IWWIT, but also for the World AIDS Day campaign by German AIDS Service Organisation, the German AIDS Foundation and the Federal Centre for Health Education was and is on the road as a role model. The Exit Award for the best advertising campaign went to the DAH's gay department and the ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU campaign together. The following were particularly emphasised MIR REICHTS! adverts from the campaign for the Day against Homophobia 2011. Almost 50 per cent of EXIT readers voted for these motives.
In the laudatory speech, Marcel was praised for his authentic, honest demeanour. By talking openly about his life as a young positive person - about his difficulties with the infection and the need to "work out" his sexuality anew, but also about his development towards a self-confident approach to HIV - he has become a role model for many people infected with HIV and has shown many non-infected people a new image of life with HIV.
Marcel thanked him with a touching speech in which he emphasised once again that HIV-positive people are not to blame for their infection. "We all make mistakes. I've made a mistake, I'm sure you've made mistakes too, but if you were lucky, it didn't have these consequences. Nobody has the right to discriminate against us. Nobody has the right to marginalise us. Nobody has the right to blame us." His commitment is important because discrimination and marginalisation of HIV-positive people are still commonplace today, especially in the workplace.
The prize for the advertising campaign was accepted by the head of IWWIT, Matthias Kuske, on behalf of the entire team. DAH gay officer Dirk Sander said: "I am delighted that these motifs in particular have been honoured. It is also important to me personally that they are emphasised once again: Successful HIV prevention is only possible in societies without homophobia. It's great that this message has been so well received."
ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU! would like to take this opportunity to once again praise the tireless efforts of the volunteers involved in the campaign and their presence at many CSDs in NRW and nationwide and to thank them warmly. Thanks to all those who make IWWIT possible locally, regionally and nationwide in AIDS service organisations, prevention teams and in the campaign team and to the many volunteers who are active for the campaign everywhere in the scene and give it their face. The prize also belongs to you!
(pasch)
