So this is it, the final blog post!
For those of you who saw our booth at Antwerp Pride, I hope you liked it! For those of you who could not make it, it was a big success. Overall, we saved the general message we spread at Mano Mundo ("Love = care = safety") and we also re-used the cardboard people. But this time we tried to engage the people by taking pictures of them while wearing accessories with a message (we taped some accessories - scarf, hat, vest, glasses etc. - with the Handle With Care tape) and we also gave them the opportunity to write something on a whiteboard.

Result?
A lot of pictures with enthusiastic people on it, holding a whiteboard with inspiring slogans and messages! The results of the photo shoot you can find on www.flickr.com/designersagainstaids (from Wednesday June 30th). We also sold T-shirts with the provoking message "Wrap it up before you fuck it up". These T-shirts were a big success too, since it not only made people think but also spreads the word in a fun and striking way (the way we like it at Designers against aids).

The next day (after a tiresome night), we were all present at the International HIV and Aids Awareness Education Center (IHAEC) to set up our booth and present everything we had accomplished since the beginning of our workshop. At 11 a.m. the international press, who were in town for the IGLTA Convention and Antwerp Pride, arrived. First there were inspiring and sometimes moving speeches by vice mayor and alderman of Tourism Philip Heylen, the organizer of Antwerp Pride Bart Abeel, spokesperson of DAA and presenter at A-tv Sandra Deakin, Steffi Tisson, the communications manager at DAA and of course this row of speeches was closed by Ninette Murk, the founder of Designers against Aids. Afterwards the journalists were invited to take a look at (almost) all the rooms of the house. They also interviewed the three of us (unfortunately Marie was sick and was not able to make it that day) and took some pictures of us and the ‘nude cardboard people'. It was really nice to see that people were really interested in what we've done and that they all thought the result looked really creative.

I think I speak for all of us (Marie, Rhea, Ellen and myself) when I say that we are really proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time. We learned to work with limited means, learned how to spread an HIV awareness message in a fun and unique way and of course got the chance to get to know a lot of new people. So I really want to thank DAA for giving us the chance to take part in their first workshop of the IHAEC and we are really proud that we were the ‘guinea pigs' of something so nice and inspiring!

A big and final kiss,

Titia xxxxxx

Ps: check out some pics HERE

Oh, this is me striking a pose with my crew! Meet Steffi (DAA), Dalilla (DAA), Candice (DAA intern), Kareen (DAA volunteer), Ellen (student), Rhea (student) and me. Unfortunately Marie is not on this picture because she was sick that day. Thanks ladies for the lovely time we had working on this project!