Contacts with other regions
---------------------------
Dear all
Following recent postings re. the above, here is a brief introduction
to the SEA-AIDS information support services for the Asia Pacific re-
gion.
Tim France
Information Support Manager
UNAIDS Asia Pacific Intercountry Team
Bangkok, Thailand
mailto:france.unescap@un.org
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Introducing SEA-AIDS
Welcome to SEA-AIDS, the electronic-mail discussion and information
service aimed at bringing together the people building and shaping the
response to HIV and AIDS in South East Asia.
The sea-aids services have been designed for a broad range of people in
the region including:
- People living with HIV or AIDS
- Those working in government ministries, non-governmental and commu-
nity-based organisations, and other national and international or-
ganisations
- Representatives of the business sector
- Existing HIV/AIDS documentation/information centres
- Educational establishments
- Women's networks
- Provincial and district level administration
- Journalist/media groups
- Religious organisations, and
- Research institutions.
Using these services over 1000 subscribers exchange experiences and in-
formation with colleagues and partners in the region, and stay informed
with developments, news and regional HIV/AIDS activities.
To save you time, sea-aids has been set up so that all you have to do
is send simple e-mail messages and the sea-aids computer will automati-
cally do the work for you. For those who are new to electronic mail,
step-by-step instructions are provided at every stage.
If you do need any further information or assistance there are contact
details provided below for some human feedback.
How do I subscribe?
To subscribe to SEA-AIDS, send an e-mail message to:
majordomo@lists.inet.co.th
containing the following in the text body of the message:
subscribe sea-aids
or if you have access to the worldwide web, point your browser at:
http://www.inet.co.th/org/unaids/lists.htm
Three services are provided as part of sea-aids: AIDSLink, AIDSFiles
and AIDSFlash.
*AIDSLink*
What is it?
AIDSLink provides a forum through which the people working on HIV/AIDS
in the region can exchange information and follow-up on meetings, con-
ferences and publications or reports.
How does it work?
It works like other computer-based mailing lists - any electronic mail
you send to the sea-aids computer (or 'postings' as they are called)
will be automatically forwarded to all sea-aids subscribers.
Postings from other people will be similarly forwarded to all subscrib-
ers - including you. In this way it is you - the subscribers of sea-
aids - who generate the content, by choosing to share important infor-
mation, materials and news with the others in the 'network'.
Different types of postings are possible, from short messages to whole
documents, and from policy recommendations to requests for information
or technical assistance. Postings which are not relevant to HIV/AIDS in
the region, and those that promote commercial services, will be ex-
cluded.
Do you have a valuable piece of information or data, like a new docu-
ment, or news of your own experiences with HIV/AIDS? Or would you like
help in identifying specific HIV/AIDS information or expertise? Then
use AIDSLink to contact other subscribers throughout the region.
How do I use it?
To communicate or share information with other sea-aids participants in
this way, send your e-mail messages to:
sea-aids@lists.inet.co.th
*AIDSFiles*
What is it?
AIDSFiles is an electronic information storage system - a bit like a
computer-based filing cabinet for HIV/AIDS-related information and ma-
terials in the region.
How does it work?
Documents and other types of information can be retrieved from this
system by sea-aids subscribers using easy-to-follow e-mail procedures.
You will also receive regular updates of new information and documents
added to this storage system, as well as periodic reminders of the
steps used to retrieve them.
Like most subscribers of sea-aids, you probably use e-mail through
telephone lines, and we would like to help keep your telephone costs to
a minimum. For this reason, large documents or other materials sent to
the group will be kept in the storage system described above - sub-
scribers will be told about them and how to retrieve them. This has two
benefits: first, only those who are interested in reading specific ma-
terials will have to spend time connected to the telephone system to
obtain them; and second, over time a valuable collection of materials
will be developed for future reference by all sea-aids subscribers. In-
structions for retrieving files are included in each issue of
AIDSFlash.
to view the archives, point your web browser at:
http://www.inet.co.th/org/unaids/
*AIDSFlash*
What is it?
AIDSFlash is a bi-weekly electronic newsletter that provides a digest
of HIV/AIDS-related information as it becomes available in the region.
It includes details of new documents and publications, news items and
forthcoming conferences or training courses. It provides details of
other relevant information retrieved from the Internet - a world-wide
computer network - to which many colleagues in the region do not have
access. It also contains a description of new documents and information
as they are added to the AIDSFiles system described above.
How do I get it?
AIDSFlash is sent automatically to all sea-aids participants on the 2nd
and 15th day of each month. The latest issue of AIDSFlash is available
on request.
The sea-aids information services are provided free of charge by the
UNAIDS Intercountry Technical Support Team - for further information
contact:
UNAIDS Asia-Pacific Intercountry Team,
UNESCAP Building (B359)
Rajadamnoen Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Tel: +66-2-288-2498
Fax: +66-2-288-1092
Direct E-mail (for human contact): france.unescap@un.org
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