The
green ribbon has been used as a symbol for
many campaigns, including
environmental
justice,
cannabis-liberation, and
agriculture.
Environmental awareness uses
Environmental initiatives, such as Environment Week in the UK and
in Canada, often use green ribbons to represent support for
sustainable development and environmental initiatives.
Support of farm families
In 1998, Margaret Bruce, a Pastoral Associate at St. John the
Evangelist Catholic Church in North Dakota, sought a way to support
farm families and came up with the idea of a green ribbon and a
card that read "We care through prayer." Around the same time, the
National Catholic Rural Life Conference (NCRLC) began receiving
emergency calls from farm families in stress and saw that the
situation was getting worse across the country. In November 1998,
NCRLC launched the Green Ribbon Campaign at their 75th anniversary
meeting. They developed and began to disseminate rural crisis
packets to help parishes deal with the growing rural crisis.
Awareness of medical conditions
Green ribbons are used to create
awareness for many medical conditions,
including:
In the UK, in November 2008,
Body Positive North West, a Manchester-based
support group for people living with or being affected by the
HIV-virus; launched a campaign called
GO4IT!, using a
green ribbon as their symbol. The aim is to raise awareness of 60
second HIV testing and encourage more people to get themselves
screened for HIV, as research suggests that over a third of all
HIV-infected people in Britain, are themselves unaware of
this.
Green Ribbons are also used in the US to show support for medical
marijuana.
Awareness of political and cultural issues
Chechen ribbon
Following
the July 2005 London
bombings
, British police in Nottinghamshire
distributed green ribbons as part of a Good Faith
campaign to show support for Muslim
communities.
In
Colombia
, the green
ribbon has been used to support peace for the
country.
The green ribbon is used to support
cannabis legalization.
The green
ribbon is also used to support the Troops in Pakistan
The green
ribbon also raises awareness of the genocide in Darfur
, Sudan
.
The green ribbon is used to support Irish Freedom from
Britain
The green ribbon was used to protest the events surrounding the
Jena Six.
A slightly
modified green ribbon also symbolises solidarity with Chechnya
.
The green ribbon was used to raise awareness of the earthquake in
China in May 2008
A light green ribbon is used to support a foundation for
impoverished orphans and street kids of former communist
countries.
2009 Iranian presidential election
In
Iran
the green ribbon was used as a sign of support for
Mir-Hossein Mousavi in 2009 Iranian presidential
election, a color which has since become pervasive in Iran.
Other uses
In
Canada
, the green ribbon is used to show support for
finding missing children.
In the "Sex" episode of spoof news programme
Brass Eye host
Chris Morris wears a green ribbon in
support of people who have "Good AIDS" or AIDS contracted through
no fault of their own (e.g. through contaminated blood
transfusion).
The green ribbon can also indicate a support of music education,
especially in Hispanic Communities in the United States.
At
county or
state
fairs in the United States, green ribbons are awarded to
competitors who finish in fifth place in contests.
In the United Kingdom, the green ribbon was adopted by FERT (Ferret
Education and Research Trust) who are a registered charity in
England and Wales (No.1116924) to raise awareness of Ferret
Welfare
See also
References
- Health Protection Agency - Testing Times - HIV and other Sexually Transmitted
Infections in the United Kingdom: 2007
- Strive
For Life
- Hispanic Wire - Press Release - Launch of Green
Ribbon Campaign
External links
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