Teams of UKC volunteers will be visiting
a centre near you soon to urge you to get involved in the biggest conferencing
experience of people living with HIV, writes Susan Cole
Looking at the report from the 2004 UK conference for people living with HIV
and Aids, Changing Tomorrow, I cringe.
Don’t get me wrong, the event was spectacular. It’s just there’s
a photo of me, pregnancy breasts resting lethargically on my beach ball belly
- not a good look. But when I read on about the conference, and put aside
my vanity for once, it all came back to me.
More than 400 people attended Changing Tomorrow, the largest UK conference
of people living with HIV. The atmosphere crackled with excitement and promise.
For many, it was the first time they were able to speak to others living with
HIV in such an open forum and share their experiences.
“It was great for networking” enthused Jon, “None of my
friends have HIV and I met some great people. It’s great to be able
to discuss HIV openly like it doesn’t matter.”
Coming together
“This conference has shown that men, women, gay and African can stand
together, find common ground, mix, mingle and make friends,” said conference
co-ordinator Babs Evans at the closing ceremony.
People left energised with renewed purpose. A unified voice of all Africans
throughout the UK was launched as a result called Africans Getting Involved
(AGI).
“It was the best opportunity for us to start something meaningful and
to finally get a chance to speak up. AGI was born at the conference”
said AGI’s Viola.
The 2004 conference was an incredible success. People came together, developing
their knowledge in workshops and seminars, sharing experiences, forming networks.
Guess you’re thinking we’ll do it all over again in the same way?
Well, actually no. This year we’re doing things differently.
New and improved
The problem with the last conference was it was seriously oversubscribed and
we had to turn down many applications due to lack of places. So while we enabled
the voices of 350 people living with HIV to be heard, we inadvertently silenced
many who couldn’t attend.
To overcome this we’ve improved the event’s structure. This year
we’re having regional meetings across the UK and Ireland to ensure everyone
gets a chance to make their voice heard. A traditional-style, larger conference
will be held in London in September, fed by what comes out of the regions.
In turn, findings from the London conference will be reported back in 14 regional
feedback sessions.
Have your say
Living with HIV raises a raft of issues and problems and this is your chance
to speak up about what matters to you: it may be stigma, services, treatment
and care, legal issues or tackling HIV discrimination at work. You set the
agenda.
At the heart of the conferencing experience is a team of Community Engagement
Volunteers (CEVs) who will work with regional partners to train and develop
regional volunteers. I met with a group of CEVs to find out more about their
aspirations for the conference. I was humbled by their enthusiasm and vision.
They talked with excitement about finally going out to meet with regional
partners and people living with HIV around the country. “It’s
better to meet people face-to-face,” explained John. “It’s
important to find out what the regional partners want. Communication is very
important.”
The benefit of regional events over just one large one was highlighted by
Sam.
“One of the main benefits is more participants’ views will be
taken on board. The probability of this is much higher than in a traditional
big conference. We will find out the issues affecting you in your local area
rather than simply focusing on London.”
Changing the agenda
We are eager that the agendas for the regional meetings and main conference
are set by people living with HIV across the country, rather than simply dictating
what it is felt needs to be discussed.
“The beauty of this approach is that we’re not biased in anyway
and don’t have any preconceptions,” said CEV Stephen. “Sometimes
HIV organisations can develop tunnel-vision. Doing things this way will bring
in a different perspective.”
Ephraim, another CEV, added: “The ultimate aim of the conference as
a whole is to make the voices of people living with HIV heard by the policy
makers. If we acheive this we will benefit all of us.”
• To find out more about the 2007 UK and Ireland Conferencing of People
Living with HIV and AIDS contact Robert Harvey: 020 7564 2180 • rharvey@ukcoalition.org
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