"Say No to Discrimination!" Masks Exhibition

The 100 masks were chosen from more than 2,000 entries submitted during the competition by more than 90 local, international, and special schools in the city earlier in 2016. Nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and patients all took part in the selection process. The winner, Ng Man-lam, from Queen Maud Secondary School, created a simple but bold mask. "The different colours represent people from different countries," she wrote. "When everyone supports people living with HIV/Aids, they are like the spray paint in the middle; they are living without a stain in their life and are living a great and colourful life. Cold colours are used on the two sides, changing to a warm colour in the middle, representing support and encouragement from other people." Rainbows, bright colours, hearts, stars, red ribbons, and positive messages adorn some of the masks. Many students incorporated the red ribbon - the international symbol for caring for people with HIV - into their design, and many decided to divide the masks into two parts to show the contrast between suffering through AIDS without care or acceptance, on the one hand, and how bright life can be living without the fear of discrimination, on the other.

HIV/AIDS, Youth

Kok says: "If there was no discrimination, more people with the disease would be able to seek help. Many of the masks have this kind of message. We want the public to know how the younger generation is thinking about discrimination." In addition to caring for children and adults living with HIV/AIDS, the Society for AIDS Care works to eliminate misconceptions about the illness. "We don't advise children are told about their HIV status until they're around eight years old," says programme director Esther Choi. "They're told that their bodies have a disease and they need to protect themselves, and mustn't let others touch their blood, and that they must learn to treat themselves if they get injured. Normally there's a very good, positive response. Many go on to study at university, some overseas. But they might have questions like: 'how will I marry? How does dating work? How do I tell my girlfriend?' That's where counselling comes in'."

In addition to visiting the exhibition, students can get involved by attending the Society for AIDS Care's World AIDS Day events on December 1, joining the annual AIDS Walk fundraiser, and designing a mask when the new competition opens in October 2016.