[INTERNATIONAL AIDS
CONFERENCE]

The biannual International AIDS Conference brings over 20,000 AIDS experts together
to share the latest on their work. This year’s conference theme, “Rights Here,
Right Now”, had special meaning for the groups we work with in Asia.

At this year’s Vienna meeting, Asia Catalyst provided support to a group of
Chinese AIDS nonprofits. KOREKATA AIDS LAW CENTER sent three people, who joined
with us and THAI AIDS TREATMENT ACTION GROUP to run a workshop on rights documentation
skills. AIBAI, a Chinese LGBT group, sent William Lian, who provided ongoing
support and translation for Zhao Gang (KANGXIN HOME, a Yunnan drug users’
group) and Ai Khamngen (SANGHA METTA, an ethnic minority Buddhist group working
on HIV/AIDS in Yunnan). We also helped a few other Chinese and Thai activists
by arranging phones, maps and apartments.

We worked hard with each Chinese activist who needed help to make sure they got
everything they could out of the conference. We provided advance training on
advocacy, then set up meetings for Chinese NGOs with Open Society Institute, UNAIDS,
the Global Fund, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.

Chinese activists were also able to connect with their own government representatives
in a different context. As one observed, “When they see me here, it’s like
we’re on an equal footing.” (You can see more Chinese NGO comments on the
conference at https://bit.ly/bEEYL6).

A highlight of the conference was the march for HIV/AIDS and human rights in the
center of the city. Our Chinese colleagues expressed amazement at the sight of
thousands of people marching peacefully, while police watched on the sidelines.
Asia Catalyst had a booth in the Global Village, and gave oral and poster
presentations. Ken Oh, the editor of Asia
Report, took part in an advance training on HIV/AIDS for journalists.

It was an intense but energizing meeting. We’re still thinking about ways to carry
the spirit and theme of the conference forward in our work. A special thank you
to everyone who donated – we raised over $1300 to fund our work at the
conference.

[TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE]

In May, Gisa Hartmann conducted her first solo technical assistance trip to China,
spending a week with PHOENIX, the organization of sex workers in Yunnan.
Together, they worked on reviewing financial reports, creating a system for
volunteer management, and starting a new project to reach out to trafficking
survivors from Vietnam.

While driving together back to Kunming, the provincial capital, Phoenix director Li
Man became seriously ill and was hospitalized. She is now fully recovered and
back in the office, working with members and volunteers on a strategic plan and
budget for the next year (and thanks everyone who sent their good wishes).

Gisa’s visit overlapped with the arrival of summer graduate intern Mike Frick (an MPH
student at Harvard University). He spent May through August in Gejiu, training
a group of five Phoenix volunteers in the basics of rights research. For this
innovative training, Mike used our rights documentation curriculum (still in
development), and some exercises he developed himself. The research team has
now interviewed ten PLHIV about medical discrimination. You can read more in
Mike’s blog: https://bit.ly/cJJsnV

Our two fiscal agent grantees, AIBAI and the WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA PROJECT, are
both building on their past successes. This spring and summer, Aibai held a
series of trainings for LGBT groups in China on how to use democratic methods
to hold meetings and make decisions.

Who Killed Chea Vichea?, a documentary investigating the assassination of a Cambodian labor rights
activist, has been gathering accolades at film festivals, and got some international
press after a screening in Cambodia was shut down by police (https://www.whokilledcheavichea.com/wccv.html).
The film will preview on PBS in the not-too-distant future.

For 2010-11, we’re planning to change our approach to enable us to help a larger
number of Asian AIDS groups. This will allow us to provide consulting services
on a more short-term basis and to begin working with more groups in Thailand
and Myanmar – stay tuned…

[RIGHTS CURRICULUM]

Asia Catalyst, Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group, and Korekata AIDS Law Center are
working together to develop a rights documentation and advocacy curriculum for
grassroots NGOs working in AIDS-affected communities. Know It, Prove It, Change It: A Rights Curriculum for Grassroots Groups is a three-part series that draws on intensive consultation with local NGOs to
create a resource that meets their needs, in Thai, Chinese and English.

We originally planned a workshop to field-test the first book of the series, Prove It: Documenting Rights Abuses, in
Bangkok in May, but this was postponed due to the unrest in Thailand. The
workshop will take place in the near future. We’ll have Prove It out this fall, and have already begun work on the second
volume, Know It, which explains how to analyze rights issues in local communities.

[ONLINE]

Our Chinese-language website on economic and social rights, Asia Report (https://www.yazhoudiaocha.com), featured in-depth coverage of the International AIDS Conference. Ken, our editor, is continuing to build the
Asian AIDS Law Database and profiles of NGOs in Asia. Our English-language blog
Economic and Social Rights in Asia (https://www.asiacatalyst.org/blog/)
is attracting a growing number of viewers to such posts as our report-back on
the Vienna conference, our analysis of new regulations on Chinese NGOs, and the
ever-popular strategic planning tools.

Our work to inform people about the new rules on Chinese NGOs got
us a couple of mentions in the press this quarter. Check out the coverage in
the Christian Science Monitor (https://bit.ly/8ZCaSC) and South China Morning Post.

In the coming year, we’ll expand our online resources, creating a
single site to share short Asian-language posts and training videos on
organizational management skills.

[ON THE HOME FRONT]

Asia Catalyst is delighted to welcome three new board members: Carolyn Bartholomew,
Christina Lem and Prof. Timothy Pachirat.

Carolyn is the Vice-Chairman of the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission,
and has a long-time interest in HIV/AIDS policy issues. Christina is the Grants
Specialist at Poets House, and formerly worked with the Gates Foundation. Tim
is an assistant professor in the Department of Politics at the New School.

Our new board members are bringing new ideas and energy, and we’re excited to have
their help as Asia Catalyst grows.

We’re also pleased to welcome back Carol Wang as part-time editor of our rights
curriculum. Carol previously helped to edit and publish our report on access to
AIDS treatment for children.

We had a great team of interns and volunteers this summer. In addition to Mike in
Yunnan, our team included Hayley Curry in Nepal, who wrote about new
developments on civil society and democracy there for Asia Report. In New York, Adam Froiran worked part-time as
administrative assistant and part-time as a researcher on AIDS and human rights.
And artist Sally Hancox worked with us to design a snappy, colorful poster and
booth for the International AIDS Conference.

A shout-out, too, to Ariel Herrera, who has been helping us to think through
plans for an Asia Catalyst office in Southeast Asia. We’re grateful to all our staff
and volunteers, on the board and in the office, for their commitment and
dedication.

[LEND A HAND]

Individual donations from you are essential to our survival, and all gifts are tax-deductible.

To make a secure gift via Paypal, go to www.asiacatalyst.org/donate.
You can also give through our Facebook Cause page for Asia Catalyst. Or, mail a
check to: Asia Catalyst, P.O. Box 20839, New York, NY 10009.

We’re also looking for assistance with a long-overdue overhaul of our website. If you
know any talented young designers looking to build their portfolio, please send
them our way.

We always welcome comments and suggestions at info@asiacatalyst.org.