On November 26, a series of activities were held on Siming campus to mark the 30^th World AIDS Day. This event, on the theme of “Youth, health, engagement and happiness”, was jointly organized by varied sectors of Xiamen University, relevant departments of the city government as well as the neighborhood communities and XMU affiliated hospital.

Under the theme of “My health, my right”, the activities including knowledge quizzes and signature solicitation went on full swing at the Sanjiacun Students’ Square. These activities took place in a variety of forms such as handing out publicity materials, awarding prizes to quiz winners, offering hugs to strangers in order to put across HIV/AIDS prevention information. This event, which is opened to both college students and local residents, was held in the hope of engaging everyone in the battle against the spread of AIDS and promoting public awareness. Meanwhile, health care workers from the XMU affiliated hospital were also present to offer their professional consulting services. Interestingly, the cute “Yiban bear” and “bay max” wearing red ribbons showed up at the scene and actively interacted with participants.

Under the guidance of the members from XMU Health Promotion Association, hundreds of XMU students gathered in the Multifunctional Hall of Ziqin Building to take part in the AIDS peer education program. By playing such games as “wild fire” and “love knot”, participants can get a good sense of how fast AIDS can spread and how HIV-positive people feel. These activities have taught the students to learn to put themselves in others' shoes, making them feel more sympathy and empathy for AIDS patients, meanwhile admonishing them to keep the virus at bay.

The students also visited the exhibition featuring artworks related to AIDS prevention at the Science and Arts Center of XMU, including sculptures, paintings, handcrafts, literary works and so forth, among which the porcelain Xun, a kind of ancient musical instrument emblazoned with the motif of a red ribbon, was particularly eye-catching to the visitors. As a side event of the BRICS summit known as “AIDS Prevention on University Campuses in China”, this exhibition also showcased XMU’s advances in the technology of the detection and diagnosis of HIV. On September 5 this year, Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with the wives of heads of delegations attending the ninth BRICS summit and the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries, had attended this exhibition in XMU.

It is expected that every college student should shoulder the responsibility to fight against ADIS, share the right to health and pitch in to build a healthy China. More importantly, this event has also enabled more students and people to gain a better understanding of HIV and raise their awareness on this issue.