Meg Davis and Lanlan at AIDS 2012 in the Global Village.
This year Asia Catalyst sent four Chinese activists and ten staff members and volunteers to the AIDS 2012 conference in D.C. Here are a few short reflections of and pictures from our time.
- Our session on civil society in China was a really great, thoughtful, lively and overall optimistic discussion between three rising young advocates, Zheng Huang (China Sex Worker Organization Network), Yuan Wenli (China Network of Women Against HIV/AIDS), and Shen Tingting (Korekata AIDS Law Center). I only wish it had been on a platform where the speakers could have reached a larger audience.
Xiao Bao, Meg Davis, Tony, and Lanlan at We Can End AIDS march.
- I loved marching and holding a red umbrella identifying me as sex worker, while shouting “sex work is work.” I could
never do that in China. Overall, I felt that female sex workers lacked representation at the conference; it’s a real shame. - It was great to participate in the march. I saw very diverse groups use all different ways to express their demands, such as sex workers, drug users, and men who have sex with men.
Gisa Hartmann being interviewed on Voice of America.
- A personal highlight was my first on-camera interview in Chinese! Also, my one-on-one conversation with Wu Zunyou (head of the Chinese National Center for AIDS/STD Prevention and Control) was really helpful because he raised the need for more capacity building in Chinese NGOs.
- Sadly women’s issues are still ignored in the conference. There were far fewer workshops or panels that focused exclusively on women, and those that existed had much smaller audiences.
Tingting, Karyn Kaplan, and Sak at the Meet the Activists panel.
- I was very impressed by all three delegates’ strong presentations on behalf of their communities and organizations. After working with them for seven days straight it is obvious to me how knowledgeable they are about community issues and problems.
- I benefited a lot from the exhibitions of advanced medical technologies, like CD4 testing machines, from the big pharmacy companies. These new technologies strengthen community-based organizations in terms of service delivery of prevention, treatment, care, and support.
- I will remember having all my optimism tempered throughout the conference by reminders from scientists, activists, and community groups that HIV transmission among men who have sex with men continues to increase in almost all contexts, even in high income countries where treatment has been available for decades.
Xiao Bao, Yuan Wenli, Laura Bush, and Lanlan in the Global Village.
- I was especially excited when Laura Bush walked right by the booth and said hello and took a picture with the Chinese activists.
- Even though our focus is East and Southeast Asia, our resources have no boundaries–Know It, Prove It Change It and our Nonprofit Survival Guide drew interest from around the world–particularly developing countries in the global South that are seeing an emerging civil society take root. This year we highlighted our Rights Curriculum, Know It, Prove It, Change It to great acclaim. The Know It workshop drew a diverse crowd, and allowed for several interesting exchanges, namely between rights activists in Africa and Asia.
- What I found most impactful about AIDS 2012 and the Global Village was the dedication with which so many people from so many different locations, circumstances, and even disciplines within the HIV/AIDS movement rallied together, reached out, and celebrated one another. I found the Global Village to have a surprisingly strong sense of community for how fleeting almost all of the connections and interactions were.
