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This article was published on the front page of Spark on the 8th December 2003

On Monday 1st December the Campaigns Forum and Students Union held a ‘Battle of the Bands’ in 3Sixty to mark World AIDS Day, raising £1986.12 for AIDS charities as well as highlighting awareness of the issue.

The evening saw eight local bands battle it out for free studio time, with the Yankee Nine Niners and Chinafight coming first and second respectively. However, the main purpose of the evening was to inform students on the current global AIDS crisis as well as raising money for ActionAid, the Terrence Higgins Trust and Thames Valley Positive Support.

Over £1800 will be going to ActionAid, who will be putting the money into AIDS projects in the developing world as 95% of those infected with the virus live there, and have no access to essential life prolonging anti-retroviral drugs, or the kind of health systems and care considered to be a human right in wealthier countries.

On a more local level, students were encouraged to take free condoms throughout the event as well as being informed on sexual health and how to get more involved in raising awareness of the issue through student campaigning groups such as the Campaigns Forum or RAGS. A giant letter to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, was also signed by hundreds of students, which specifically asked for the UK government to commit to a Global AIDS plan which fully addresses the urgent need to provide care and treatment to the 42 million AIDS sufferers world-wide.

“The evening was a complete success,” said Tom Chance, co-ordinator of the Campaigns Forum. “Many people think that issues such as HIV/AIDS are too big for them to try and tackle. However this night has proved that students can work together to affect a change” and he hopes that “more students get active because of it.”

Sophie Williams, Vice President Equal Opportunities, also commented that the gig helped to “highlight the sheer amount of people affected across the world by HIV and Aids - this is literally a Natural Disaster!”

The concert was one of the many events that happened across the globe for World AIDS Day, as part of the new student movement to fight AIDS – The Student Stop AIDS Campaign. The campaign united student groups from all over the UK with student organisations in the USA and Africa to take action.

In the future, the Campaigns Forum are planning on organising more events not just on AIDS related issues, but on Fairtrade and Green Electricity. If you want to get involved in campaigning on those issues or want help setting up your own campaign then look at the web-site at www.readingcampaigns.org.uk or contact Tom Chance at *******.

Key Box 1 – “Where can the money go?”

£15 could buy three basic HIV medical kits in southern Africa.

£25 could train a helper in caring for people with HIV/AIDS at home in Malawi.

£70 could pay for a test to determine if drugs are working in Kenya.

£500 could pay for 10 months of life-saving medicines from a branded company or 20 months of life-saving medicine of a generic version in Kenya.

Key Box 2

Over 40 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV/AIDS

5 million people were newly infected in 2002

3 million people died from HIV/AIDS in 2003 – that’s over 8000 that die daily

95% of those infected with the virus live in the developing world, and have no access to essential life prolonging anti-retroviral drugs

Flyer for event