AIDES


AIDES is a French community-based non-profit organisation that was founded in 1984 by Daniel Defert following the death of his partner Michel Foucault. The name is a play on "aides" and the English word "AIDS".
Its aim is to bring people living with HIV/AIDS together with their loved ones and peers into an organised entity dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS and to defend the rights of people and communities affected by this disease.
As of 2007, AIDES is active in France in 100 cities with 400 staff members and more than 1000 registered and trained volunteers. It is the largest non-governmental organisation in France working on HIV issues, by number of activists and budget. It is considered one of the main observers of the epidemic in France.
Internationally, AIDES has developed strong partnerships with fellow community-based NGOs in Africa, in Europe and in Canada to strengthen the role of civil society by sharing best practices and to jointly advocate for global access to care and prevention. It also developed a partnership with the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS

Name

The name of the organization is a reference to the French noun "aide", from the verb "aider", 'to help or assist'. The founder chose to pluralize the word because it could be said that there are multiple types of help that the association can provide.

Actions by the organization

One of their video projects is an AIDS awareness cartoon. The cartoon, produced by Goodby, Silverstein and Partners and presented in the style of 1920's era animation, features the comically exaggerated sexual adventures of a cat named "Smutley" and ends with the message, "He has nine lives. You only have one. Protect yourself." Posted on AIDES' YouTube channel on 16 March 2011, it has logged over 1.3 million views as of 3 June 2012.

Album ''Message''

AIDES released the album Message in February 2010 with the participation of 33 artists covering various songs as well as 15 radio personalities. Collectif Artistes performs "If" credited to Collectif Artistes, namely Daniel Powter, M. Pokora, Caroline Costa, Natasha St. Pier, Justin Nozuka, Sofia Essaidi, Lara Fabian, Anggun, Tom Frager, Christophe Willem, Jenifer, Bob Sinclar, Joachim Garraud. On the other hand, Animateur FM Matinales contribute their comments under the title "No Comment". The album also contains 14 covers of songs by individual artists and one new track "Peace Song" contributed by Bob Sinclar.