Picture a brightly colored, patchwork quilt composed of dozens of lovingly crafted, three dimensional rooms that allow you to walk into the lives of those who lived with AIDS. In one, you are taken into the bedroom of a teen with a passion for bugs. In another you find a rose garden where a woman named Anita loved to sit with her cat and read. In a third you encounter a home recording studio where Andrew practiced electric guitar and dreamed of being a rock star. Each room, each glimpse into an individual life, is a reminder of how much we’ve lost and how far we’ve come in our fight against HIV/AIDS.

At the center of the Quilt stands an enormous tree inspired by a Japanese bonsai. Cradled in its branches is an immersive, interactive learning center where participants can explore a 3D model of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), watch it infect a cell, and learn about AIDS history by reading the musings of Uncle D, an educator and poet who lived with the virus. Together, the dozens of rooms that comprise the Quilt and the learning center form Karuna’s 3D AIDS Quilt Project launching December 1, 2010 on World AIDS Day.

Multiple Worlds, Multiple Generations

Recognizing that children between the ages of 12 and 18 are one of the most “at risk” populations when it comes to HIV infection, Karuna has partnered with Jokay Wollongong and educators working in the Jokaydia virtual world to bring the 3D AIDS Quilt Project to young people. Jokaydia Grid is the premiere educational world using the Opensim platform, and attracts a wide range of teachers and educational institutions from around the globe.

On Jokaydia, the 3D AIDS Quilt Project will include a peer mentoring and leadership component. With guidance and support from their instructors and parents, teens will be encouraged to not only contribute to the building of the Quilt, but to share the results with and mentor their peers. To this end, this multi-generational project will provide a robust web interface and social networking tools designed to make collaboration and sharing easy and fun.