CI Times Weekly | Current Issue 272 | 13 October 2008
2nd Forum of the Pacific Alliance of CSOs and PLWHA on HIV and AIDS in Rarotonga, 14 -17 October 2008
The Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation (PIAF) will is proud to announce that it will be hosting the 2nd Forum of the Pacific Alliance of CSOs and PLWHA on HIV and AIDS in Rarotonga from 14 -17 October, 2008. Attending the Forum will be NGO representatives from FSM, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, PNG, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Niue, Tuvalu and Kiribati as well as the Cook Islands, along with 7 HIV Positive delegates from the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Fiji, PNG, and New Zealand. The Forum is sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation.
Highlights of the Forum will include:
The Opening Ceremony, featuring speakers from the National AIDS Council as well as distinguished Cook Islands representatives
The launch of the Pan Commonwealth Civil Society Network on HIV and AIDS in the Pacific, to be held at the Staircase bar, and featuring speeches by special guests and performances by Te Tiare Association
A Meet-and-Greet Community Session with AIDS Ambassadors from around the Pacific
Sessions and workshops on many important HIV issues facing the Pacific Region today, including testing, counselling, treatment and care, human rights, legal reform, and gender and sexual minorities.
The Pacific Alliance of CSO’s takes its beginnings from informal talks and sessions between non-government and PLWHA delegates to Pacific regional meetings on HIV and AIDS. It is made up of national umbrella NGOs and People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). PIAF is honoured to be serving as the current Secretariat for the Alliance. - PIAF Medida Release