Bridging the Gap: Conference Workbook [International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1994: Geneva, Switzerland)]

Skills Building Workshops
The Skills Building Programme concentrates on capacity
building. Approximately 40 workshops are offered in five
key content areas: prevention strategies, programme and
organisational development, care and treatment of HIV,
policy and advocacy, and information and communication
technology. A main focus of these sessions is on training
people to transfer the skills and knowledge gained at the
Conference into their own communities.
Summary Sessions
On the mornings of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
June 30 to July 2, summary sessions will be given.
Designed primarily for delegates unfamiliar with technical
terms, these will summarise key presentations of the
previous day in each track and will be presented in jargonfree language. Simultaneous interpretation in French and
Spanish will be provided.
KEY CONFERENCE EVENTS
Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony will take place in the Arena on
Sunday June 28 between 17.30 and 19.00.
The Conference co-organisers have prepared a short
orientation video for the start of the Ceremony, which will
serve to familiarise participants with the Conference
programme and with their surroundings. After the video,
a special message from five young people representing
different regions of the globe, and distinguished speakers
from the political arena, will set the tone for the days to
come.
Welcoming Reception
Immediately following the Opening Ceremony, delegates
will be invited to gather in Hall 7 for a cocktail reception.
Note: Registered participants and accompanying persons,
exhibitors, and media representatives are welcome to attend
both the Opening Ceremony and the Welcoming Reception.
Rapporteurs Session and Closing Ceremony
Beginning at 11.00 on Friday July 3 in the Arena, five
rapporteurs will provide a final overview for each track
and for the community aspects of the programme. These
summaries will focus on critical issues addressed and
implications for future work.There will be simultaneous
translation into French and Spanish.
The Rapporteur session will be concluded by a special
closing address which will bridge the gap to the XIIIth
International AIDS Conference, to be held in Durban,
South Africa, in 2000. The Conference will be brought to
a close with a speech by the Chair of the Durban
Conference.
Note: Registered participants and accompanying persons,
exhibitors, and media representatives are all welcome.

CULTURAL PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
To enhance and complement the official programme of
the 12th World AIDS Conference, a broad spectrum of
cultural activities inside Palexpo and around Geneva has
been planned in order for artists to perfom and exhibit
their work.
The primary goal of the Cultural Programme is to
'bridge the gap' between participants and the citizens of
Geneva through the examination of the role of diverse
cultural expressions in the face of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic. Art has a vital part to play in prevention,
awareness raising and in mourning.
Amidst the turmoil of such a large Conference, the
Cultural Programme is designed to bring people together,
and to give participants a space in which to breathe and to
interact. In restful environments, the Cultural Programme
presents examples of performance and visual arts used
imaginatively to educate and to challenge.
Most of the performances and exhibitions will take
place in Hall 2, the cultural space at Palexpo. This hall is
also open to the Geneva public. A warm invitation is
extended to participants to visit Hall 2 to explore the
contribution of artists to AIDS, to meet other people in a
different setting or simply to relax.
Some key socio-cultural activity highlights are listed
below. More details are available to delegates on site. A
Cultural Programme booth in the Community Village will
inform participants of daily activities. All socio-cultural
events are listed on the Conference's web site.
AIDS and the Performing Arts
Each Conference day, in different spaces at Palexpo, artists
will present live performances of imaginative uses of
theatre and other performance arts. They represent
innovative tools to sensitise different sectors of societies
about AIDS-related issues. Pascale Marthine Tayou from
Cameroon, DramAidE and the Puppets against AIDS
from South Africa, Bandhu Social Welfare Society from
Dhakar, Bangladesh, and Komol Gandhar from India are
among the artists you will discover. Dialogai (a Swiss
organisation for gay people) will also present live
performances in Palexpo and in Geneva throughout the
Conference.
AIDS and Visual Arts
* 'Aujourd'hui pour demain', a Geneva-based group
dedicated to art and AIDS, presents the works of
international artists especially created for the Conference.
* An exhibit of works by artists from around the globe,
'World of AIDS: Between Resignation and Hope',
commissioned by the Swiss AIDS Documentation
Centre, can be seen in the Centre for Contemporary in
the Art and Dialogai office in Geneva from May to
September. Conference delegates are invited for a
cocktail on Wednesday July 1 at 18.00.
* An exhibition of paintings entitled 'Traces de Vie' by
Daniel Gonthier, a Geneva artist lost to AIDS, can be
seen at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Museum from May to September.
* 'AIDS and Stamps' (a display of stamps for HIV
prevention from more than 100 countries) is presented
by the Philatelic Museum of the UN.

12th World AIDS Conference Geneva