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Crossing boundaries, making commitments
About this event: XVII International AIDS Conference

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

To spread a social movement, like scaling up the world AIDS response, religious leaders need to talk to religious leaders, business to business, youth to youth, and media to media. Studies show that messages spread most effectively when they come from their peers.

In an initiative to bridge the gaps between groups that don’t usually connect, the World AIDS Campaign is convening 12 “leadership encounters” – small facilitated meetings away from the microphones and crowds of the main conference. By having these meetings, the campaign hopes the different sectors will find common ground and uncommon activities.

For instance, in the dialogue between leaders of the youth and media, MTV committed to convene a youth advisory panel. Other dialogues occurred between leaders of faith communities and men who have sex with men, and between commercial sex workers and the business community.

The World AIDS Campaign will compile a report of the commitments, and follow them up and report on them in Vienna at the AIDS conference in 2010.

But this isn’t the only group collecting commitments in Mexico. At the Youth Pavilion in the Global Village young people staff a “youth commitments desk”, asking for leaders to promise to scale up youth participation in their programs.

In 2006, the youth commitments desk at the Toronto AIDS conference collected 371 commitments. But making commitment doesn’t guarantee action. A team of youth followed up the 371 commitments and found a completion rate of 25%.

August 6, 2008 | 1:30 PM Comments  0 comments

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lets face it, drug users and sex workers are scary
About this event: XVII International AIDS Conference

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

What is standing out for me at the conference is the need to focus on investment and programs for and research of the most at-risk groups---, men who have sex with men, drug users, sex workers and prisoners.

Let’s be frank, this is no “save the children” kind of cause – generally people are afraid of these groups and don’t know much about them. I’ve had a lot of global experiences in my life, but I have never spoken directly with a sex worker or prisoner (to my knowledge). With so many sex workers here, I can surely change this soon.

Simple prejudices and impressions aside – the numbers tell a shocking story. Of global AIDS expenditures, only 1.2 percent is spent on specific responses to men who have sex with men. This totals $3 million out of the estimated $30 million needed according to UNAIDS.

“Less than 10% of high risk populations are receiving appropriate prevention.” Alex Coutinho, Executive Director, Infectious Disease Institute Uganda.

Outside of Africa – drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men make up the vast majority of those contracting HIV. It’s amazing after 25 years and billions of dollars we are not able to better address these populations. There is research and success stories that document what works in these populations, especially in Mexico and Brazil.

Youth are key to this struggle actually – we need a generation of young people that can fearlessly empower and protect the human rights of sex workers, prisoners and drug users.

August 6, 2008 | 1:27 PM Comments  0 comments

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Crossing boundaries, making commitments
About this event: XVII International AIDS Conference

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

To spread a social movement, like scaling up the world AIDS response, religious leaders need to talk to religious leaders, business to business, youth to youth, and media to media. Studies show that messages spread most effectively when they come from their peers.

In an initiative to bridge the gaps between groups that don’t usually connect, the World AIDS Campaign is convening 12 “leadership encounters” – small facilitated meetings away from the microphones and crowds of the main conference. By having these meetings, the campaign hopes the different sectors will find common ground and uncommon activities.

For instance, in the dialogue between leaders of the youth and media, MTV committed to convene a youth advisory panel. Other dialogues occurred between leaders of faith communities and men who have sex with men, and between commercial sex workers and the business community.

The World AIDS Campaign will compile a report of the commitments, and follow them up and report on them in Vienna at the AIDS conference in 2010.

But WAC isn’t the only group collecting commitments in Mexico. At the Youth Pavilion in the Global Village young people staff a “youth commitments desk”, asking for leaders to promise to scale up youth participation in their programs.

In 2006, the youth commitments desk at the Toronto AIDS conference collected 371 commitments. But making commitment doesn’t guarantee action. A team of youth followed up the 371 commitments and found a completion rate of 25%.

August 6, 2008 | 12:08 PM Comments  0 comments

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Thembi's radio diary offers powerful HIV positive youth testimony
About this event: XVII International AIDS Conference

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

With her doll-like face, she hardly looks her 23 years, but Thembi has learned a lot about life. After she was diagnosed with HIV at age 16, she started taking a tape recorder with her everywhere to capture her life.

At aidsdiary.org, listeners travel with her on her first visit to the doctor, hear firsthand about the decline of her T-cell count. The diary covers her progression to full-blown AIDS, starting ARV treatment, and finally having a daughter.

Presenting her story at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, she talks about how keeping a diary empowered her. “Ever since I knew my status my life has changed for the better. Ever since I started my diary I have felt more confident and comfortable and I am an inspiration to other young people.”

In a conference or thousands of experts, the most powerful presentations still come from personal testimony. In one of her entries, she reflects on the future.

”I’m just imagining what a world would look like without me in it. I’m not scared of dying but of leaving my baby behind. I want to see her grow a little bigger. HIV will try to rule my life on the inside but outside I will be boss. I want to study and have a good job, I want to go on with my life.”

Beyond the radio, Thembi also writes a blog http://thembisaidsdiarytour.vox.com/.

A recent concert hosted by the South African government, she reflects below on how AIDS messages still don´t effectively reach young people at risk.

”I felt like those images on those big screens with infected people had nothing to do with me. It reminded me of high school. When they would show pictures of thin, poor orphans that look like they are dying, and try to scare you out of having sex. But it never works because young, South African, at-risk kids do not see themselves in those images. They cannot imagine that it can happen to them.”

Her has been used as a teaching tool all over the world and aired on National Public Radio in the U.S., and in the U.K., Australia and Canada, reaching more than 50 million people.

August 5, 2008 | 12:31 PM Comments  0 comments

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Thembi's radio diary offers powerful HIV positive youth testimony
About this event: XVII International AIDS Conference

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

With her doll-like face, she hardly looks her 23 years, but Thembi has learned a lot about life. After she was diagnosed at age 16 with HIV, she started taking a tape recorder with her everywhere to capture her life.

At aidsdiary.org, listeners travel with her to her first visit to the doctor, hear about the first the decline of her T-cell count, her progression to full-blown AIDS, starting ARV treatment, and finally having a daughter.

Presenting her story at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, she talks about how keeping a diary empowered her. “Ever since I knew my status my life has changed for the better. Ever since I started my diary I have felt more confident and comfortable and I am an inspiration to other young people.”

In a conference or thousands of experts, the most powerful presentations still come from personal testimony. In one of her entries, she reflects on the future.

”I’m just imagining what a world would look like without me in it. I’m not scared of dying but of leaving my baby behind. I want to see her grow a little bigger. HIV will try to rule my life on the inside but outside I will be boss. I want to study and have a good job, I want to go on with my life.”

Beyond the radio, Thembi also writes a blog http://thembisaidsdiarytour.vox.com/.

A recent concert hosted by the South African government, she reflects below on how AIDS messages still don´t effectively reach young people at risk.

”I felt like those images on those big screens with infected people had nothing to do with me. It reminded me of high school. When they would show pictures of thin, poor orphans that look like they are dying, and try to scare you out of having sex. But it never works because young, South African, at-risk kids do not see themselves in those images. They cannot imagine that it can happen to them.”

Her has been used as a teaching tool all over the