AIDS Quilt Online was launched on International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day, 21 May, by civil society in eastern Europe and central Asia. An online memorial, AIDS Quilt Online pays tribute to people who have died of AIDS-related illnesses as well as to the activists who have dedicated their lives to the response to HIV.
The site, which is supported by UNAIDS, provides an opportunity to create a digital quilt, accompanied by a small personal text. The fragments are collected into one large digital canvas. People can also share pictures of real woven quilts on a quilt gallery page.
AIDS Quilt Online continues the tradition of the NAMES Project Foundation, created in San Francisco, United States of America, in 1987 to remember people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. The tradition of sewing blankets in memory of someone close was transformed into the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Stitched from a multitude of fragments, each symbolizing a person’s shortened life, the quilt became one of the iconic symbols of the AIDS response. Tens of thousands of memorial panels were sewn by friends, loved ones and family members.
“We hope that such projects can draw public attention to the HIV epidemic, to the need of extended access to treatment, care and support for people living with HIV, as well as to the urgent call to stop any form of discrimination related to AIDS.”
Igor Pchelin Chairman, Steps Foundation
“This project is a reminder of everyone who's not with us today as well as hope for a new generation as we combine our efforts to end the AIDS epidemic.”
Vinay P. Saldanha Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
