StudentMediaWire

A charity campaign aimed at students is taking a different tack. It wants your action, not your donations.

Ctrl Alt Shift is a social site dedicated to charity through action. Their aim is simple – to give you a platform to change the world.

They are racing to get 50,000 people to join the Ctrl Alt Shift website. Each sign-up will be a protest against the 12 countries that ban people living with HIV from entering, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Unbelievably, the US had the same ban until October this year. They’re now in the process of lifting it. It was only by people making their voice heard that this changed.

In the UK there are no travel restrictions against those with HIV. The ban doesn’t prevent the spread of infection, it just reinforces the stigma already faced by people living with HIV says the charity.

“The biggest challenge with HIV is that there’s no cure,” says the charity. “The second is stigma; not just from governments, but from our own communities. There are so many myths and stereotypes flying around that people living with HIV are driven underground. Would you admit to your mates that you had it? No, didn’t think so.

“This is why people all over the world living with HIV have NOTHING TO DECLARE.

“It is unjust and unacceptable in the 21st century for there to be such restrictions in place, violating people’s basic human rights.”
Editors and student journalists, what can you do to help?

Well it’s easy:

1) Register at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk and get involved!

2) Embed the Ctrl Alt Shift Widget on your social network pages to show your support for the campaign and encourage your peers to sign up.

In addition, by joining the Ctrl Alt Shift community you also get the quarterly magazine for free with interviews with the likes of Estelle, Sway and Sam Roddick. You can also submit your own articles and content to be part of the magazine, highlighting issues that concern you.

Key partners such as Vice Magazine and the British Film Institute (BFI) offer you the chance to get involved through creative competitions, with mentors such as Noel Clarke, Alexia Chung. Music partners include Young Knives, GoldieLocks, Mystery Jets and Boy Better Know.

Get involved! Be Creative! It’s your world – Take Control!