Four downtown buildings including City Hall and the Kennedy Plaza skating rink will light up in red tomorrow in recognition of World AIDS Day.
Providence is one of 13 cities in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland that will participate in the "show of solidarity" for those suffering from AIDS, according to joinred.com, a Web site for the "(Red)" advertising campaign founded by U2 singer Bono and activist Bobby Shriver.
The city will also commemorate the day with a candlelight vigil at the skating rink, according to the Providence Journal.
This year marks the 21st World AIDS Day, designed to "raise awareness about the disease and to urge governments and leaders to fulfill their promises to do what it takes to halt and reverse the spread of the disease," according to the Web site of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
(RED), which coordinates the displays, is an initiative in which nine brands — including Apple and American Express — donate a percentage of their profits from designated (RED) products to the Global Fund to provide anti-retroviral medication to people infected with AIDS in Africa, according to its Web site.
Brown's chapter of the Global Alliance to Immunize Against Aids will hold a free AIDS testing day Friday in Alumnae Hall, according to Lauren Pischel '11, a member of the group and a Herald staff writer.
The alliance's Providence chapter will also hold a ceremony for four recipients of the group's "Hope is a Vaccine" Award. The recipients, including Ira Magaziner '69 P'06 P'07 P'10, will speak about their experiences at a World AIDS Day symposium at Brown. Magaziner is the chairman of the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative.
The Brown University Aids Program will also sponsor a World AIDS Day breakfast Tuesday at White's of Westport in Westport, Mass., with speakers who will discuss "Current HIV and Hepatitis C Treatment Options," according the University's Web site.
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