THE POSITIVE PROJECT COMES TO THE APP STORE!
Young British menswear designer, JACOB ALXNDR, invites you to take part in The Positive Project, by joining his army to march on for positivity and combat the stigma still surrounding the HIV virus and affecting those who are living with it today.
Since delivering his TEDx talk in March, Jacob’s Positive Project has since gained sponsorship from The Royal Family’s embroidery company who have kindly joined the project to produce all the embroidery on the merchandise.
The Positive Project app will allow you to take part in this great way of combatting HIV stigma with a fun, modern social take! The Positive Project app will educate it’s audience by providing information on the HIV virus and not just the scientific stuff - the nitty gritty bits of info that people living with the virus want you to know too! Not only will you be able to read up on information on the history, treatment and prevention of the virus but the app also offers an in-app map feature that shows you all the nearest places you can go and get yourself checked or just have a chat with somebody. Or you can even call them through the app from the comfort of your own home for those of you who are little shy to pop in.
All donations received and money made for The Positive Project charity will be donated to St Stephens Research Centre in London, Europe’s leading laboratory in HIV treatment research. In order to better the lives of those living with the virus and also to further fund studies to then produce even better medicines and hopefully one day, a vaccine.
Once you receive your Positive Project merchandise, be sure to take your selfie in the app and post it to the Positive Map where you can view everyone else’s selfies from around the world, and see who has joined Jacob’s #ALXNDRARMY to ‘March on for Positivity’ and spread a little more of the right kind of positive energy round the globe!
- IN DETAIL -
Jacob was diagnosed with HIV on the morning of his 22nd birthday in 2015, following his initial diagnosis he struggled coming to terms with his status, as each day passed he started to slowly realise just how much of a problem some people still had with HIV, or rather those who were HIV Positive.
Jacob wanted to combat this stigma and try to shed a positive light on the HIV virus and those living with it by raising awareness through inviting the general public (and a few familiar famous faces too!) to take part in The Positive Project. As mentioned in Jacob’s TEDx talk in March 2016, he feels as though HIV biased charities have been pushed aside in current news by larger run charities such as Cancer Research UK for example. HIV needs to make the headlines again, but this time with a positive light.
The last time HIV dominated the news headlines back in the ’80’s and the 90’s, it had a little tag along friend - AIDS. It was today’s youth generation who’s parents saw the HIV virus evolve into AIDS within two years of infection and then take the lives of those with it. Today people with HIV can live a normal life expectancy because of the availability of new medications.
So can you really blame today’s youth for having the fear of God instilled into them when it comes to even discussing HIV?
What better way to get a message out there than through your smartphone, I bet there won’t be a single lecture theatre you can walk into and find a student without a social media app on their phone. The Positive Project capitalises on today’s social trend of the ‘Selfie’ to take part in The Positive Project you must have an item of merchandise to then take your ‘Selfie’ in the app and post it to the world map!
On this world map you will be able to view everyone else’s selfies from around the globe who have taken part in The Positive Project in order to help create a sense of community and a general positive atmosphere surrounding the HIV virus and those who are living with it.