Positively Open competition for the thirteenth time

The just-launched 13th edition of the Positively Open competition is an opportunity for NGOs, local governments and public health care facilities to submit projects on HIV/AIDS. The competition committee will select the most interesting, and their creators will receive up to PLN 30,000 to implement their ideas. The grants are funded by Gilead Sciences Poland, which has allocated a total of nearly two and a half million zlotys for this purpose since 2011.

This year's competition topics are:

1. HIV, HCV and syphilis prevention conducted in urban spaces, clubs and mass events.
2. Promoting HIV testing among people who have never been tested.
3. Activities to reduce the stigma of HIV+ people carried out by promoting awareness of the N=N principle and raising awareness in society that, thanks to modern therapies, HIV is now one of many chronic diseases.
4. Promotion of knowledge on HIV prevention and/or living well with the virus conducted online through the creation of applications, games, roleplayers, etc. with a particular focus on effective promotion of these tools on social media.
5. Educational activities aimed at families with HIV-positive children, conducted with the aim of providing adequate support to both parents and seropositive children, as well as preparing young seropositive people to enter adulthood.

The Contest Organizing Office is accepting applications until June 30 at [email protected]. All details, including rules and regulations and the application form, are available on the Positively Open website.

- NIZP-PZH-PIB has seen a steady increase in the number of newly detected HIV infections. Let's hope this also means that there are fewer and fewer people in our country who do not know about their infection and do not receive treatment. Thanks to modern medications, HIV can be effectively kept in check today, but in order to be treated, one needs to know about the infection. That's why I'm proud that since the beginning of the Positively Open competition, we have already supported more than 120 projects spreading information about the virus. I believe that for many organizations fighting the HIV epidemic, the thirteenth edition of our contest will turn out to be a happy one. I wish them good luck," said Pawel Mierzejewski of Gilead Sciences, coordinator of the Positively Open program.

Media patrons of the competition include "Służba Zdrowia" - the oldest medical journal in Poland.

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