The British Red Cross encourages groups of young people all around the UK to come up with creative ideas to raise awareness, fight discrimination and stigma. Projects involving video, photography and drama are just some of the events being run by groups of students and schools across the UK.

Read their stories below or listen to a podcast about spreading the word about HIV

“I think it’s important to put the message about HIV out there, because a lot of people in the UK don’t realise that it’s growing rapidly in the heterosexual community, as well as the homosexual community.

“A lot of people think that if you’re not gay and you don’t live in Africa, that you’re not at risk and a lot of people don’t realise that with HIV, you’ve got it for life. It’ll not just go away. I think people need to start taking it a bit more seriously.

“Since I’ve been doing this project, the thing that’s surprised me most is the difference between Scotland and Nepal. For example, in Nepal, women are not allowed to see a doctor for contraceptives unless their husband’s with them, or they have permission for a male. I think that was quite an eye opener, as obviously here, it’s up to the individual.

“For World AIDS Day, we’ve decided we’re going to go to Inverclyde’s biggest high school – and we’re going to be part of the assembly in there. We’ll find out what they know about HIV and hopefully educate them a bit more.

“We’re trying to break down stigma, get people to realise that anyone can contract HIV and re-educate them about the risks and how to prevent it.

“I think young people feel better talking about sexual health with other young people, rather than adults. A lot of young people aren’t willing to discuss these issues in front of adults, because they don’t want adults to know they’re sexually active.

“Talking about sex and HIV in front of my peers doesn’t bother me. I’m completely comfortable with it. To me, it’s just another part of life.”

Karla, a Red Cross peer education volunteer, also taking part in the ‘Friendship for HIV prevention’ project in Greenock, Inverclyde.

“I always knew how easy it was to contract HIV, but I always used to think, ‘it won’t happen to me.’ Since coming to this project, I’ve actually thought that there’s quite a lot of people who say: ‘It won’t happen to me’. I’ve realised how important it is, if you’re with a boyfriend, or girlfriend, to get it checked out.

“A couple of weeks ago, we did a survey in the town. Only a few people answered. I think we were all up for it, but it’s actually quite embarrassing, walking up to people in the town.

“We asked people if they thought HIV was airbourne, and they said ‘no’. Then we asked if people thought you could get it from kissing – and one person thought you could.

“The training has definitely helped me feel more confident about talking about stuff like that – especially with my mum, who’s always asking what we’ve been doing.

“For World Aids Day, we have a plan to go into my school, and talk to the fifth and sixth years. The fifth year’s my year – but most of my friends know I’m doing this project, so they’ll probably be up for a laugh. The sixth years are dead open-minded, so it’ll be alright.”

“For me, this project is something new, and a good learning experience. The British Red Cross is a good organisation. It isn’t biased and it doesn’t take sides.

“As part of the project, we’ve done some first aid training – which was my first experience of that in about seven years. Last time I learned about it was in primary school.

“We learned that the only way HIV or AIDS could pass through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is either through blood, if the person has a cut in their mouth, or there’s an extremely low chance of it being passed through saliva. But you would have to drink about 30 buckets!

“We did a survey to find out what people in the local area knew about HIV. When we mentioned HIV and AIDS, quite a few people stopped, hesitated and walked away. So we saw people who were either nervous, or shy or afraid to talk about HIV.

“It would be good to see why that is, and see if we can overcome it. Some people don’t know about HIV and AIDS – and how big a risk it is. If I could, I’d like to help educate other young people. I’ll definitely continue volunteering with the Red Cross.”

Tom is dedicated and enthusiastic about his role and is keen to see more activity in the UK to raise awareness of HIV, particularly amongst young people.

"World Aids Day is a great opportunity for young people to find out more about HIV and how it could affect them.  I hope HIV awareness messages are promoted in schools and through the media on the day."

Through his volunteer work, Tom wants to encourage more young people to train as Red Cross peer educators.

"Most of the young people I speak to have a very limited awareness of HIV.  If more people volunteered for the Red Cross it would help increase everyone's understanding of HIV which  would help reduce the discrimination that people living with HIV face."

"The young people I meet don't really know enough about HIV and many are confused about the risks."

Ehtesham worries that people living with HIV in the UK face discrimination as a result of this misunderstanding.

"People are often confused about how they can contract HIV.  Some young people worry that they can get HIV by drinking water or by getting close to someone who is HIV positive.  I want to encourage people to learn more about HIV so they know the risks and understand how to prevent it."

Listen to a podcast about spreading the word about HIV

Find out about volunteer opportunities for young people

Read Hamza's story about peer education in Ethiopia