Call for Participants to a Symposium - Coping with HIV/AIDS
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Preventing and Coping with HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict Societies:
Gender-based lessons from sub-Saharan Africa
26 - 28 March 2001
Durban, South Africa
Sponsored by:
Tulane University Payson Center for International Development and
Technology Transfer
African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes
United States Agency for International Development
In Association With:
The World Bank - Pretoria
"The HIV epidemic rages in situations where power is exercised with-
out regard of others, whether that power be economic, social, sexual,
psychological or the power of force. It spreads where there is a dis-
regard for life, an intolerance of difference, a devaluing of women,
a lack of a will to live, a breakdown of community values, violence
and conflict... What is required to respond to it is a way of perceiv-
ing and constructing social reality in its interconnectedness."
[Ever more Effective Responses to HIV/AIDS Discussion: HIV in Situa-
tions of Conflict. <http://rrmeet.undp.org.in/disc4/0000000a.htm>\]
This SYMPOSIUM ON PREVENTING AND COPING WITH HIV/AIDS IN POST-
CONFLICT SOCIETIES: GENDER-BASED LESSONS FROM SUB-SAHARAHN AFRICA, is
scheduled to be held from 26-28 March 2001 in Durban, South Africa.
The symposium seeks to bring together a selection of Africans engaged
in governmental and non-governmental activities to combat HIV/AIDS in
post-conflict countries, with the aim of exploring commonalties in
their approaches.
At the meeting, each invitee may be asked to present on one panel in
addition to participating in small group work aimed at identifying
common "lessons learned" in programs that seek to empower communities
in post-conflict areas to prevent and cope with HIV/AIDS and build
sustainable peace. In addition, prior to the symposium each partici-
pant will submit a narrative or essay sharing their experiences work-
ing in this field. These essays will be published together with the
conference proceedings.
The Symposium will have three main goals:
1. To provide a quick overview of gender-sensitive practices and
knowledge in preventing and coping with HIV/AIDS in the aftermath of
violent conflict.
2. To expand this knowledge base by sharing and disseminating the ex-
periences of Africans who are confronting these issues in their coun-
tries.
3. To identify recommendations and strategies for practitioners, poli-
cymakers, and donors on how these efforts can be best supported.
Participants will also be encouraged to propose ways in which to
maximize the benefits of their participation in the symposium, in-
cluding suggestions on the agenda and mechanics of the event.
The gathering is not conceived as either a formal academic conference
nor a training course led by outside "experts." Rather, it will pro-
vide a forum for networking, learning, and sharing experiences
amongst all participants. Symposium sponsors, in this sense, will not
be "trainers" but facilitators; participants will learn from and
teach one another.
We are currently soliciting applications from Africans residing in
post-conflict areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. These applicants should be
currently involved in a leadership role in preventing/coping with the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, peace building, and/or women's empowerment, par-
ticularly at the grassroots level.
Travel, workshop expenses, and per diem for selected participants
will be fully subsidized for those requiring financial assistance.
(Application procedures can be found at the end of this document.)
The principal language of the symposium will be English.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
The symposium will only be able to accommodate a total of 15-20 par-
ticipants. Applicants will be selected on the basis of their experi-
ence working with HIV/AIDS prevention, women's empowerment, and/or
peace building at the grassroots in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as
their writing and analytical skills. In addition, the sponsors of
this workshop are strongly committed to diverse participation, with
balanced representation among different countries, professions, back-
grounds, and experiences.
In the selection process, priority will be given to those actively
dealing with the following issues in a leadership capacity:
1. Gender issues in addressing HIV/AIDS in the process of demobilization
and reintegration of ex-combatants;
2. Empowering women and girls as a means to prevent/cope with HIV/AIDS
and/or build sustainable peace;
3. Gender issues in caring for HIV/AIDS orphans in communities re-
cently affected by conflict;
4. Gender issues in caring for PLWAs (people living with HIV/AIDS) in
communities recently affected by conflict;
5. Gender issues in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS prevention and control in
the process of rehabilitating or rebuilding health services;
6. Using HIV/AIDS programs as a bridge for peace.
TO APPLY:
Please provide the following information no later than February 16,
2001
1. Full name, home and work addresses, telephone and (if applicable)
fax and email.
2. Organization you work for/with and your position
3. CV or resume, with two references (including their telephone num-
bers or email addresses)
4. A short (600 word maximum) writing on your ideas about the theme of
the symposium. This needs to accompany your application. Why do you
wish to attend this symposium? How does it relate to your work?
5. Of the themes listed above, which are you most focused upon?
6. Selected participants will be required to prepare and submit, in
advance of the symposium, a 5-7-page narrative in English of a pro-
ject or activity in which they are engaged. The narrative will de-
scribe the nature of the problem being addressed, the resources re-
quired, types of interventions that are warranted, and how to measure
success. This writing must be received by symposium organizers no
later than March 15. Are you willing and able to fulfill this re-
quirement? (Guidelines for the narrative will be provided)
7. Are you presently able to travel internationally?
8. Are you able to write and participate in a workshop in which the
principal medium is English? If your command of English is limited,
please let us know what other languages you do speak.
9. Will you be able to get full or partial funding from your organiza-
tion or a third party for travel expenses? (note: getting travel as-
sistance will be appreciated by the symposium organizers and enable a
greater number of individuals to participate. However, your inability
to get outside funding will NOT be an important consideration in the
selection of participants.)
10.If you do have access to partial funding from your organization or
another source, please give an estimate of how much would that be (in
US dollars).
11.If possible, please indicate the current price of a round-trip air
ticket from your location to and from Durban, South Africa around the
dates of the symposium.
Please send the application to both:
Ms. Pravina Makan-Lakha
ACCORD
2-4 Golf Course Drive
Mount Edgecombe 4300
Pvt. Bag X018, Umhlanga Rocks
South Africa
Fax +27-31-502-4160
mailto:pravina@accord.org.za
and
Ms. Colleen McGinn
Tulane University
901 N. Stuart St #1100DRAFT
Arlington, VA 22203, USA
Fax: +1-703-243-1358
mailto:drobb@payson.tulane.edu
Agenda Outline
Day One
* Preventing and Coping with HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict African Socie-
ties: What We Do and Don't Know, and Implications for Policy and Pro-
grams
* Life Stories: Living with HIV/AIDS in the Aftermath of War
* Gender-Sensitive Practices in Preventing HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict
Societies
* Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants
* Girls' Empowerment
* Gender-Sensitive Practices in Coping with HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict
Societies
* Caring for Orphans and People Living with HIV/AIDS
* Rehabilitating or Rebuilding Health Services
Day Two
* Health as a Bridge to Peace
* What Factors are Driving the Pandemic in Post-Conflict Societies
* Successful Case Studies: Programs to Prevent and Cope with HIV/AIDS
in Post-Conflict Societies
* What Conditions Favor or Hinder Successes
Day Three
* Lessons Learned in Preventing and Coping with HIV/AIDS in Post-
Conflict African Societies
* Building on Lessons Learned: Dialogue and Recommendations for Afri-
can Governments
* Building on Lessons Learned: Dialogue and Recommendations for the
International Community
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