At a glance: Japan

Poster contest in Tokyo raises awareness about HIV/AIDS

© OAC/2006

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Japan Agnes Chan surrounded by the winners of the poster contest.

By Noriko Watanabe

TOKYO, Japan, 13 March 2006 – Children have been largely invisible in the world’s response to HIV/AIDS, but a poster contest held in Tokyo has helped put them back in the picture.

The contest, sponsored by UNICEF and the Organization of Advertising Creation (OAC), was held at the UN Gallery in Tokyo on 1 March and featured 90 original graphic and interactive works. The entries were inspired by the UNITE FOR CHILDREN  UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign, and many incorporated its major theme: Children are the missing face of AIDS.

Nine of the posters were awarded prizes at a ceremony attended by several staff members from Japan’s National Committee for UNICEF and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Japan Agnes Chan.

© OAC/2006

Some of the posters on display at the UN Gallery in Tokyo.

Traveling exhibition

To date, the exhibition has attracted more than 700 visitors. Many of them have spent over an hour taking an in-depth look at the posters and learning about the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, as well as UNICEF’s worldwide efforts to assist them.

All 90 posters will remain in the gallery until March 30, after which the exhibition will travel to the cities of Osaka, Nagoya and Sendai. UNICEF and the OAC hope to take the exhibition to other countries after its tour of Japan.