GCM Events for WAD 08

Global Campaign for Microbicides Events for World AIDS Day, 2008

South Africa

November 28, 2008
	As part of the international "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence" GCM will host a workshop on microbicides in Johannesburg for the Positive Women's Network, an organisation of, by and for women livign with HIV.

December 1, 2008 – World AIDS Day
Dr. Samu Dube, GCM’s new Africa Team Leader, will participate in a panel discussion of on new prevention technologies convened jointly by the South Africa Clinicians Society and the Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa (DENOSA ). This follows on a cover story featuring Dr. Dube appearing in the November issue of Nursing Update, DENOSA’s professional journal.

Kenya

December 2, 2008
	GCM, in collaboration with local NGOs, will be hosting a screening of our film, in Women's Hands, in Nairobi as a pre-World AIDS Day event. The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by GCM staffer Pauline Irungu.

Participants will also be introduced to other materials that GCM has developed including the Microbicides Essentials course, a resource available on-line and on CD Rom that is designed to help advocates, clinical trial staff, researchers and all those involved in the field of microbicides answer the tough questions we hear everyday.

India

December 10, 2008
	To mark Human Rights Day and the conclusion of the "16 Days of Activism", GCM will be hosting a showing of our film, In Women's Hands, in Bangalore, India in collaboration with local sexual and reproductive health and rights NGOs.

In addition to facilitating a post-film discussion, GCM staffer Paramita Kundu will also introduce participants to GCM’s new fact sheet on ARV-based prevention to assess local demand for translation of the same

Europe

November 28, 2008
	GCM will be showing En manos de las mujeres, the Spanish version of our film, during a brown bag lunch hosted by Ayuda en Accion in Madrid, Spain for development NGOs interested in learning more and starting the discussion about microbicides.

December 1, 2008 - World AIDS Day
GCM staffer Arwa Meijer will be presenting on new prevention technologies at a satellite meeting held in conjunction with the Party of European Socialists (PES) Council meeting in Madrid. The satellite meeting is convened by PES Women and focused on “The fight against HIV/AIDS; our common commitment”. The PES Council is a major gathering of European socialist and social-democrats, bringing together more 240 delegates from the PES member parties across Europe, as well as numerous guests and PES activists.

December 2, 2008
To mark World AIDS Day, the UK Campaign for Microbicides (a GCM affiliate) and the Prevention Working Group of the UK Consortium of AIDS and International Development will hold a briefing entitled “Where next for New HIV Prevention Technologies?” at the Royal Society in London. The audience will be diverse mix of civil society advocates, parliamentarians, policy makers and scientists.

December 3/4, 2008
GCM, IPM, IAVI and Stop AIDS Alliance will mark World AIDS Day in Brussels by staffing a booth at the European Parliament during one of its mini-plenary sessions. Distributing specially designed World AIDS day postcards and other materials, these organizations will engage Members of the European Parliament in one-on-one conversations urging them to show leadership in four main areas, including expansion of their support for microbicides research and development.

United States of America

December 1, 2008
The University of North Carolina/Charlotte chapter of Face AIDS will host a screening of GCM’s film, In Women’s Hands on World AIDS Day to help educate the student body about the range of HIV prevention goals. With 190 chapters in schools and colleges across the US, FACE AIDS conducts fund-raising activities to support the Africa-based work of Partners in Health.

December 1, 2008
In Aurora, Colorado, the Women’s Lighthouse Project will host GCM’s Giving Women Power Over AIDS photo-exhibit at The Other Side Arts (TOSA) gallery, a nonprofit gallery dedicated to building community and increasing tolerance through art. The Women’s Lighthouse Project is a support organization by and for women living with HIV. Their annual World AIDS Day event also features a Dec. 5 wine and cheese reception at which VIP donors can view the exhibit and meet Miss Colorado 2009. The exhibit will also be open to the public free of charge during regular gallery hours.

Week of World AIDS Day – dates various
As a part of GCM’s close collaboration with the American Medical Students Association over the last three years, (which includes a co-convened annual Microbicides Leadership Institute and joint strategy development), several AMSA chapters around the country are using GCM’s film, “In Women’s Hands” as the centerpiece of their 2008 World AIDS Day events. Among these are:

December 1, 2008
The University of Minnesota Medical School’s Physicians for Human Rights group will host a screening in conjunction with a lecture on microbicides.

December 2, 2008
The Southern Illinois University Medical School at Springfield will host a screening, followed by discussion.

Week of World AIDS (Date TBD)
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Medicine’s chapter of the American Medical Students Association will host a screening for pre-medical students to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and microbicides.

GCM is now expanding this collaboration into an active relationship with the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations, which will launch with a presentation by Dr. Samu Dube at the IFMSA annual meeting in Durban, South Africa in late December.