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Conference Vision
AIDS 2006 is rooted firmly in the vision that the International
AIDS Conference must foster an environment of scientific inquiry,
forthright dialogue, collective action, and greater accountability
among all parties. The conference theme for AIDS 2006 is Time to
Deliver, reminding us of past and present commitments for action
on HIV/AIDS and demanding accountability for those promises at every
level of the response. AIDS 2006 will be a landmark opportunity to
review our collective experience with the epidemic and set an agenda
for future action.
Specifically, the Conference seeks to:
expand public awareness of the continued impact of and global
response to HIV/AIDS;
highlight recent successes, as well as current challenges, and
the potential to overcome them;
underscore the central role of basic, clinical and prevention
science in the global response to HIV/AIDS and the need for
evidence-based programming that is based on sound research.
influence key policy makers to increase commitment and
responsible action based on evidence;
support the engagement and destigmatisation of PLWHAs and those
working professionally in HIV/AIDS;
enable those working in the field of HIV/AIDS to be better
prepared to meet the needs of those affected by and living with
HIV/AIDS;
enable those working in the field of HIV/AIDS to be better
prepared to meet the needs of those affected by and living with
HIV/AIDS; and
be inclusive of those engaged in the response to AIDS, and
transparent in the way that it is planned and implemented.
As a gathering that brings together so many people to focus on
such a politically charged life and death issue, the Conference will
always generate controversy. It must also be a place that focuses
attention on evidence and outcomes over rhetoric. To that end, the
AIDS 2006 programme and related activities will acknowledge and
disseminate best practices, nurture productive discourse, highlight
successes and shortfalls in the response to AIDS, and engage the
global AIDS community to collectively tackle the key challenges
before us.
The ability to accomplish these goals depends not just on the
structure and content of the Conference Programme and activities,
but also on the effective engagement of the broadest possible array
of stakeholders. The expansion of the scholarship programmes, an
abstract mentoring programme, reduced registration fees––including
substantial reductions for those from less-developed nations––and
greater online dissemination of Conference proceedings for those who
cannot attend will enrich the Conference proceedings and enhance our
collective ability to transfer knowledge to those settings where it
is most needed.
The Conference Organising Committee and the other programme
committees, reflecting the three components of the Conference
programme––science, community and leadership––and guided by the
ideals and goals described above, are working collaboratively to
translate the vision for AIDS 2006 into
reality.
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Conference Organising Committee
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Co-Chairs
Helene Gayle, IAS
President
Mark A. Wainberg, Toronto Local Host
Chair
Members
Richard Burzynski, ICASO
Pedro
Cahn, IAS President-elect
Liviana Calzavara, Toronto Local
Host
Honourable Aileen Carroll, Toronto Local Host
Evan
Collins, Toronto Local Host
Achmat Dangor, UNAIDS
Rodrigo
Pascal, GNP+
Claire Mulanga, UNAIDS
Souleymane Mboup, IAS
Regional Representative
Craig McClure, IAS Executive
Director
Ron Rosenes, Toronto Local Host
N.M Samuel, IAS
Regional Representative
Shaleena Theophilus, Canadian NGO
Representative
Alejandra Trossero,
ICW
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IAS Future Directions project guiding development of AIDS
2006 Programme |
In 2004, the
International AIDS Society launched the Future Directions project to
consult with a wide range of stakeholders in the International AIDS
Conference and determine what works about the Conference and what
needs improvement. IAS received input through group consultations,
confidential interviews, internet forums, and other means.
Recommendations that came out of the process, including altering the
structure of some sessions to encourage more dialogue and productive
debate, organizing some sessions around key challenges, increasing
the presence and quality of science programming, and using the
Conference to promote greater accountability, are being integrated
into the AIDS 2006 planning and programme development.
The
largest and most diverse international gathering dedicated to a
global health issue, the Conference brings together delegates
representing all those involved in combatting the epidemic––
researchers, healthcare workers, civil society, governments, UN
organizations, activists, donors, industry, the media, and people
living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs)––with the central goal of creating
long-term strategies for reversing the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
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