Bell is Ringing, The

This grassroots initiative is an effort to mobilise communities and individuals around the world to join a united effort to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It involves calling on people of all ages to carry out a free, simple, and yet meaningful act - the ringing of a bell - "making a collective noise for more awareness about HIV/AIDS" and, in the process, a commitment to "share the responsibility in prevention and care". Bell-ringing is understood to be a highly symbolic activity that represents both grief (e.g., those who have perished due to the disease) and celebration (e.g., those who show compassion to people living with AIDS).

The Bell is Ringing website is a key channel for providing participants with tools and materials on how to educate and involve others as part of the bell ringing to take place on World AIDS Day. Four toolkits geared toward each of four particular groups. Each kit provides facts and background on HIV/AIDS, as well as suggestions for how to organise a local event with bell ringing as a centrepiece. For example, the backpackers' guide encourages youth who travel the world with backpacks to prepare for "a day of community engagement and active teaching on Thursday, December 1st, 2005. Wherever you are, make sure that on that day you be surrounded by a crowd of local people in a community you visit." (There are about 30,000 Israeli backpackers traveling every year to developing countries; The Jerusalem AIDS Project is enlisting their help to spread the word about HIV to remote areas). Some of these backpackers have participated in face-to-face training, and have been provided with illustrative materials, to prepare them for this educational role. For example, a group of Israeli backpackers (all university students) took part in a 2-day training in Tel Aviv that focused on cross-cultural barriers in HIV/AIDS communication. Participants were provided with hands-on skills in how to be effective in communicating messages to people in cultures different from Israel's.

As indicated by the above, community involvement is a key characteristic of this initiative. Drawing on people's creativity and spirit of competition is another strategy. As detailed within the "neighbours" PDF guide, "every creative man, woman or child" is invited to develop an original, colourful HIV/AIDS postcard to be included in a global competition. The postcard is to be developed with the intention of its being handed on World AIDS Day by individuals to their neighbours around the bell ringing activity. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used to facilitate the competition; participants send their original postcard in a JPEG format to: postcard@bells4aids.org All postcards approved by a selection committee are to be displayed on The Bell is Ringing website throughout November 2005. Popularity will be judged by the number of downloads; certificates will be granted to the top 3 winners.

To further support HIV/AIDS literacy, the project website also offers links to information on HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

HIV/AIDS.

The Jerusalem AIDS Project would like to learn about bell-ringing initiatives being planned as part of the project around the world, particularly in the Caribbean, Africa and other regions. (Please see contact information, below). The group hopes to set a new World Guinness Record in bell ringing for a public health cause.