Homo-whatnow?

Webster’s dictionary defines the term phobia as “an exaggerated and often disabling fear usually inexplicable to the subject”. Having an exaggerated fear of needles myself, a fear that is quite common and typically referred to as “trypanophobia”, I can understand the unbearable and at times physical consequences that a deeply entrenched fear can have on an individual. All this being said, after spending a week at the International AIDS Conference discussing stigma, discrimination and oppression that members of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and intersex) community and PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) face, I can’t help but hear the word “homophobia” and realize that its use and connotation is and always has been completely out of whack.

As previously mentioned and defined, the term phobia is meant to represent an exaggerated fear held by an individual, often for inexplicable reasons. The symptoms I deal with when faced with my fear (which are similar to those that many others experience when faced with their fears) include light-headedness, nausea and every now and then, I even faint. I don’t know about you, but I have yet to meet a “homophobic” that faints or throws up at the sight of a homosexual person. What I have met are individuals who have demonstrated hate, rage, anger, disapproval, superiority and distaste for gay and lesbian individuals. The issue at hand is thus not one of fear, but rather one of hate. A Caucasian man that holds negative views of people of other races is not recognized as being Blackophobic, Asianophobic or any other term that might insinuate that his sentiments are based on feelings of fear rather than hate, as they truly are. He is referred to as being discriminatory, racist and oppressive. It is now time that those that judge members of the LGBTI community for expressing their sexuality in the ways that feel natural to them, be associated with the same negative titles that racists are: no longer are those that hate homosexuals allowed to hide behind a “fear” of homosexuality: homo-haters is what they are, and their judgment and disapproval, here in D.C., in my home country of Canada and all around the world is equivalent to racism.

In the wise words of Ben Harper:

“My choice is what I chose to do; and if I'm causing no harm, it shouldn't bother you.
Your choice is who you chose to be; and if you’re causing no harm, then you’re alright with me.”

Thanks for the vent.

-Tracey K

What do you get when you put an Imam, a Reverend and a Rabbi in a room?

As promised, I’ve signed on tonight to update you about the session I attended today entitled: “Good Catholics Use Condoms: Answering the Tough Questions that Come up When Discussion HIV Prevention”. While the purpose of this blog is by no means to discuss my own personal beliefs and religious values, I will begin by stating that I don’t associate my-self with the Jewish, Catholic or Muslim religions. As such, I was excited but slightly nervous to attend this session, sensing that I might be totally out of place and perhaps even judged. What I failed to remember was that the International AIDS Conference is by far one of the most open and accepting venues one could ever attend, and that as long as you go in with an open mind and heart, others will receive you with the same kindness.

Though it took some significant effort on my part, I set aside my own personal prejudices and feelings before entering the session room, and sat down ready to make a fresh opinion. I can’t begin to explain how shocked, relieved and delighted I was to hear a gay Imam (an imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community) and a reverend and rabbi that also offered acceptance and compassion for the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer) community and PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS). Their presentations told stories of discrimination that they them-selves have faced through out their careers as religious leaders that promote the use of condoms in sexual relations and advocate for safe and healthy sex practices.

One quote by Reverend Vincent Lachina really hit home for me:

“Too often our faith traditions are as damaging as our behavioral decisions”.

In this quote, he was speaking out to the fact that many Catholics will refrain from getting tested for HIV/AIDS as getting tested means that they are questioning their God’s ability to protect them from such a virus. This decision, can in fact, be as dangerous as that to not wear a condom in the first place.

I left the session with a sense of revitalization and support for the Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and all other religious and non-religious communities that are willing to incorporate safe sex practices and broaden their teachings to go beyond “abstinence only”. As a strong advocate for safe sex education (and all its components), I felt truly impressed and empowered by this presentation.

Just goes to show you how far an open mind can go!

Off for dinner with my partner in crime,

-Tracey K

Forget goosebumps; I've discovered Clinton-bumps.

The last few days have been as busy and invigorating as the first few here in Washington. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to hear both Hilary Clinton and Elton John, among many other renown and intellectual speakers, give hope and inspiration to massive audiences; though the AC in the conference venue is rather extreme, I could tell that the goose-bumps I was getting during Clinton’s keynote address had more to do with her words than my stupid decision to not pack a sweater.

Later in the day, I attended a youth-led panel discussion, which focused on youth leadership initiatives from around the world. The question I had been asking my-self earlier in the week regarding the two different perspectives of youth advocacy (that is preventative and reactive) was still gnawing at me, so in the open discussion and question part of the presentation, I got up to ask about it. Fi, an openly gay and positive young man from the Philippines had spoken through out his presentation about how he and his peers, as positive youth, were the best placed to advocate for equality and stigma reduction, so I directed my question to him. Much to my relief, he completely agreed with me that a divide does exist between positive and negative youth in terms of advocacy. Unfortunately, he too seemed stumped as to how to bridge that gap.  

Today I attended a session on the impact of HIV in Indigenous communities in particularly. I was utterly shocked to find out that this session was the first in the history of the International AIDS Conference, which this year celebrates it’s 19^th anniversary, to focus on Indigenous communities specifically. This is completely shocking as many countries that are home to aboriginal and indigenous communities find that they are some of the most at-risk populations.

Tomorrow is looking to be a long, intense but extremely interesting day. I’ll be attending a workshop entitled: “Good Catholics Use Condoms: Answering the Tough Questions that Come up When Discussion HIV Prevention”, which for those of you who know me, promises to be controversial and stimulating. Check in tomorrow to hear how it went!

Food just got here; time to eat!

Good night D.C.

Crossing Cultures – Connecting with…People

It’s been DAY 2 at the XIX International AIDS Conference and reminds me back to when I went to my first AIDS conference back in 2006 – that level of excitement sort of similar to how there’s that level of energy that builds up for the Olympics. It has been great to see individuals, specifically young people who I have known for years and the programmes they are currently involved with.

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A fair portion of my energy at this year’s conference has been put towards reflecting and sharing my experiences, working with LetsStopAIDS’ international partner, Dududu Drop-In Centre. It’s been rather exciting to hear many individuals, ask, “Where is Dududu? I’ve never heard of this place before.” Through, countless volunteers and support of many local artists (both Canadian and International), we were able to put together a display that speaks the story of the local youth of Dududu and their latest initiative, Dududu Youth Club.

Booth #972 (YOUTH PAVILION, GLOBAL VILLAGE)

I’ll be mentioning a little bit more about the Dududu Youth Club in future posts, but tomorrow (July 25^th), I will be one of the session speakers, discussing how to Engage men in the prevention of vertical transmission. If you’re interested in attending, here is the link: http://pag.aids2012.org/session.aspx?s=718 . 

See you there =) 

Set-up day?

What began this morning at 6am and was supposed to be a simple set-up day during which we expected to get our art exhibit ready and perhaps take in a few sights turned in to a rapid and intense kick-start to the conference. After spending about five hours super-glueing, cutting, painting and drilling, our art exhibit was finally finished and ready for display.

We then snatched a quick lunch before taking-off to our first session: Youth Leadership in the HIV Response; Realities and Recommendations for Programming and Advocacy. This two hour session offered three Young PLVHA (People Living With HIV/AIDS) the opportunity to discuss their personal experiences and struggles in their fight against AIDS and the stigmas that they face. The three speakers were all extremely charismatic and engaging with heart-breaking and powerful stories. That being said, upon leaving the session I felt a certain level of disconnect and puzzlement. I got to thinking about youth advocacy in HIV/AIDS from the perspective of a youth who is positive and one who is negative. In what ways do our statuses affect the ways we advocate, and perhaps even what we're advocating for? From what I've heard and have noticed in my own personal experiences, positive youth seem to strongly advocate for stigma reduction, treatment access and human rights. While these topics are all relevant and important for my-self as an HIV negative youth and advocate, I sometimes feel unqualified and unjustified to discuss the discrimination and harsh realities that young PLWHA face. Perhaps my inability to relate to the challenges they face makes me uncomfortable speaking on their behalf, so I find advocating from a preventative stand-point to be more comfortable.   Is there a certain level of disconnect between these two different perspectives of advocacy, and if so, are there ways to bridge them together as to address prevention and reaction simultaneously? I'm hoping to evaluate these questions and potentially find answers to them over the next week.

One of the quotes that stood out the most to me from today revitalized my way of brainstorming solutions to problems: "Let us think outside the box, or rather, let us imagine there never was a box at all". This quote got me thinking that we as youth have the world at our fingertips and immense opportunity to create significant, positive social change both here in D.C. over the next week, and in years to come as we as advocates move towards the end of this epidemic. How far we strive for successes and solutions will depend on the limitations of our box: let's eliminate it now and reach for the stars.

Happy conference everyone!
-Tracey K

Hashtag: Excited!

Greetings back home from America’s capital!

After waking up at an ungodly hour this morning, I arrived at the Ottawa International Airport to board my flight to Washington. After mapping my way through the Metro system (during which I found my-self inexplicably lost for what turned out to be a relatively simple and straight-forward transportation system), I was finally reunited with the LetsStopAIDS team. It’s pretty fun to find that three of the four representatives that attended the last conference in 2010 have returned with new stories to share.

Straight upon my arrival, I was put right to work. From preparing poster boards for our photo exhibit to researching for panel presentations, today has been the most significant and productive time our team has had to work together on getting everything ready for the conference. At this point, I think everyone’s empty stomachs and wrinkled brains can agree that we’ve had enough for today and are ready to call it in. 

Aside from having to wake up at 7am tomorrow morning to get our photo exhibit ready, I’m overwhelmingly excited for tomorrow. The opening ceremonies for Vienna’s 2010 conference were the highlight of my experience and I can’t wait to see what Washington has in store.

Love from us Canadians visiting our neighbors to the South,

Tracey K

Day 3: Final day of YouthForce!

I can’t believe this incredible journey is coming to an end already. We had an entire day in the auditorium, all as one big family, for the last day of 2012 YouthForce. We started off with an incredible panel of experts from UNFPA, the White House, the Global Fund (to fight TB and AIDS), UNAIDS, and Advocates for Youth. The panelists all gave a short presentation before the room erupted with amazing and tough questions for our experts. I was honoured to be in a room with such passionate and knowledgeable youth. The strength that these young people delivered their demands to action and questions was inspiring. I will always remember the way we all reacted to a great point or question, how we challenged how money is delivered through irresponsible governments and doesn’t reach our projects. You could feel the pain in these youth’s voices while they delivered their frustrations at the disappointment in the donor system, how this system they were told to believe in had let them down, time and time again. Each representative felt our concerns and vowed to take our messages back to their offices, leaving us feeling optimistic and powerful at what we had accomplished by uniting our voices!

An afternoon session aimed to educate those who have never attended an International AIDS Conference about what to expect and how to navigate this massive convention. The IAC is the biggest conference in the world, and Washington DC is expected to have over 20,000 people descend on it this week for the conference. TWENTY THOUSAND!!! I can’t even imagine what this is going to look like, I imagine it will be a bit overwhelming, I hope I don’t lose my team!

A debriefing session and closing remarks by UNFPA and YouthForce 2012 officially (and sadly!) ended. I can’t believe the whirlwind that was this pre-conference! The 3 days flew by and we met so many amazing people and learned so much from each other. Goodbye friends, see you around the Youth Pavillion and AIDS 2012!! Much love from the Canadians.

- Caity

Networking at AIDS 2012: The 3 stories you should prepare in advance

Today started off with some tired eyes but were quickly transformed after an amazing presentation by two members of Advocates for Youth who coached our group on how to talk to the media and how to tell our story in a way that will garner some attention for our cause. It was really interesting to learn about how stories with controversy or a conflict or even an extreme are more likely to be picked up by a news station. It's a good tip to keep in mind when thinking about how to get your message out. We alo practiced our "elevator" speeches, although I don't like to use that word, it feels so forced. I prefer to just call it your Shpeel! It is better to have this shpeel (or 2 or 3!) prepared in advance.

In my experience, it has always been good to have 3 "shpeels" prepared:
1) a 10 second shpeel for those people who really don't have time to hear your life story
2) a 1 minute shpeel for those people who would like to know a little more about you and what you do, this is where you can sell your work a little more and perhaps garner some interest
3) and then a 20 minute shpeel for those people you encounter who truly want to sit down and get to know you and the work you do.

The tough part is learning how to guage a person's interest and with practice, you will be able to distinguish between those people who are just being polite, and those that are potential partners. To all our YouthForce friends, good luck at networking and navigating the media at AIDS 2012! Remember all the Advocates for Youth have taught us :)

-Caity

Day 1: The start of YouthForce

I don't have a catchy title for today's blog as I can't even believe it has only been ONE DAY since this incredible experience has started! It seems like we accomplished 3-days worth of sessions and networking and sessions and dancing and meals and everything all in one!

The day started off with opening remarks from Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé. Who, might I add, is an incredible youth advocate and a very relaxed speaker. It was really nice to have someone speak to youth at our own level, not patronizingly. He truly believes in our power and was happy to take comments about our involvement in the entire process of turning the tide of HIV/AIDS. There was a plenary panel of excellent speakers, touching on different regional areas and different issues facing youth around the world in regards to access, gender-specific issues, prevalence, and the work being done to reduce these cases and increase preventative activities.

I attended another session about Indigenous Youth and HIV, which being from Canada, I was surprised I had never heard all of those 3 things together. They spoke about many issues I hadn't considered, and took a new approach to things. The started by talking about how our actions should be based off the past 7 generations and considered for the next 7 generations. Our programs and actions shouldn't only be considered in context of the NOW, but also for the future generations, something I hadn't put into a guideline before. I also learned that the word "Aboriginal", which we use in Canada and is also used in Australia, New Zealand and the US, is actually translated to "without origin" as "ab" means without. This is an incredibly offensive insinutation for people that were on the land we now occupy much longer than we settlers were. It was also interesting that we had to define what indigenous meant before we even began the discussion of youth and HIV. In relation to health status, the indigenous population accounts for 2.2 million people in Canada, or 3.8% of the total population, yet this small population represents 12.5% of the new HIV cases which indicates that the HIV prevention programs in Canada either aren't working for the indigenous population or don't exist at all in the regions that these populations reside. Something to consider for sure when shaping Canadian health policy.

One of the afternoon sessions I attended spoke about HIV during humanitarian disasters. Another concept I had never considered was the interruption that a disaster cause in regards to regular health care. We all think of the acute health responses when speaking about humanitarian relief or disasters, but sometimes these situations can go on for a long time and what about the healthcare services that people rely on? What about the regular education that keeps the youth in school and safe? Young people may be the most affected population yet they are the most capable of making and contributing to changes. The challenges in emergencies is ensuring regular HIV services like condoms, peer education, STD testing, medication, etc. These issues must be considered and integrated in emergency responses in order to cover this very vulnerable population during a time of crises.

After a dance party and a debreif of the days event, LetsStopAIDS zipcar'd our way over to Maryland to visit IKEA and get some materials for our Youth Pavillion Art Exhibit Dududu Youth Club: Igniting Leadership :) It will be a great surprise and unveiling after we build it on Sunday morning (EARLY Sunday morning...I'm not impressed) and we will make sure to share pictures with you all!

Another long day, another exciting experience, another tired Caity. Until tomorrow!

Cheers :)

And so it begins!

We have arrived!

Hello world! I'm currently writing from the AC heavenly comfort of the Kellogg Conference Hotel in Washington, DC where Shamin and I have just arrived, ate, and are about to promptly fall asleep. Why is it that even though we haven't traveled very far (my roommate is from Kyrgyzstan!) we are still exhausted? Hmm...must be airport air.

It is an exciting day tomorrow and we have been lucky enough to escape the hands of the YothForce planning committee who I'm sure are eager to give us work to do that would have us up into the wee hours of the morning. So we get to sleep now! Goodnight :)

-Caity