Insider’s guide about what not to miss in Amsterdam
About me: I have been a volunteer, activist, and employee since 1983 in HIV, and before that in the Lesbian and Gay and other social activism movements. I have worked in the UK and internationally since the early 70’s in the LGBT and HIV sectors.
I have made my living as an actor, train driver, running telephone exchanges, as a restaurant and night club manager, antiques dealer, tour guide, sex worker, social worker, trainer, managing community-based projects and organizations, researcher, consultant, trainer.
From 2009 until 2017 I was working at GNP+, though was a volunteer with them for nearly a decade before that; I have been living with HIV for about 30 years
I am from the UK and live in Amsterdam.
It is a great privilege to have been asked by ICASO to write a series of blogs leading up to AIDS 2018.
I have been living in Amsterdam for the past eight years and am a survivor of many of the crazy, exhilarating, and sometimes overwhelming global AIDS conferences. I hope, over the coming months, to give you some tips and tricks of how to make the best of the conference and your time in Amsterdam.
This blog is not here to duplicate anything on the AIDS2018 website about the final programme, results of abstract and scholarship submissions, accommodation etc. For that you should still go to the AIDS2018 website
But first a little history …. This will be the 22nd International AIDS Conference – and the second one to be held in Amsterdam. The first, in 1992, had the theme A World United Against AIDS. It was organized at very short notice, in less than a year, ...
Less than 4 months and counting. In my last blog I talked about looking back to look forward and the last global AIDS conference in Amsterdam in 1992… thanks for the feedback received. Looking forward now to AIDS2018 much has changed – but much remains the same. Two of ...
When Nkosi Johnson, a 11 year old boy gave the keynote speech at the 13th International AIDS Conference (Durban, 2000) he was one of the first young people to speak at the IAC. He encouraged people living with HIV to be open about the disease and to seek equal treatment. ...
The Dutch government response The response of the Netherlands to HIV has always been widely accepted as effective, pragmatic, rights based and inclusive of those most affected. At the national level examples include the prevention programmes which started in the early 1980’s, including in 1984 the setting up of ...
No Pants No Problem The not-to-be-missed-party details announcement! This is happening at The Marktkantine on Thursday July 26th. The Marktkantine is next door to the main wholesale food market in Amsterdam and a short bus/tram ride from most of central Amsterdam. There is a Facebook page where you will ...
Breaking News The Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) is hosting the People Living with HIV Networking Zone in the Global Village. They are inviting local, national and regional PLHIV organizations to submit proposals to host interactive presentations, panel discussions, art and entertainment activities. If you are ...
Dawn in Amsterdam during the summer is beautiful, fresh, and still. In late July sunrise will be just after 5.15am. This may be some consolation for the fact that some sessions will be starting at 7.00am on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the conference From the eight ...
On the main stage in the Global Village all through the week there will be performances and events. Here are a few of the highlights I have picked out: On Wednesday 25 July, 17:20 – 18:20 there will be a U=U 2018 dance party! And don’t forget on ...
It was not until the 1993 AIDS conference in Berlin that a person who uses drugs openly living with HIV was given the opportunity to address a plenary of the International AIDS Conference. That was John Mourdant, who repeatedly used the refrain in his plenary address “There is no ...
An AIDS conference would not be worthy of its name without a few or indeed several disruptions to the ‘scheduled programme’. Such protests and actions challenge complacency and call people to account. The background to the history of protests at the AIDS Conferences is well put by Shaun Mellors ...
With less than a week to go information is flying in thick and fast as final programmes – especially for the Global Village spaces and networking zones – are finalised. Keep on checking back on the conference programme to see more – and even when you arrive at the ...
Some people reading this blog will not be going to AIDS 2018. Here are some ways you can keep up with some of what is going on even if you are not attending the conference. Those of you who are going to be at AIDS 2018 might also find ...
GNP+ has announced the program for the People Living with HIV Networking Zone in the Global Village (Booth 501). It promises ‘An array of panels, dialogues, discussions, art and entertainment activities will be hosted at the zone every day during the conference’.
Ready. Steady, GO… the last ‘blog’ as the conference begins
As the conference is now upon us, this is the last in my blog series for ICASO to help you prepare for the event.
As I said in my first blog of this series, it is a great privilege to have been asked by ICASO to write these blogs leading up to AIDS 2018.