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AIDS 2010 Delegates March for Human Rights

Posted 21 July 2010, 05:56 P, by Conference Secretariat

By Tyrone Hall, Vienna Youth Force Youth Journalist and Graduate Student at Clark University, United States

Thousands of delegates attending the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) and local residents marched last night to call for human rights to be included as a fundamental component of efforts to prevent new infections and provide treatment for people living with HIV.

The march echoed the theme of the conference, Rights Here, Right Now, through chants, vuvuzelas and singing of some well-coined phrases and tunes. The march culminated in a concert laced with spirited speeches and a captivating performance by Annie Lennox.
(c)IAS/Steve Forrest/Workers' Photos

The messages echoed during the march were varied but connected by one common cause: justice for all. Some groups called for greater respect to be extended to members of the LGBT community in parts of the world where stigma has made the fight against AIDS nearly impossible, particularly among men who have sex with men. Other groups called for the examination of the rights of women in the context of HIV, especially in light of the positive microbicide trial results released Monday. Several groups also called for greater resources to be put into treatment and programmes for drug users.

One of the Vienna Youth Force’s leading voices, Aram Barra, energized the delegates by reminding them that “more than ever, young people all around the world are dying of AIDS because of dehumanizing and criminalizing situations which must be stopped.” Annie Lennox later amplified the energy that Aram stirred by calling on the Austrian government to contribute more money to the global fight against AIDS. The performer told the gathering that “the city of Vienna alone will make more than €45 million” from hosting the conference.

The march and rally ended successfully and the masters of ceremonies thanked the Austrian government for respecting the delegates’ right to protest meaningfully and peacefully. More photos available here.

 

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7/22/2010 1:21:54 AM #

AIDS 2010: Reflections from Africans

TrustAfrica provided support for nearly a dozen African civil society figures to attend the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. We asked them to share their thoughts and reflections as the week progresses. Here are some of their initial respons

TrustAfrica Blog

7/22/2010 5:06:46 AM #

The struggle continues ... Here is our participation in Bordeaux in France Saturday, July 17, 2010: awareness campaign in the Night Clubs. The video clip is on the website www.bordeaux-black.com

Bordeaux-Black France

7/22/2010 5:57:06 PM #

Daniel Lee, Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Founation, reflects on the Human Rights March and Rally, in this post for the Levi Strauss blog:

http://levistrauss.com/blogs/troubadour-our-times

A Troubadour For Our Times

This week, Annie Lennox headlined a historic rally of global AIDS leaders and advocates in Vienna Austria to underscore the importance of human rights in the response to HIV/AIDS. The event drew thousands of local residents and delegates of the 18th International AIDS Conference taking place.

Wearing a shirt reading “HIV POSITIVE” – a striking statement of solidarity with all those living with the virus around the world – Lennox bounded on stage and belted out "Little Bird," the up-tempo anthem: “I am just a troubled soul who’s weighted to the ground / Give me the strength to carry on till I can lay this burden down.”

Annie Lennox’s music moves people. With sensitivity, searing honesty and grit, her songs move through themes of desolation, rage, hope and determination. She makes no bones about the reality of pain and disappointment in life, yet listeners spanning three decades have found solace in her voice.

While many of the six or seven songs she performed came off originally as conventional pop songs, they take on new textures slowed down and stripped of orchestrations – and no doubt, new resonance against the backdrop of the fight against AIDS. It is stirring to see her music recast and reintroduced to a new generations of listeners in the front lines of HIV/AIDS work.

As she finishes “Little Bird” singing the following words, I am convinced Annie Lennox is a troubadour for this movement and for these times, “This little bird’s fallen out of that nest, but I’ve got a feeling that it might have been blessed. So I’ve just got to put these wings to test.”

The theme of this year’s conference – “Rights Here, Right Now” -- couldn’t be more timely or apt. Seventeen years ago, I took two classes from the late Jonathan Mann, an iconic figure in the response to HIV/AIDS.

As the head of the first Global Program on AIDS (a precursor to UNAIDS) in the mid-eighties, Mann had the foresight to understand that unless we go for the guttural in defending the human rights of the most marginalized people in the context of HIV/AIDS, then we will fail abysmally in achieving our public health goals.

The Levi Strauss Foundation made the first corporate donation in the fight against AIDS in 1983. Over the years, more than $45M in social investments from the company and foundation have helped build several HIV/AIDS service and advocacy organizations from the ground up – first in our hometown of San Francisco and later in 40 countries around the world.

But being first and original isn’t enough. We believe it is incumbent upon us continually to push the limits of the response to this global pandemic.

I have attended several previous editions of this conference, and I am proud to see human rights finally moving from periphery to center stage. We are proud not only to co-sponsor the Human Rights March and Rally, but a Networking Zone where advocates at the front lines of the epidemic (including more than 25 of our grantee partners) can share their innovative approaches and best practices and gain much-needed encouragement from each other.

I stand in awe of the pioneering spirit they bring to bear at the new frontiers of this global epidemic and their display of the four values that inform everything we do at Levi Strauss:  courage, empathy, originality and integrity.

I am also pleased these pioneers can sit back, enjoy a transcendent moment, and hear Annie’s message: “This is not a time for fatigue. This is a time to recommit ourselves to the fight.  HIV/AIDS is a human rights issue, and we are all agents of change.”

http://levistrauss.com/blogs/troubadour-our-times



Jason McBriarty United States

7/27/2010 10:58:47 PM #

Un sueño hecho realidad estar en esta marcha, pero sobretodo formar parte del concierto de Annie Lenox, una de mis artistas favoritas de toda la vida... Agradezco a Dios, a la beca que recibí de parte de los organizadores para asistir, ¿y porqué no?, le agradezco al VIH que me haya dado esta oportunidad, única para mí. Gracias Vienna...

salvador meza ortiz Mexico