Advocacy is a critically important part of the International AIDS Conferences. Many organizations and coalitions spend much time (and money) to try and ensure their issue is visible at the Conference. Although much progress has been made over the years to achieve inclusion of community issues, some groups continue to feel frustrated at the lack of “airtime” their issue gets.
Here are some things to consider when planning your involvement at the Conference:

1. Think about whether it is even worth it for your organization or coalition to be involved. What will you get out of your issue being part of the programme? Do you have the time? Do you have the resources? Will it take time and resources away from the other work you have to do? In short, be sure it is worth it for you and your group.

2. If you do decide you want to proceed, bring together your coalition/constituency and strategize about how and where you want your issue to be represented at the Conference.

3. Familiarize yourself with the many different parts of the Conference, how it is organized, and the key players in the International AIDS Society, the Co-organizers, and the various planning committees.

4. Be aware of the calls for nominations for the various planning committees and working groups and nominate members from your constituency.  Once the committee membership is set, identify who on the different committees will be supportive of your issues.

5. Be aware of the calls for submissions to various parts of the Conference programme and make sure you submit innovative, exciting, well-written submissions.

6. If you still think your issue is not getting adequate representation, you can try writing letters to the committee co-chairs. Instead of just making demands for greater involvement and visibility, be specific about how your issue can be integrated into the programme in new and exciting ways.

7. For many coalitions, what is most important is not what goes on in the Conference but the opportunity to hold satellites and pre-conference meetings before, during and after so identify opportunities and funding to be able to hold these sessions.

8. Build the visibility of your issue over time and over more than one Conference to have lasting impact.

9. The Conference is only 5 days every two years. Work to profile your issue in between Conferences.

10. Make sure the things you have learned at the Conference get shared with people who were not able to attend.

11. Be aware of deadlines and plan ahead.

12. Remember, there are many, many important issues in the AIDS world and many different stakeholder groups fighting for “airtime” and visibility. As big as the Conference is, it is never big enough to give everyone the attention their issue deserves. Given these limitations, be strategic.

Resources

Read the case study on the Coalition on Children Affected by AIDS.