COMMUNITY
A Conversation With LetsStopAIDS Founder Shamin Mohamed Jr. Young Canadians are working together for meaningful local action
LetsStopAIDS is a youth-driven charity that focuses on HIV prevention and knowledge exchange. The Canadian charity was founded in 2004, by the then-15-year-old Shamin Mohamed Jr., and continues to educate and inspire youth across the country (and the globe!) to take action. We sat down with Mohamed to talk about LetsStopAIDS and their programs, as well as Canada’s largest upcoming youthHIV conference. How did LetsStopAIDS begin? When I was 15 years old I went to my principal and told her I wanted to start LetsStopAIDS, and instead of being supportive, she said, “Are you going to start a scam or something?” This leaked out into the media, and eventually made its way to Bill Clinton and Bill Gates at the AIDS Conference. Since then, LetsStopAIDS has grown into Canada’s largest youth-HIV charity focusing on knowledge exchange and HIV prevention. We remain a volunteer-driven charity, with 300+ members across 21 countries. What types of programming or services do you offer? LetsStopAIDS is ‘glocal.’ We collaborate locally, whether it’s in downtown Toronto or rural townships in Dududu, South Africa. Our projects focus on youth leadership, meaningful engagement, and storytelling. For example, in March 2020 as the world entered a global pandemic, LetsStopAIDS launched HeyCOVID19, a 25+-language platform dedicated to providing accurate, shareable public health information about COVID-19. This entire project was brought to life in six days by more than 60 volunteers in 13 countries.
skills necessary to carry out sustainable initiatives. Since 2014, roughly a quarter of new HIV diagnoses were youth and this has been on a steady rise. Thanks to the support of ViiV Healthcare, NoTimeToWait will be Canada’s largest youthHIV conference focusing on youth leadership and grassroots activism, specifically focusing on Canadian issues. What role does technology and innovation play in connecting and supporting people living with HIV? The second we get comfortable, something is wrong. It means we aren’t connected to who we collaborate with. When things are running too smoothly, it means we aren’t being challenged, so we need to ask more questions. We know Zoom calls can get boring – that’s why we partnered with Hopin to create a unique, beautiful digital space for NoTimeToWait. We also joined forces with local designers across Canada to create a mail-out kit that will include musthave items to ‘survive’ a two-day virtual conference. What type of impact are you hoping comes from NoTimeToWait? Let’s clear the elephant in the room – I don’t think NoTimeTo Wait will be a fix-all solution for all of Canada’s youth-HIV issues. But I am confident it will develop fresh faces as ambassadors and leaders, like the then-15-year-old me, to create their own local or national projects. NoTimeToWait is the stepping stone for young Canadians to work together for meaningful local action with others living with HIV. I can’t wait.
Why is it important to have a youth-focused space for people living with HIV? Because regardless of your gender, social class or religion, there is a biological commonality connecting young people. And when we put these individuals together (even without speaking the same language), we develop something beautiful. Ever been to a conference or event where you’ve felt out of place? Chances are you’d gravitate to someone who’s closer to your age or someone you may be able to relate to. If we do not create these spaces, we are stifling the youthHIV community, which creates greater anxiety, depression and stigma, which could lead to less innovation. And as we know, innovation, particularly when it comes to treatment and prevention, is an integral part of ending HIV. Tell us about NoTimeToWait. Why is this conference important, and why now? NoTimeToWait brings young Canadians together to further their knowledge on HIV-related issues and develop the advocacy
LEARN MORE To follow LetsStopAIDS on Instagram, visit @LetsStopAIDS. NoTimeToWait will be held on November 21-22, and is open for registration at NoTimeToWait.ca. For more information, you can download an eBook on NoTimeToWait at http://qlll.co/NoTimeToWait.
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