Call for Participants: Symposium Coping with HIV/AIDS, 03/01

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 without regard of others, whether that power be economic, social, sexual, psychological or the power of force. It spreads where there is a disregard 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 perceiving and constructing social reality in its interconnectedness." [Ever more Effective Responses to HIV/AIDS Discussion: HIV in Situations of Conflict. <http://rrmeet.undp.org.in/disc4/0000000a.htm>]

This SYMPOSIUM ON PREVENTING AND COPING WITH HIV/AIDS IN POSTCONFLICT 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 participant will submit a narrative or essay sharing their experiences working 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 experiences of Africans who are confronting these issues in their countries.
3. To identify recommendations and strategies for practitioners, policymakers, 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, including 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 provide 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, particularly 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 participants. Applicants will be selected on the basis of their experience 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, backgrounds, 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 recently 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 numbers 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 project or activity in which they are engaged. The narrative will describe the nature of the problem being addressed, the resources required, 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 requirement? (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 organization or a third party for travel expenses? (note: getting travel assistance 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 Societies: What We Do and Don't Know, and Implications for Policy and Programs
* 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 PostConflict African Societies
* Building on Lessons Learned: Dialogue and Recommendations for African Governments
* Building on Lessons Learned: Dialogue and Recommendations for the International Community

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