Global Village Report Aids 2008

AIDS 2008 Mexico City, Mexico Post-Conference Report Global Village Programme Programme Activities

“That noisy, messy and sloppy space… and I say it as a good thing.” Terje Anderson, Community Rapporteur Team Leader AIDS 2008, Mexico City

XVII International AIDS Conference

3-8 August 2008 • Mexico City, Mexico www.aldeaglobal2008.org

Copyright Information © 2008 Copyright AIDS 2008 International AIDS Society (IAS) Reproduction, adaptation or translation is encouraged and permitted for research, educational or development purposes, with credit to the XVII International AIDS Conference. For other copyright privileges, including commercial publications (for sale), contact the organisations listed below to obtain permission.

For information: Geneva: International AIDS Conference Secretariat International AIDS Society P.O. Box 2 CH1216 - Cointrin Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41-022-7 100 800 Fax: +41-022-7 100 899 Email: [email protected] Web: www.iasociety.org

Copyright © September 2008

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Global Village Programme was made possible due to the commitment and creativity of all the participants, volunteers, staff members, participating venues, and the sponsors and suppliers that turned the vision into reality. AIDS 2008 Global Village Programme Working Group Co-Chairs: Anandi Yuvaraj (CPC) and Marcus Day (CPC) Members: Alan Li, Alessandra Nilo, Daniel Townsend (Youth Programme Working Group Representative), David Alberto Murillo, Elizabeth Pendry (Cultural Programme Working Group Representative), Evan Collins (CPC), Jennifer Gatsi (LPC), Maria Lorena Di Giano, Mirka Negroni (SPC), Monruedee Laphimon, Polo Gomez and Sunil Babu Pant. Global Village staff who supported the development of the AIDS 2008 Global Village: Andrea Nannipieri (Programme Activities Manager), Eugenia López (Global Village Coordinator), Aram Barra (Global Village Assistant), Talina González (NGO and Marketplace Booth Coordinator, Yolanda Rinconeño (Networking Zones Coordinator), Minerva Valenzuela (Session Rooms and Main Stage Coordinator), Juan de Dios Rodríguez (Marketplace Officer), Hanna Monsivais (Intern and Session Room 1 Officer) and Leonard Heyerdahl (Session Room 2 Officer). Other AIDS 2008 staff who assisted and supported the Global Village Programme: Elvira Báez (Cultural Programme Coordinator), Ricardo Baruch (Youth Programme Coordinator), Lisa Sánchez (Youth Programme Assistant), Claudia Romero (Cultural Programme Assistant), Gabriela Gabriel (Youth Reception Officer and Youth Pavilion Coordination Assistance), Yahir Zavaleta (Youth Pre-conference Officer and Youth Pavilion Stage Manager), David Ladrón de Guevara (Cultural Exhibits in Centro Banamex Officer), Salvador Irys (Off-site Cultural Events) and Alessandra La Palombara (Volunteer for Meet the Plenary Speakers). We are grateful to the Volunteers who assisted at the AIDS 2008 Global Village including local Mexico City residents, people visiting Mexico, and individuals who travelled from other Mexican cities to volunteer with the XVII International AIDS Conference (IAC)

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Global Village Funders and Supporters The Conference organizers gratefully acknowledge the generous support provided by the following sponsors

Carso Institute

GlaxoSmithKlina Positive Action

Government of Mexico – Mexican Health Ministry

Mexico City’s Government

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network

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Contents AIDS 2008 Post Conference Report Global Village Programme 1. Global Village 2008 Programme................................................................6

1.1. Historic evolution of the Global Village...................................................................6 1.2. Global Village at the XVII International AIDS Conference.....................................7 1.3. Concept Development...............................................................................................8 1.4. Governance and Decision-making..........................................................................11

2. Building the Global Village Programme...................................................14

2.1. Application process, application forms and screening and review process............15 2.2. Programme Activities Planning (PAP) Meeting.....................................................20 2.3. Notification process................................................................................................22 3. Planning and Logistics............................................................................24

3.1. Opening Ceremony.................................................................................................26 3.2. VIP Visits................................................................................................................28 3.3 Sessions and Forums...........................................................................................29 3.4 Plenary Viewing and Meet the Plenary Speaker sessions.....................................32 3.3. Community Dialogue Space - Tequio.....................................................................33 3.4. Networking Zones...................................................................................................34 3.5. Youth Pavilion.........................................................................................................43 3.6. NGO and Marketplace Booths................................................................................45 3.7. Global Village Meeting Rooms..............................................................................50 3.8. Global Village Information Booths.........................................................................51 3.9. Cultural Activities at the Global Village.................................................................52 3.10. Staff Office and Staff Lounge...............................................................................54

4. Communications .....................................................................................59

4.1. Marketing versus Outreach.....................................................................................60 4.2. Websites..................................................................................................................62 4.3. Printed Materials.....................................................................................................63 4.4. Signage....................................................................................................................64 4.5. Media coverage of the Global Village....................................................................65 5. Human Resources...................................................................................66

5.1. Staff.........................................................................................................................66 5.2. Volunteers................................................................................................................70 5.3. Human Rights.........................................................................................................72 5.4. Channels of Communication...................................................................................73

6. Programme Activities Scholarships & Visas.............................................74

6.1. Visas........................................................................................................................75 6.2. Scholarships............................................................................................................75 7. Finances..................................................................................................78 8. Safety and Security.................................................................................79 9. Global Village Timeline............................................................................80 10. List of Appendices.................................................................................82

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AIDS 2008 Post Conference Report Global Village Programme 1. Global Village 2008 Programme The Global Village provides a space to share knowledge and skills, build coalitions, and promote interactive learning among communities living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, policymakers, researchers and other stakeholder groups. The Global Village also allows the general public to access the conference and learn about HIV/AIDS, in particular the community response. It is a space for highlighting priority issues, to promote change and face the challenges of the HIV/AIDS response. It is an opportunity for marginalised people and groups to organise, advocate, and network with other stakeholders and to strengthen prevention, care and support. The Global Village was a community-driven space involving community, science and leadership that reflected the conference’s overall theme of Universal Action Now! Among the many communities participating in the Global Village programme, people living with HIV played a central role in creating this unique space and in shaping and implementing this distinctive programme.

1.1.Historic evolution of the Global Village1 The first International AIDS Conferences in the mid to late 1980’s were scientific gatherings and did not reach out to “community” – people living with HIV/AIDS, community advocates and workers in emerging AIDS Service Organisations. However, community members and activists attended from the first conference in Atlanta in 1985. Through advocacy the voices of community and people living with HIV/AIDS began to be heard in the conference programme. The International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada in 1989, involved community in planning and special sessions. A pre-Conference Community Forum was held to further efforts at international community mobilisation and networking. At the opening ceremonies, a large group of AIDS activists stormed the stage to protest the exclusion of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and affected communities. Demands were made for greater involvement of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the International AIDS Conferences, and in all decisions and processes affecting their lives. Seven years later at AIDS 1996 in Vancouver, Canada, the organisers supported community and activist involvement including a specific community-led section called “Community Aspects”, in addition to a two-day Community Forum in advance of the main conference.

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Sources include “A tale of three cities – Geneva, Durban and Barcelona. A personal perspective of community involvement at International AIDS Conferences” Shaun Mellors (2002), “Planning for Impact: A Guide for Planners of the Community Aspects of the International AIDS Conference” ICASO (2005).

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For AIDS 1998 in Geneva, Switzerland, scientific and community organisers adopted the “Geneva Principle” stating: Community involvement in the planning of an International AIDS Conference is as important as that of the scientific community and that representatives of both groups should participate on an equal footing towards this goal.

AIDS 2000 in Durban, South Africa was the first held in a developing country and called attention to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS and related stigma (Break the Silence). Innovative community activities sought to “complement the scientific aspects” and “integrate and involve the infected and affected community perspectives and voices in all aspects” of the conference (Mellors). At AIDS 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand, there was no pre-conference community forum but a “community gathering” that focused on networking. Community planners introduced a new initiative, the Global Village, to increase access by community to the International AIDS Conference. The Global Village marked the start of a new space within the conference, community-run space that was partially integrated with overall conference proceedings, concurrent with the conference sessions and open to the public. It was a space rich in diversity and with greater opportunity to learn from one another. At AIDS 2006 in Toronto, Canada, the concept of the Global Village was expanded as accessible, community-run space, open to both delegates and the public and became physically part of the main conference site. Connections were made between the Global Village and Conference Programme Sessions. The Global Village contributed to the conference as a whole, intended to serve as a community-focused space integrating community, science and leadership, reflecting and supporting the overall theme of AIDS 2006, Time to Deliver. In the Global Village, diverse communities affected by HIV/AIDS were able to interact, learn from and network with one another. This programme activity facilitated the exchange of knowledge and information related to all facets of the human experience in the awareness, experience of and response to HIV/AIDS. At AIDS 2008 in Mexico City, Mexico, the Global Village Programme was integrated into the whole IAC Programme. The emphasis was that Programme Activities are part of the official programme of AIDS 2008 and deserve the same attention and service as the programme sessions for instance.

1.2.Global Village at the XVII International AIDS Conference The International AIDS Conference (IAC) is the world’s largest global forum on HIV/AIDS. The XVII International AIDS Conference was organised by the International AIDS Society (IAS). The Global Village in Mexico City was open to both conference delegates and the general public to enable greater civil society involvement and exchange. The Global Village at AIDS 2008 (GV2008) covered more than 8,000 square metres (54,000 square feet). It was also housed in a large marquee or tent in the centre of Mexico City’s Las Americas Hippodrome next to the Banamex Convention Centre. This space was next to the conference registration area. This unique space enabled diverse communities affected by HIV/AIDS to interact, learn from and network with AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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each other, and share all facets of the human experience in the response to HIV/AIDS. Participants included researchers, artists, policymakers, business leaders, clinicians, politicians and general public. The Global Village registered a daily estimated attendance of 12,000 people from Monday through Wednesday and 18,000 on Thursday, the last day of the GV. For the first four days the main audience were the Global Village participants, exhibitors and delegates with a low participation of local community. On the last day, the participation of the local community raised up by 40% approximately. The AIDS 2008 governance and decision making processes are made through three programme committees: the Leadership Programme Committee (LPC), the Scientific Programme Committee (SCP) and the Community Programme Committee (CPC). The Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC) is comprised of representatives from the IAS, four international civil society partners, three partners from UNAIDS and cosponsors (currently WHO and WFP), six local partners (including the Mexican government), and the nine programme committee co-chairs. The CCC is chaired by IAS President, Pedro Cahn, and co-chaired by AIDS 2008 local conference chair, Luis Soto Ramirez. The Conference Coordinating Committee and the three Programme Committees, reflecting the core components of the Conference Programme (science, community and leadership) work collaboratively to bring to reality the AIDS 2008 vision and objectives. AIDS 2008 was the first international AIDS conference to be held in Latin America. Mexico was selected as the host country because of its strong commitment to universal access and the lack of travel restrictions to people living with HIV among others. Taking place in Latin America, and close to the Caribbean, the conference was an excellent opportunity to focus on concentrated epidemics, which are linked intrinsically to generalised epidemics in other parts of the world. It is expected to have left a lasting legacy in the region, empowering local communities and promoting meaningful community involvement at local and regional levels.

1.3.Concept Development The Global Village is a community-driven space involving community, science and leadership. As a community-driven space however, the GV working group used the CPC vision to guide the development of activities. An important aim for the GV working group was to strengthen and support the conference theme Universal Action Now! The CPC vision had the five following principles2: - Reclaiming ownership of the agenda; - Addressing human rights and social justice; - Bringing together community and evidence-based science; 2

For more detailed information please refer to Anex 1.

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- Ensuring a long-term legacy for the regions, and - Demanding accountability and action at all levels. While drafting the concept paper, the GV working group stated that the GV2008 programme would engage leaders, speakers, and participants from a broad range of community interests, especially traditionally marginalised populations, including but not limited to the communities and groups identified through the Community Programme Committee, the Joint Programme Committees (Scientific, Community and Leadership), the Global Village Working Group, including engagement with a broad range of partner organisations. The resources and tools of the Global Village programme would then engage the participation of these groups and provide support to bring their participation into the Global Village and the conference. The programme would also focus on and address particular challenges of the response in affected regions. The GUIDING PRINCIPLES that the GV2008 presented were:

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Meaningfully involve historically and traditionally most affected communities. These included, for example, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), youth, women, children, people of colour, Aboriginal and Indigenous peoples, gay/lesbian /bisexual/transsexual/ transgender people (LGBTQ), sex workers, prisoners/former prisoners; people who are street-involved or homeless, people living with disabilities, and the elderly, migrants and mobile populations, and drug users; Promotion of Greater Involvement of People with AIDS (GIPA) and specifically the leadership and empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA); Fight Stigma and Discrimination; Value the diversity and greater involvement of HIV-affected individuals and communities; Uphold the principles of human rights, non-discrimination, access, gender, equity, justice and inclusion; Emphasise the human, social, economic and cultural aspects of local, national and global responses to HIV/AIDS; Build solidarity and encourage collaboration and partnership between and among stakeholders, and Conduct a transparent/inclusive process and commit to accountable decisionmaking.

Moreover, GV2008 had the following OBJECTIVES: •

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Engage the most affected communities in the XVI International AIDS conference through the Global Village programme, providing opportunities to raise priority issues and to create change on key challenges they face in responding to HIV/AIDS issues; Host activities at the forefront of the debate surrounding key current HIV-related issues while at the same time provoking discussion on new and emerging challenges in the field; Provide opportunities for change, by providing an environment for delegates and members of the public to learn and connect in ways that will enhance their work when they return home;

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Provide space and opportunities for the creation of new or strengthened coalitions; Provide opportunities and support for marginalised individuals and communities to organise; share lessons learned; advocate to influence policy and programme change; network including across sectors; deliver care, support and prevention programmes; Promote regional efforts to strengthen the diverse communities’ involvement and participation in shaping region’s agenda, and Provide opportunity to remind our own responsibilities and to remind Donors, Government's, UN and other international agencies commitment and responsibilities as well as renew commitments.

The ANTICIPATED IMPACTS that the GV2008 WG members foresaw were to:

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Engage most affected communities; Exchange knowledge, learning and concerns; Create and strengthen linkages and coalitions, and Strengthen community response to HIV/AIDS.

Challenges – Global Village concept development The concept paper was first drafted by the Global Village Coordinator in the fall of 2007 based on the one presented at Toronto 2006. This draft was then circulated through the Global Village working group (WG) with some general questions in order to generate brainstorming dynamics and feedback. There was also an initial teleconference with all the WG members and chaired by one of the co-chairs. This served to facilitate general discussion regarding the drafting of a concept paper and get the engine warmed up. However, the working group’s dynamics might not have been as successful as thought because there seemed to be a lack of initiative on the group’s behalf. The document reflected very closely the activities and goals of the Global Village 2006, at Toronto, Canada. The WG members did not add on ideas or activities, but did highlight the need to engage marginalised communities and specific groups that have faced barriers to participate in the International AIDS Conferences, to provoke dialogue and debate around key HIV-related challenges, and to inspire action at the community-level. The Global Village WG and the local team made significant efforts to assist coalitions and local organisations to participate in and navigate the XVII International AIDS Conference. This was done by supporting the development of receptions, preconferences, submission of applications to the Global Village, and the coordination of networking zones, including financial resources. Nevertheless, a lack of activity and engagement by local WG members made it very difficult for this to happen to greater levels. Recommendations – Global Village concept development

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It is recommended that the WG be set up and workings at least 12 months prior to the conference in order to lead the development of the concept note. The concept paper should not be the first activity made by the WG. Some dynamics that allow the group members to get to know each other a bit better would help to facilitate a latter brainstorm activity through e-mails or videoconferences. However, avoid undirected teleconferences or e-mails that will certainly not facilitate brainstorming. There must be advances made before-hand and agendas set.

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Take advantage of meetings with members of the committees, if possible, for brainstorming a first draft of the concept paper. This process could commence at the first Joint Programme Committee (JPC) meeting. It would also be useful to engage the former Global Village Coordinator to provide feedback on the concept note.

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The GV concept note should be developed at the same time as the concept notes for the Cultural and Youth Programmes to foster greater linkages between them.

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The development of the Global Village concept should engage the Programme Coordinators and Programme Activities Committee Chairs and representatives of the Scientific, Leadership and Community Programme Committees, in order to ensure that the community programming is coherent and representative, and work is completed efficiently.

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All Programme Coordinators should start working at the same time at the local secretariat (at least 12 months before the conference). The Assistants of the three programmes should start 8 months before the conference in order to help out with the call for applications process and different outreach activities.

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If the objective of involving marginalised people is included in the concept paper, it is important to plan activities and strategies that ensure the accomplishment of such ideals. Please consult Outreach versus marketing section 4.1.

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Global Village organisers (WG members and staff) should continue to support the work and participation of existing and emerging community-driven coalitions by highlighting access points within all components of the conference. This includes collaborating with such coalitions to coordinate networking zones. Please consult NWZ section 3.4 and Outreach vs Marketing section 4.1. for further discussion.

1.4.Governance and Decision-making The CPC decided to build a working group with representatives of the communities and the committees in order to facilitate the decision making process of the Global Village Programme. The CPC members nominated candidates for the working group and voted on who should be included (in consultation with the secretariat’s AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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international partners). The co-chairs made the final decision on who should be included. The Programme Activities Project Manager made the invitations and confirmed member’s participation. The purpose of the working group (WG) at AIDS2008 was to provide overall planning and guidance for the development of the GV that took place at the XVII International AIDS Conference in August 2008 in Mexico City.3 At the beginning of the process we asked the members to introduce themselves and send a picture to the group in order to get personal contact. Challenges – Global Village working group Local representatives for the WG must fully participate in the decision making process. They must speak English fluently, be fully informed about their role as WG members and engaged with different local groups. They should be selected by diverse local and international committee representatives and reflect the diversity of the communities involved on the global response. Recommendations – Global Village working group

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The CPC needs to carefully re-think if they will delegate the planning and programming of the GV to a WG or if they want to get fully involved on the Global Village programming, strengthen the presence of the community and the link between the CPC activities on the conference programme and on the core programme activities.

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The WG needs to reflect the CPC vision and strengthen the community participation on the IAC. Moreover, the terms of reference of the WG should include a clear idea of the decision making process for the Global Village Programme; including the different committees of the conferences and the IAS structure. Remember that less sometimes is more. As a general principle, less people in the WG with more information, availability and engagement is better than big groups with many absent people in the process. Most importantly, members should fully understand their role in facilitating the dialogue between the Global Village working group and the LPC, SPC or CPC according to their membership (bring and take the information and promote feedback). As an example, they could be involved in reporting back to the programme committees during their meetings and this specific tasks and functions should be included in the ToR.

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The role of local WG members should be clear – a suggestion to designate to them the authority and responsibility to carry out more operational levels of decisions and roles on the ground, while making its contribution to the overall conceptual advice, and monitoring and evaluation role of the CPC. For example, the local WG members should consult with the local community the priorities for the GV programme and speak as representatives and not as individuals or as members of their own organization. This again, could be included in the ToR.

A copy of the Terms of Reference for the WG members can be found in Anex 2.

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The Global Village WG should have a noteworthy connection with the main local diverse stakeholders in order to ensure the local ownership of the activities of the programme and engagement in outreach of the conference among civil society.

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The local coordinator of the Global Village needs to have a clear idea of the guidelines, decision making process and communication channels in his/her department and with other departments; including the different committees of the conference and WG members. It is also recommended that s/he is familiar with other departments’ time lines related to the Global Village. Moreover, it would be very useful if the project manager of Programme Activities could stay at the local secretariat office for cultural and local context sensitisation; as well as special meetings with the objective of brief the Project Manager.

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Programme development decisions should be made by the Global Village WG with advice and support from the GV staff of the local host. Acknowledging that locals understand the context due their experience will foster the correct development of activities of the GV itself.

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2. Building the Global Village Programme The Global Village highlighted critical HIV/AIDS themes and priority issues and populations that were identified through the Community Programme Committee and the Joint Programme Committees (Scientific, Community and Leadership). Activities for the GV2008 were generated primarily from submissions received through the official application process that remained opened from December 1, 2007 through February 28, 2008. The following is a list of Programme Activities at the AIDS2008 Global Village. These activities are discussed in greater detail later in this report: • Global Village Sessions Global village sessions include panel discussions, debates and presentations with Q & A. The sessions focus on current and emerging HIV topics as well as priority populations and geographic regions. Global Village sessions tend to be smaller and more interactive then in other parts of the conference. • Networking Zones Networking zones bring local and international groups together to plan and implement exciting spaces focused on key populations or geographic regions. These spaces aim to facilitate engagement and exchanges to enhance learning. • ‘Meet the Plenary Speaker’ Sessions Meet the plenary speaker sessions bring the conference plenary speakers to the community and allow interaction and dialogue. • The Video Lounge The Video Lounge features HIV-related videos, documentaries and other short screenings that highlight the impact of HIV/AIDS, as well as the influential role of film and video in raising HIV awareness. • The Literary Lounge The Literary Lounge is a place for live readings (storytelling, live reading of book chapters or excerpts, or poetry reading). It also includes live smaller presentations, not suitable for the dimensions of the Main Stage. It seats 30 to 40 spectators and chairs are adapted to the needs of the presentation. It includes a screen and a projector for presentations. • The Main Stage The Main Stage is a space for compelling performances that demonstrate innovative promotion of HIV/AIDS awareness. The stage should attract delegates and members of the public who come diverse communities. The stage plays a significant role in delivering messages to people who are not necessarily informed on issues concerning HIV and AIDS. Audiences can observe artists and activists from all over the world and the way in which they are facing the epidemic. • The Youth Pavilion The Youth Programme supports meaningful participation and purposeful dialogue of youth throughout the conference. As the access point for young people at AIDS 2008, the Youth Pavilion in the Global Village is a space to host meetings AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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and forums, highlight and showcase youth achievements, facilitate networking opportunities, engage adults in dialogue, and carry on the momentum from the youth pre-conference. • NGO and marketplace booths NGO and marketplace booths provide non-governmental, grassroots organisations the opportunity to interact with delegates and the general public and to showcase their HIV-specific income-generating projects. • The Community Dialogue Space - Tequio The 2008 Red Ribbon Award communities create and host a Community Dialogue Space open to all conference attendees. This space provides a venue to engage with communities and partners from around the world and influence key events and outcomes of the International AIDS Conference. Anchored by two representatives from each of the twenty-five 2008 Red Ribbon Award winning communities, the Community Dialogue Space is dedicated to open and active discussions highlighting stories of grassroots victories, challenges communities face and opportunities to improve their response to the epidemic. The Community Dialogue Space also encourages a dialogue about developing an enabling environment for community participation in addressing HIV and AIDS.

2.1.Application process, application forms and screening and review process Activities for the GV2008 were generated from submissions received through the official application process that opened from December of 2007 through February of 2008. The application form and accompanying guidelines were developed by the staff, shared with WG members, AIDS 2006 staff and CCC members; it was posted on the official website in English and Spanish. One electronically programmed application form was used for the three programme activities. Programme selection decisions were made by the GV working group. 4 Almost no promotion or outreach was made for the application form and the process was thought for regular internet and computer English-speaking users. The online system was very difficult to access as it was hidden in the conference website profile. Furthermore, although all applications were accessible in both English and Spanish, the instructions at the beginning were just in English and were found after the English profile which may have prevented a lot of Latin-American community-based organisations from participating and understanding the overall process. This last resulted in the GV team having to fill out applications for general public upon request and continuously explaining through e-mails, phone calls, teleconferences, meetings and face-to-face appointments how the process should be conducted. More importantly, the information requested in the application forms did not include details on the activities, such as chairs and speakers of sessions, custom information, and since the Cultural Programme staff started after this process, important information related to cultural activities was missing because of the lack of experience in the field of those involved in the preparation. In order to complete this information, the GV team had later to e-mail or call applicants to request further 4

For a copy of an application form please refer to Anex 3.

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information. One example of this was the format with customs information that was needed in order to ensure the entrance to the country. The screening process was made by the local staff in order to ensure that no duplicated or test applications were part of the review process. After the screening process, a review process with WG members and backup reviewers was implemented. The review process was held during March 2008.5 After the review process was done, a teleconference with the WG members took place in order to receive their feedback on the process. In general, they were happy but they requested that in the future the review system was friendlier and compatible with Mac as well if possible. Out of 730 applications to the AIDS 2008 Programme Activities, 435 applications were scored high enough after the review process to be considered for the final programme. Of these applications, 327 were submitted in English and 108 were in Spanish. Cultural Activities While 257 applications were submitted to the conference, a total of 214 applications were available to be chosen from at the PAP meeting. Applications submitted to the Youth Programme were 39, to the Cultural Programme 197, and to the Global Village 121. The categories and sub-categories of the applications were broken-down as follows: Live Performance Dance Music Other Performing Art Reading Theatre Other Incl. book launch, reading, poetry Photo/Art Exhibitions Painting Photography Other Screening Documentary Film Video Other

84 15 11 10 19 4 38 22 39 4 26 16 69 36 13 18 5

Exhibition Booths 5

The selection criteria can be consulted on Anex 4.

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There were 195 booth applications made, of which there were 172 booth applications to choose from at the PAP meeting, with 34 market place booth applications and 138 NGO applications. Networking Zones Networking Zone applications resulted in 46 out of 59 applications scoring high enough to be considered for the PAP. Sessions There were 220 session applications received and a total of 194 session applications were considered for inclusion at the PAP. Of these, 100 applied to the Youth Programme, 31 to the Cultural Programme and 63 to the Global Village. The applications were divided into the following session types: Debate Panel Disc Presentation with Q&A Workshop

20 42 61 71

The top scored applications passed to the Programme Activities Planning (PAP) Meeting. We had printed copies of the top scored applications of the Youth, Cultural and Global Village Programmes sorted by score and divided in three main categories: sessions, cultural and booths. During the meeting, the WG members selected the final activities that should be incorporated into the programme and some backups. Recommendations – Global Village application process

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•

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Ensure promotion and outreach of the application process in advance; remember that programme activities are also oriented to applicants in countries with little or unreliable access to the Internet. Communication of the Global Village’s call for applications should include targeting already registered delegates, delegates from previous conferences, community based organisations and networks that have previously participated in the conference. This cross-marketing requires cooperation from relevant departments from the IAS secretariat (Registration and communication). The application form and the information related to it in the web site needs to be translated into the local language and English (at least) to assure that the host city will link its community to the conference through meaningful participation. With this purpose in mind, it should also include friendly instructions for community and marginalised users. Detailed yet short instructions are needed to assure general public participation. Use visuals when possible and do not hesitate to create a user guide that is available at the conference website. Make clear that youth and cultural activities should be proposed through the Global Village application form.

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If the same application process is used for AIDS 2010 the local staffs needs to ensure that people fully understand how to create a profile and that the only path to filling out an application form is through creating one. This is not the same form which is used to register for the conference. Although this may seem like evident information, the local staffs needs to remember that dealing with grassroots and community-based organisations from around the world means disparities in accessibility and know-how about new technologies. Reflect this in the instructions to the process as well. AIDS 2008 proved that having the same deadline for applications as other aspects of the conference helped to avoid confusion and to help ensure that applicants do not miss the deadline. Ensure that the different options to present/display at the conference are clearly communicated in one place on the conference website. This should include conference sessions (abstract, non-abstract and skill building) as well as Programme Activities. Work to further develop a conference access points or navigation map, with complete information on all access mechanisms, would be very helpful to participants and applicants. Ensure adequate information technology and support is available for the selection, scheduling and notification processes. The sending of hundreds of acceptance and rejection emails and dealing with all the responses they generated is difficult without the necessary IT support and knowledge, as well as sufficient human resources (volunteer and/or staff). Make the process friendly for Mac users as well (foster diversity!).

Recommendations – Global Village application form design In general terms, application forms need to be friendlier to the general user and grassroots organisations. This will reflect the interest of the IAS in creating a real link with the community, in particular with small organisations, projects and regular citizens. Also, there is some important and concrete information that application forms need to take into account: • •

•

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Because there are activities that are conducted in several languages at the same time the form needs to be able to capture this community initiative in order to correctly process it. Ask for two e-mail addresses per applicant and at least one phone number. It would be very useful to have a reference contact person in case applicant is out of reach. Marketplace application forms needs to include a description of goods and if possible a picture of this good. It is important for customs to know estimated cost of production per item and cost for sell per item along with estimated costs of all items. Check with the local customs office and work upon that in advance. Ensure eligibility for certain types of activities is clear, for example, that a networking zone requires partnering organisations and a minimum number of committed volunteers. Ensure that the information that will be later required for publications is requested in the initial proposal.

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•

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A documentation of custom rules is needed in order to include on the application form the relevant information that would facilitate the entrance to the country. Cultural Activities’ application forms should include subcategories such as video, visual art, performances, etc. in order to facilitate the selection process. It should also facilitate the option of uploading demos of the materials proposed such as small video clips and pictures (use YouTube and other free platforms). This is preferable over participants mailing their material because it can get lost, not arrive in time and will create extra work for the local team as it needs to be copied and sent out to reviewers. The application form needs to clarify the name of the applicant and differentiate it from the participant or participants. A tentative brief description of activities and decoration is needed for the NWZ on the application form. Make sure the IT department keeps the same ID number for each application on the Review System, Back Office and Planner. Ask them to also include the ID Number at the top of the application form so it can appear on printed versions. Otherwise, you won’t be able to keep track on them. Ask the IT department to keep the application forms available for participants at least two weeks after the application deadline. Local staff had to send many applications to participants as they didn’t save a copy for themselves and/or they submitted more than one application and they got confused on which one was selected. Application format should include concrete and straightforward questions regarding whether or not the candidate has secure funding and if they require scholarship. Ask for detailed information from the very beginning. You need specific fields on the application form to be included. Here are some examples:  Session title  Number of participants  Complete name and country of origin for each speaker, chair, co-chair or facilitator (note that many times applicants put nicknames instead of real names)  Number of presentations expected and –at least- generic titles for each one  Precise audio visual equipment requirements  Sources of funding (in order to evaluate how likely it is the group will come if its application is accepted).

Recommendations – Global Village application screening process The screening process is the method used by the IAS to make a first filter of applications before the review process. The local staff (Coordinators and Assistants of the three programmes) was in charge of this process with some help of the Geneva staff. In general terms, this is quite an easy and straightforward process if all the IT minutiae have been figured out and all particulars arranged in advance. •

Make sure you understand the screening system and you try it out before beginning the process. This will help you notice particular system problems or information gaps that you may need. Request for these to be figured out by the IT team as soon as possible and follow up on the solutions created.

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•

•

Ensure that when you finished one application form the system takes you back to the next application form and not to the beginning of the list. It is also important that the counter of the system reflects the number of application forms that you have screened/scored and not the number of times that you have entered in one of them. Ensure that you have a functional and easy to use search tool.

Recommendations – Global Village application review process •

•

• • •

There must be an IT person dedicated to the review process on that specific time to facilitate the programming of the system, the signing in for reviewers, etc. The signing in confirmation should be received by the different coordinators (Youth, Cultural and Global Village) according to the membership of members and back up reviewers in order to facilitate the following up of inquires and ensure that everybody signs in on time. The local coordinators should fully understand the system and get access to it in order to give support to their working group members. IT Department needs to ensure that all links are working perfect and that invitations have being sent to the right person with the correspondent link. When sending the invitations for signing in they must be copied to the local coordinators in order to facilitate their following up with working group members. The call for back up reviewers should be made 15 days before the signing in process starts and with clear criteria to promote equity and diversity in topics, populations and regions. During the scoring process the local coordinators should have access to the system in order to figure out who has finished, how many applications have being scored, etcetera. Local staff needs to have a master ID in order to follow up the review process and ensure that reviewers are fulfilling their commitment.

2.2.Programme Activities Planning (PAP) Meeting The Programme Activity Planning (PAP) meeting is a pivotal event. The main purpose of the PAP meeting is to select applications for the final programme. Meeting participants were responsible for ensuring that the programme is diverse and dynamic and is a true reflection of all working groups’ objectives. Meeting participants included the entire Global Village (GV) working group, committee representatives and local members of the youth and cultural programme working groups. Secretariat staff was also onsite to help facilitate the selection process and were joined by a team member from Toronto local host office at AIDS 2006. For the PAP meeting, all top scored applications were divided in three categories: a) Sessions, b) Cultural and c) Booths. We made a binder for each category and at the PAP Meeting back up applications were selected as well. Each category had subcategories and an estimated number of activities that was needed.6 6

Consult Anex 5 for the instructions of the Meeting.

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At the end of the PAP meeting the numbers of selected applications per categories were7: Global Village activities NGO Booths Marketplace Booths Networking Zones Sessions, panel discussions, presentations with questions and answers Youth activities Sessions Cultural activities Exhibitions Performances Screenings Readings

315 77 30 27 67

25 at GV 50 at Banamex Centre 28 32 34 2

These activities were also chosen based on population and regional representation.8 A layout of the Global Village was made on October 2007 by the logistics department of Geneva that needed to be re-worked around 30 times until one week before the conference. Version number 5 was made by a Mexican architect and was taken to the PAP meeting in order to get feedback from the WG members. Many decisions made at the PAP Meeting were not communicated to other related departments inside of the IAS. As a result of that, the local team had to make an important effort of damage control and last minute problem solving. Some examples of this are:

-

-

A wrestling ring was selected in the PAP meeting and the logistics department did not hear about it until days prior to the conference. A GV information island was planned for the GSK space at the commercial section, the information was communicated but a misunderstanding generated with the logistics department who did not receive the exhibition upon arrival. At AIDS2008, there wasn’t a virtual village because of lack of funding, still, the virtual village was promised to some donors. The fundraise department did not receive the concept paper of the GV and had to work with the one form AIDS2006.

Recommendations – Global Village PAP Meeting

7 8

This number does not consider Youth activities at the Banamex Centre Refer to Anex 6 for graphics on such representations.

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•

•

• • • • • • • •

Programme Structure – The programme structure (number, length and timing of sessions) should be finalised before the selection process is undertaken. This issue needs to be an item on the WG early in the planning timetable (9 months prior to the conference), following the concept paper development. The preparatory meeting for the PAP should be made with final statistics of application forms submitted and updated statistics of review process. The more information available about the scoring process the better you can plan. It may be a good idea to have the Project Manager for Programme Activities in the local secretariat for three days prior to the preparatory meeting to the PAP to help with planning and preparation. It is really important to pay attention on the equity in the division of the review teams by categories (region, population represented, gender and language). One binder for the WG members and another for the staff are needed in order to keep track of the conversations and decisions made for follow up. Two local staff members need to be following each category team all time long. Per diems should be paid on breakfast, lunch or dinner time, not at the meeting in order to avoid distractions. The estimated number of subcategories desired activities needs to be decided in collaboration with the local staff to ensure that the numbers are realistic. As a general recommendation, it is important to keep in mind that for each activity selected you would need a space, a time and accessible equipment. The first layout of the Global Village needs to be done for the PAP meeting and worked during the meeting. It is really important to coordinate with other related departments after the PAP meeting in order to ensure that everybody is well informed, you must copy all related staff from other departments.

2.3.Notification process The notification process started after the PAP Meeting, at the end of April, with those applications selected by the WG members. The unsuccessful applicants were notified automatically by the system and the successful ones by a tailored letter made by the local team. The notification process of scholarships was made at the same time in order to let participants know if they were accepted in either processes or both. Some partners and donors were notified automatically as ‘unsuccessful because those applications were not taken out of the regular pool. Donors were promptly contacted with the correct status of their application. Successful notifications included information regarding space offered and basic booths’ contents. It also referred to time assigned to sessions and/or cultural activities. Dedicated email accounts were used for the different subcategories.9 The biggest challenge at this stage was to ask participants all the missing information that was not considered at the application form. This was especially serious for sessions and cultural activities. The local team did not have copies of all the screenings or the information needed in order to allocate the exhibitions on the 9

For a sample of the notification letters please consult Anex 7.

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available space, or the information of the requirements for performances. (Refer to the Cultural Programme Report for more details). We kept waiting for confirmation on speakers for the sessions until the beginning of the conference. Although we asked all participants to confirm their participation by the second week of May, we had almost all the activities confirmed by June. This was in part due to the lack of access to Internet or telephones from the grassroots groups and to the lack of information available on the logistics needed to ensure their participation. For example, we could not provide any information on the allocation of cultural exhibitions until July. Recommendations – Global Village notification process •

• • • •

• • • • •

•

The successful notification letter should give participants a general timeline to inform them about the communication they should be expecting from Global Village organisers preceding the conference. Participants can then be alerted that the organisers will be asking for the information by a particular date. Ensure that you have as much information on technical requirements, custom related information and activities planned asked on the application form; if you need extra information you should ask for it at notification process. Start the notification process as soon as possible after the selection in order to allow participants to get well organised and mobilise their resources. Ensure that you have taken the partners and donors out of the pull if you are using an automatic system. Use all the e-mail addresses provided by the participants for the notification process and establish with them which one is best for follow up. Notify successful participants that would be supported by the Programme Activities Scholarship budget at the same time that are notified about their activities in order to avoid losing them on the process. Provide as much information from the Global Village Exhibitors Manual as possible at this stage. If needed, make calls to participants after the deadline of confirmation to ensure that they received the notification letter. Remember that many of them are grassroots-group members. Do not allow changes on the schedule unless absolute necessary. One month before the conference you need to have everything confirmed so the program can be send to the printer. Make sure your participants will make it to the conference. Applications may be really good but you have to keep in mind that some other constraints are also important (i.e. internet access and communication, number of participants per activity, visas, scholarships). Keep track on the top scored applications. Sometimes selected applications are repetitive and you will need to find some other activities to maintain topic, regional or group representation.

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3. Planning and Logistics Due to staff changes in the secretariat there were three project managers for the Global Village at AIDS 2008. There was no job description of that position and the continuous changes made difficult to clarify the role. In general, they were in charge of communicate the needs of the Global Village Programme to other departments such as AV, IT, Logistics and Communication. However, those tasks had to be taken by the local team or were not taken at all. As a result we had strong problems that needed to be solved in place one week before or at the same week of the conference. The planning and logistics of the Global Village were made mainly following the instructions provided by the Global Village Coordinator from IAS Geneva. The local team provided operative information and relevant recommendations from Toronto’s report with limited access to the making decision process. The follow up was made basically thought the weekly teleconferences involving the local team, the Project Manager Conference Programme Activities and the Global Village Coordinator from IAS Geneva. Limited access to communication with the Logistics, AV and IT Departments was given to the local Global Village Team staff. Due to the lack of communication between IAS departments, IAS local and Geneva offices and IAS providers we had around 30 different versions of the GV layout, a media riser that was not used because it was too far away from the Main Stage, a 4 meters error in the building of the main stage due to the lack of Autocad management by the tent provider, the need for a special local provider in charge of the installation of the exhibitions without drilling the walls, no signage facing the entrance for general public, partners upset because were not allowed to deliver their exhibitions, and participants angry because the information of the Global Village Exhibitors Manual was not respected in reality. The GV local team did not have any communication with the local providers before the conference and communications with CONGREX was just reached a month prior to the conference week. Forcing the entrance through the registration area made really difficult to separate the entrance to the two spaces, especially when the registration area was closed and the IAS worried about people without authorization getting in. This caused an extra need to have security staff and volunteers to block the entrances and guide people. Successes – Global Village planning and logistics •

• • •

The local GV team faced the challenges and last minute problems achieving to have a successful programme and satisfied participants. The local Global Village Coordinator assumed logistic responsibilities during the week of the conference and was able to solve last minutes problems caused by the weakness of the planning. The local GV team was strong and efficient. The close relation with participants and local GV team impacted in the overall satisfaction of participants.

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•

The local GV team build a strong and close relation with local providers that promoted efficiency and problem solving.

Recommendations – Global Village planning and logistics

• •

• •

• • •

• • • • •

• •

•

Local operative decisions need to be done locally. Both offices (Geneva and local host) must be fully informed of decisions made. Ensure clear communication between all staff who is working on the Global Village project (including programme, logistics, AV and IT with the local GV team). Teleconferences should be held regularly, kept short and taking minutes. In person visits should be as frequent as possible as this makes communication easier. Operative communication with providers is better if spoken in the local language. The GV layout needs to be done just before the PAP meeting so that WG members can comment and make suggestions. The final layout needs to be ready at least one month before the conference. Operative changes need to be decided in collaboration with all departments. The Global Village Exhibitor’s Manual needs to be done in collaboration with all departments. Last minute changes should be avoided because they cause annoyance and frustration among participants. The Global Village Exhibitor’s Manual should be an accessible document that is easy to read and clearly explains whom to contact for more information. Information concerning the building and dismantling of cultural exhibitions and booths needs to be reflected in the Exhibitors Manual The responsible person for logistics need to adequately manage AutoCAD, supervise the quality of the materials used, have a check list and follow up with providers. Do not take information from different departments for granted. More effort needs to be made in ensuring all departments are working collaboratively. Final decisions and plans must be shared among all relevant department to avoid surprises and miscommunications. One person should be full-time in charge of the logistics at the Global Village. General decoration of the GV, session rooms and meeting rooms should be part of planning and preparation. Tasks such as this must be clearly delegated. Ensure sufficient power to the Global Village. Provisions should be made for exhibits that might require more power. Any restrictions concerning voltage or power need to be communicated to exhibitors as early as possible to avoid power cuts.

It is also important to bear in mind that… •

As a general principle the working groups should aim for fewer activities done better. The number was reduced from Toronto, but further reductions could be made

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• •

• • • • •

• • •

Think carefully, GV 2008 proved that the breakdown between 30, 60 and 90 minute slots are good. Staffs require an office for several purposes. They do need a space to type up a document, sit and have lunch or a break and this can be communal. It was great to have one large room because then we shared equipment and we could de-brief (scream, cry, laugh, be excited) together. It really helped keep the team spirits together too. It is very important to have medical services areas in the GV. The exhibitor desk should double as a general information desk and staffed accordingly. For the general layout, keep away from the boxy, linear form. Make it look less like an exhibition area and more like an actual real-life village. Keep in mind accessibility – people with wheelchairs participate on the GV too! The level of noise, specially form the Main Stage (be it from drums, rap, dancing, or screaming), reached unbearable levels during sessions, screenings and activities in both areas. One question for the future utility of the GV is whether entertainment-oriented spaces should be put in a separate area so those who want dialogue can have it. Keep this in mind when requesting equipment that would be rented for the Main Stage. Noise is a real issue in the GV. Ensure appropriate sound proofing for rooms that need quiet. Avoid renting sound systems; it is a painful sound competition. Avoid narrow and crowded aisles. Keep in mind that popular and/or free activities have huge audiences (such as the free haircuts). Do not plan activities before 8.00 am because people do not attend.

3.1.Opening Ceremony The opening ceremony started to be planned after the PAP Meeting by a subcommittee formed by the WG. After some e-mailing with the subcommittee, a concept paper was developed in June with some ideas of the speakers and special invites. The invitation letters were sent in early July and confirmations came at late July.10 The WG decided to invite the local Mayor. However, the local CCC had a conflict of interest with this decision and recommended to invite a federal government representative as well. This turned to be a serious problem because of the local political context where both, the local and the federal governments, represent opposite parties and continuously tussle with one another. The local GV team suggested acknowledging such political scenario; nevertheless the final decision was to invite both governments. Result of this was two simultaneous opening ceremonies at the Global Village: one in the session room that allowed simultaneous interpretation and another in the main stage with an SPC member translating. The main stage opening was highly attended by media, public figures and political authorities. It also featured cultural activities which turned out to be extremely successful. 10

Refer to Anex 8 for the concept paper of the opening ceremony of the GV2008 and to Anex 9 for a sample invitation letter to the opening ceremony.

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Recommendations – Global Village opening ceremony • • • • • • • •

A specific meeting or teleconference for the planning and decision making of the opening ceremony is very advisable. Diversity of representation needs to be carefully ensured. Invitations need to be sent out as soon as possible. Previous networking with special invitees or authorities is stressed in order to ensure their participation. International WG members and the IAS Staff in Geneva need to be as sensitive as possible to the local context. Having a position assigned for following up on the planning and logistics of the opening ceremony is recommended. A protocol officer should be employed to deal with visiting dignitaries and VIPs. Interpretation for the opening ceremony is usually much demanded. The main stage is a great place for holding the opening ceremony as it can accommodate a large audience and represents an attractive public spot.

3.2.VIP Visits A number of important people visited the GV2008. Some examples of this were the Mayor of the city, the Minister of Health, the Vice-minister of Health, the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations between other local and federal government authorities, public figures and celebrities. For each visit, the GV Coordinator was involved in the security and logistics protocol in order to ensure the proper entrance to the venue for the visitor and his/her team. The GV Assistant helped out when possible. However, previous visits to identify possible routes that interest the VIP are very recommended, especially with the personality’s team and/or security staff. Recommendations – Global Village VIP visits

•

• • •

•

It should be the duty of the protocol officer to work with the Programme Activities Manager on possible routes for visits. We found very important to have, for example, the youth commitment desk in a strategic position on the way to the main stage, this encouraged VIPs to sign in. The protocol officer and one staff member should be dedicated to the planning and accompanying of each VIP visit. Identify interesting, specific and unique activities, groups or booths for the VIPs tour. Consider that you will need to set up barriers with volunteers for them. Avoid having more than one VIP at a time. Consider that the co-chairs of the IAC and the executive director of the IAS will be expecting to tour the GV eventually. It should be the duty of the Programme Activities Manager to facilitate this while the local GV Coordinator is taking care of the operative issues.

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3.3 Sessions and Forums The Global Village hosted a broad range of interactive and participatory sessions, forums and other oral presentations focused on current and emerging HIV topics. These activities were separated in two venues: session room 1 (GVSR1) and session room 2 (GVSR2). The session rooms were located in opposite areas of the same side of the tent to avoid noise. There were 56 activities scheduled at the GV2008 session rooms. Bellow a breakdown of the activities held: Global Village session room 1 • • • • •

This was the biggest and most technically equipped room. It held 27 activities during the 5 days that the GV opened. Simultaneous Spanish-English translation was available It could accommodate up to 300 people Was managed by an officer, a technician and a hostess, supported by a volunteer.

9 panel discussions 1 performance 5 Q&A 3 debates 1 workshop 4 Meet the Plenary Sessions  4 plenary transmissions      

Global Village session room 2 • •

It could accommodate up to 100 people. Was managed by an officer, a technician and a hostess, supported by a volunteer.

    

4 panel discussions 6 Q&A 2 debates 12 workshops 5 breakfasts

Speaker

One officer for each session room was hired for the week of the conference to supervise the adequate development of the scheduled activities, be aware of technical requirements, and provide the appropriate material (such as scissors, PowerPoint projections ready, nameplates, and other stationary needs) to each speaker. Even though this sounds very simple, officers need to be strategic thinkers and problem solvers. Their functions were: • Have the most up to date list of sessions and identify which kind of session is each one (workshop, panel discussion, etc). • Identify the audio-visual equipment requirements.

• •

Confirm with the speakers with one day in advance that they have delivered their audiovisual presentations to the technician (must have been delivered with a minimum of 6 hours in advance). Have the stationary needs ready as well as the Session Room.

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•

• •

Support speakers and audience providing what they need to make them feel at home. Check that materials (pens, markers, scissors, tape and etcetera) are returned at the end of the meeting. Keep activities on time using only one clock for all the room, insisting on punctuality and be prepared in case a speaker doesn’t respect the time. Have paper cards prepared to communicate formally to the speaker that his/her time is over.

Successes – Global Village session rooms •

• • •

The activities at the session rooms were successful because of the flexibility and improvising ability of the local team. For example, they solved the lack of keys by jumping over the walls, the lack of stationary needs by providing creative alternatives of materials, the lack of cleaning services by cleaning themselves, the lack of internet and printer by running to Centro Banamex leaving the room in the hands of the sound technician; they also had the best attitude to deal with the participants’ anxiety caused by the noise as a result of the inappropriate walls that were provided. In general terms, the decoration of the room was good, banners and tablecloths were simple and neat, flowers made it more pleasant to the viewer. Technical equipment worked as expected and technicians were able to solve with presented problems. The electronic timer on the speakers’ table facilitated punctuality as all sessions started and finished on time.

Challenges – Global Village session rooms •

•

•

•

The local GV team established a check-in date for speakers in order to deliver their presentations and requirements; however 80% of speakers delivered their presentations 10 minutes before their activity started, along with the rest of their requirements. Without the check-in, the staff couldn’t reach the missing participants because the available contact information was from their origin countries, not from where they were staying in Mexico. So the officers couldn’t know if the participants were in Mexico or not, and couldn’t have their PowerPoint presentations ready, as it was planned and expressed in a lot of emails that the participants received. This could be solved because the sound/video engineer was very skilled, flexible, and well-disposed. The nameplates had to be printed in a hurry, because a lot of them never send the names of their speakers, and since the GV didn’t have a printer for the first days, the officer had to go to Centro Banamex, leaving the Session Room. The ideal would be to have the chance of printing the nameplates one night before the session, but since the Global Village didn’t have a printer, this became impossible. And without the check-in, the night before the session there was no new information. The time space between sessions was 15 minutes, in that time they had to clean the room, check the PowerPoint presentations, move and set the space

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•

• •

• • • •

• •

• •

as the participants needed to have it, give them their stationary needs, solve last minute problems, and run to the printer that was located 10 minutes away from the GV. The hostess couldn’t help on this, because their duty was to give water to the participants and smile. In addition, they were on high heels, so asking them to run would have taken more time than needed. The volunteers helped as much as they could, but since there were so many things to solve, they had to stay preparing the space for the coming session. The previous communication by email is really important. Since the tone in our e-mails was very careful, we might make the participants act arrogantly. The emails with important information were sent using the official logo, using an extra formal language. In general, the participants for sessions asked many times about matters that were already treated in informative emails, demanding for a prompt answer, which made us notice that they didn’t read those emails. 80% of the participants for sessions didn’t do the check-in, which contrasts a lot with the percentage of other venues. In addition to that, the Speakers Centre in the conference venue told for several days to the GV speakers that they did not need to deliver in advance their presentations. In spite of all this, the sessions began sharply, except for one that began 15 minutes late, and one that was unexpectedly cancelled. There was not adequate wheel-chair access. In the future, this must be considered to foster diversity participation. Internet and printers were not properly set for staff and thus officers had to go back and forth to Banamex Centre for the printing of nameplates. This proved very time consuming. Rooms were not soundproof and walls were too thin and too short. Overall, the noise of other events made it really difficult to attend the sessions. Although almost everything was made in team, it is important to consider that the technician cannot have the full control of the room just because he/her is in charge of the equipment. Officers must have access to it at any time. For example, the officers had to hunt the technician everyday for the key to the room. The audience left the room generally clean, but still the volunteers and officers had to clean up after each session, this took away the few minutes available to prepare for the next activity. Cleaning staff were hard to come by. Staff had to economize the material as much as possible on the first days because the stationary was incomplete. During the following days all the material was there, but not used because most of the workshops had already taken place. Rooms were rather cold, particularly in the mornings. Many people complained about the cold and it was thought that this posed a health risk to participants – especially people living with HIV. The Global Village is an active, busy place and so noise management will always remain something of a challenge.

Recommendations – Global Village session rooms

• • •

Start liaisons with session organisers about session content and AV needs four months prior to the conference. A dedicated AV technician should be hired for each session room. Allocate one dedicated staff person per session room.

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• • • • • • • •

• • •

• • •

Consider access for disabled people before building the rooms. Foster the participation of both speakers in wheelchairs that need to access the stage or regular public. Foresee the way the session rooms can be sound adequate. To have taller and thicker walls could be a solution. Ensure that officers have keys to the rooms. Assure that the cleaning staffs come by at least once a day Have a simple and neat decoration. Tablecloths and flowers are enough. Internet, printers, and other requirements need to be ready from the first day. Hire well prepared, flexible officers that are able to crack cultural misunderstandings and give creative solutions to unexpected difficulties. Ensure that you have stationary delivered on time Manage the air conditioning so it becomes a solution and not a problem. Consider the possibility of managing it independently in each zone of the GV. Session rooms attendance in average was 100 people, avoid having bigger rooms that will look empty and prioritize small rooms that contribute to dialogue Have a real friendly contact with the participants during all the process. This will make them feel part of the whole duty and become naturally responsible of reading the emails, participate actively, asking instead of demanding, and believe in the credibility of the instructions given. Be sure to have the contact information of the participants through a check in, so you can get in touch with them. If not a mobile number, have at least their hotel number. Use nameplates with the name of the organisation, so they can be used even if the speaker’s name changes. Make sure the speaker centre (for all other conference speakers) is informed of GV speaker processes.

3.4 Plenary Viewing and Meet the Plenary Speaker sessions The transmissions of the first two plenary were cancelled due to technical problems. In addition the transmission could be sent in one language from the source and interpretation was not considered. These problems were frustrating to session participants and were possibly influenced poor attendance on the remaining days. Since viewing the plenary is really important in order to understand and take advantage of the Meet the Plenary Speakers sessions, especially for general public, the problems affected both spaces. Another reason for the lack of attendance could be that the local audience visited the Global Village to learn about HIV/AIDS not through technical language, but through art, culture, and other familiar codes. The sessions must be promoted for more specific audiences, like scientific students, teachers, doctors, etc. A room set with a sofa and some soft drinks to host the plenary speakers after the press conference was available in order to meet with them before going to the GV Area. Sometimes the press conference was a little longer than expected; however they always reached the Global Village area on time. AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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Speakers in general were cooperative, waiting for each other on the way to the Global Village area, in case some of them had to stop for different needs or in case some speaker was blocked by journalists, delegates or friends. A special volunteer was available for this accompanying role from the main venue room to the GV. At the GV we had one of the Meeting Rooms available with food for their lunch before the Meet the Plenary Speakers Session started.

Recommendations – Global Village Meet the Plenary Speakers sessions

• •

•

• •

•

Send the invitation for moderators as soon as possible (at least 4 months before the conference). Make sure that you have the contact information for reaching them during the week. Ensure moderators have read the moderator guidelines. Be more explicit in the programme of what the Plenary Transmissions and Meet the Plenary Speaker Sessions are and who the speakers are. With a better advertisement people could have known the great opportunity it was to see the transmission of the plenary or to meet the speakers. Promote them to specific audiences Have fully functional interpretation services available for the plenary viewing and the Meet the Plenary Speaker sessions. Outreach specifically for the Meet the Plenary Speaker sessions and consider that people may need to listen to the plenary first. Ensure slides are used at the actual plenary session (before and after the session) to promote the meeting of plenary speakers. Specific information about the topic and background of speakers must be available in GV outreach materials and on the GV web site.

3.3.Community Dialogue Space - Tequio The Community Dialogue Space was an independent space planned and built by UNAIDS. The space had sessions with the Red Ribbon organisations primarily in the morning until 14:00. This is a very popular space and other activities were planned here such as Yoga classes and afternoon sessions. UNAIDS is open to receive activities on their space as long as they have a community approach that promotes dialogue. The space is also offered to those community based organisations that do not have another space at the IAC. The Yoga classes that were planned at 7.00 am were cancelled because both the facilitator and the audience did not show up.

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Recommendations – Global Village Community Dialogue Space • • • • •

When planning the layout allocate the Community Dialogue Space as far as possible from the Main Stage and the Youth Pavilion. These three spaces are the noisiest in the GV The logistics need to be followed up directly with them in order to ensure that the building up process is as smooth as possible They requested a rounded stage inside of it and two different access points Plan one or two activities per day in that space and follow up with UNAIDS to ensure that they can be implemented Do not plan activities before 8.00 am because people do not attend this early because the conference starts at 9:00 am.

3.4.Networking Zones Networking Zones (NWZ) bring local and international groups together to plan and implement exciting spaces focused on key populations or geographic regions. These spaces aim to facilitate engagement and exchanges to enhance learning. NWZ are spaces to: Meet, local and international organisations working within the same geographical region or with the same focus group; Collaborate, unite efforts and work side-by-side with colleagues in the field; Incorporate, various projects developed by each organisation, to be presented within the space; Learn/teach, the opportunity to learn from international colleagues as well as share knowledge and strategy with them; Implement, successful tactics being applied globally; Take home, the knowledge and projects to implement and experience to share; Be visible, participation gives each organisation the opportunity to maximize their presence amongst the HIV/AIDS community as well as the local population; Be heard, NWZ offer a captive audience; Spread the word, provide applicable information to the general public; Touch others, be a positive influence in the lives of many persons who will in turn, change their lives and affect others in the process; Unite, be part of the solution and strength in numbers; Create allies, strengthen existing work relationships and create new ones amongst the various organisations as well as with individual citizens motivated to join, and Reach other parts of the world, the knowledge shared will transcend borders. Of the 99 applications submitted requesting to host a networking zone (52 from the Global Village Programme, 28 from the Youth Programme, and 19 from the Cultural Programme) 43 organisations were approved to collaborate in an assigned NWZ. The selected organisations were contacted by the Global Village Coordinator by way of an acceptance letter. The letter was sent via e-mail, addressed to the contact person whose name appeared on the application form on April 25th 2008. Due to the fact that little or no applications were received from organisations working with specific key populations or regions, there was a need to choose and contact an additional 4 organisations to serve as leaders to NWZ (Asian Region, Interfaith, ILO and MENA). Also included in the letter were the specifications of the space; dimensions, basic package of furniture/equipment to be provided by the conference, mention of insurance and cleaning service, and mention of the subsidy they were to receive.

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This year, there were a total of 26 Networking Zones in the Global Village: African Region Asian Region Caribbean Children's Community Media Culture Matters Disability Eastern Europe Harm Reduction Hot Topics Human Rights ILO Indigenous

Interfaith Latin American Region LGBT MENA MSM Pacific Region Peer leader People Living with HIV Scientific Garden Sexual Workers Traditional Healing Women's Youth

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Networking. The Networking Zone Coordinator contacted several local and federal government organisations to promote their participation. Based on relevant work with key populations, the interested government organisations were paired with Networking Zones working the same or similar issues. It was considered that the inclusion of government organisations could be helpful in the development of the Networking Zones for various reasons; the participation and involvement of the host city and country government would be an opportunity for information to become available and therefore applicable in various government programs; the government could offer the financial support needed by many of the Networking Zones; as well, they could offer assistance in providing materials, furniture and/or equipment which would greatly reduce the cost of renting or shipping. The government organisations were introduced to the Networking Zone Leader via e-mail. All contact introductions between new organisations, including government organisations, and the Networking Zone were done via an “Introduction to Collaborate” e-mail. It was a brief note stating that a new organisation had come forward and shown interest in collaborating in the Networking Zone; the contact information for both the new organisation and the Networking Zone Leader were included, asking them to contact each other to begin working together. This “Introduction to Collaborate” e-mail was used as a form letter, which was sent out repeatedly, containing the same general information in the body of the letter, yet the contact details were modified each time a new introduction was made. Of the 26 Networking Zones, 3 were able to successfully make contact with and receive the support of a government organisation (Human Rights, Children’s, and Scientific Garden). The low participation rate can be greatly attributed to the fact that the conference date fell during the governmental vacation period.

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Physical Space. Of the 26 Networking Zones, 23 measured 60 meters squared, 2 measured 90 meters squared (Latin American Region and Women’s), and 1 measured 24 meters squared (MENA).

•

As mentioned previously, a basic package of furniture/equipment was provided by the conference. Each Networking Zone, regardless of dimensional size, was equipped with:

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o o o o o o o o o

3 x hard white walls: 1x (12mw x 2.48mh), 2x (5mw x 2.48mh) 1 header sign (including name of Networking Zone) 1 speakers´ platform (approx. 1m x 2m) 1 computer 2 chairs 1 table (skirted) 1 wastebasket Light and electricity Carpet

•

Each Networking Zone was assigned a “generic name” which simply described the key population or geographical region addressed. The collaborators were asked to come up with a more creative name for the space (if they so chose), which was printed and displayed on a header sign at the Networking Zone and was also the name which would appear on all the printed material to be distributed within the conference. This name was submitted to the Networking Zone Coordinator. The Networking Zone collaborators decided on the decoration of the space; furniture, materials, wall decorations, live plants, floor pillows and music among other details, were used. It was recommended that the $2,000 USD stipend be used to cover these expenses; the amount of money used was to be decided upon by all the collaborators. The leaders were asked to submit to the Networking Zone Coordinator, a brief description (100 words) of the activities that were to take place in the Networking Zone. These requests were to constitute proper use of the space. No one organisation was permitted to monopolize the space.

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Funds & Expenses. As mentioned previously, the conference provided the same basic package of furniture and equipment including daily cleaning service and insurance for all Networking Zones. In addition, a $2,000 USD subsidy was provided. The Networking Zone Coordinator was responsible for requesting from the Leader, the bank account information necessary to make a transfer deposit of the subsidy from IAS Geneva; an organisational account or personal account were acceptable. The Networking Zone Coordinator received the form to be filled-out from the IAS Geneva Financial Officer via email, and forwarded it to all the Networking Zone Leaders with indications to fill-out with all the necessary information that their bank required to accept the deposit. When the forms were returned to the Networking Zone Coordinator, the file was opened and checked, then forwarded to the IAS Geneva Financial Officer. The Networking Zone Coordinator requested a tentative date of deposit from the IAS Geneva Financial Officer, which was handled as internal information only. Two weeks time was added to the internal deposit-date to allow for unforeseen set-backs; the date which was then reported to the Leaders. Once the deposits were made by IAS Geneva, notice was sent to the Networking Zone Coordinator who in turn, asked the Leaders to check their bank accounts and confirm receipt of the deposit immediately. Any problems were reported to the IAS Geneva Financial Officer. Once the Leaders were in possession of the subsidy, they could proceed to spend the funds as had been decided by the Networking Zone. No proof of expenses was required. In one case, the leader and sole organisation running the Human Rights Networking Zone, preferred to donate their subsidy to the Harm Reduction Networking Zone whom they felt needed the assistance

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more; this was acceptable. Likewise, the ILO Networking Zone felt they were not in need of the subsidy and decided to forfeit the assistance.

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Accounts with Providers. The Networking Zones had the option of renting additional furniture and audio/visual equipment from Congrex, the official conference provider. It was necessary to provide Congrex with the contact information for each one of the leaders. With this information, Congrex proceeded to open on-line ordering accounts for each Networking Zone. This was the only assistance required.

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Exhibitor’s Manual. An Exhibitor’s Manual was designed by IAS Geneva indicating all specifications, rules and regulations, and procedures to follow for participation in the Global Village; a copy of which was sent to the Global Village Team for their knowledge and reference. It was necessary to become familiar with the contents of the manual and be able to manage the general information fluidly and keep the manual on-hand. It was the Networking Zone Coordinator’s responsibility to send a copy via e-mail to all the Networking Zone Leaders, clearly stating the importance of reading and following the indications in the manual. A copy was also posted on the Congrex website for reference. Since many modifications needed to be made to the manual, several versions were sent from IAS Geneva. In order to avoid repetitive mailings and confusion, the Networking Zone Leaders were instructed to regularly refer to the manual posted on the Congrex web site for the most updated information.

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Other Responsibilities for the Networking Zone Coordinator. Throughout the four months prior to the conference, there was much more to do for the Networking Zone Coordinator, above those duties which were in conjunction with the Leader. For example: a) The Networking Zone Coordinator was persistent in requesting updated contact information from the leaders, of current and new collaborating organisations; keeping a list on-hand for personal reference and as a data base which could be shared with all the Networking Zones as well as with other areas or departments working on the conference. This complete list of all the Networking Zones; with headings: NWZ, Zone Leader, Collaborating Organisation, Local Contact, Organisation, e-mail, Country and Language, was formatted in Excel and sent out to all the Networking Zone Leaders and collaborators. It was also important to establish very early on, the predominant and preferred language(s) spoken by the Leaders, in order to send all the communications in various translations. b) Each Networking Zone was given one full scholarship, which included transportation, accommodations, and registration to the conference; with the exception of Asian Region and African Region, which were granted two scholarships based on need. Though the Networking Zone Coordinator was not directly responsible for the scholarship process, it was necessary to be familiar with the process and remain informed of the progress of each of the recipients. Problems resulting in a collaborator not receiving a scholarship, could lead to the unfortunate withdrawal of their participation.

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c) On a regular and constant basis, important information was received concerning visas, customs or immigration, medical needs, scholarships, transportation, safety, space specification changes, food & drink restrictions within the venue, shipping restrictions, access restrictions, conference badge process, rental process, operational hours, and general local tips among others. It was the Networking Zone Coordinator’s responsibility to receive, filter, and communicate all this information in a timely and fluid manner to the Networking Zone Leaders. d) The Networking Zone Coordinator had to keep a very precise and well organized agenda. Deadlines were abundant. It was crucial that dates were always in mind and on-hand in the form of a personal agenda to carry around and a wall calendar for quick reference and for all coworkers to access when needed. Setting and communicating deadlines to the Leaders took careful calculating.

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Access Badges. It was decided by IAS Geneva Logistics that access wristbands were to be distributed to outside providers and exhibitors for the set-up dates, in order to access the venue with vehicles. These were one-day wristbands; for subsequent days, exhibitors were requested to wear their delegate/exhibitor badge.

•

Registration Package. Global Village Exhibitors were asked to pick up their registration package on site one day before the Global Village opened, at the Congrex Exhibitors Desk. This package included one full delegate registration for each Networking Zone booth with the name of the organisation printed on it. The badge was to be shared amongst all Networking Zone collaborators. In addition, they received 10 exhibitor badges with the Organisations’ name printed on them as well; these were to be used for ID purposes so that conference staff as well as security staff could easily identify the collaborators of each Networking Zone. The specific amount of exhibitors’ badges for each Networking Zone was requested by the IAS Mexico Networking Zone Coordinator approximately two weeks before the conference.

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Set-up Dates and conference week. On set-up dates (August 2nd 8:3020:30hrs, and August 3rd 8:30- 12:00hrs), the IAS Mexico Networking Zone Coordinator was present to welcome leaders and collaborators to the Global Village, as well as assist them in the check-in process with the Congrex staff, locate their space, and make note and address any inconsistencies with structural space, and/or furniture and equipment needs. During the conference week, all Networking Zones were regularly visited and supported by the Networking Zone Coordinator in order to continue addressing any conflicting situations so they could be resolved in a timely manner. It proved to be necessary for the Networking Zone Coordinator to be well-informed of the persons in charge of various details within the Global Village; physical structure needs furniture and equipment, internet, maintenance, air conditioning, main-stage sound system, security, and volunteer coordination. A good, friendly-working relationship with these staff members made for open communication and adequate problem-solving team.

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Successes – Global Village Networking Zones •

A very constant communication with the Networking Zone Leaders, with close attention to explaining all the details of any particular point, proved to be of utmost importance in the success of the Networking Zones. They greatly appreciated the communication, which in turn, developed very pleasant working relationships; making the participants more accessible to receive information and attentive to follow instructions in a timely manner.

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Networking; the purpose of the Networking Zone which is to meet, collaborate, and unite efforts to work side-by-side with colleagues in the field, was successful. Not only did all the collaborating organisations work well together within their zone, but with the help of the Networking Zone Coordinator; who facilitated meetings amongst organisations prior to the conference through constant and continuous e-mail communication, and during the conference personally introduced various collaborators, they visited other zones and met other participants working with other key populations or regions; participated in the activities being presented in other zones; and even agreed to develop projects with others after the conference.

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Though volunteers were limited, the IAS Mexico Global Village Team moved quickly to identify needs; the Networking Zone Coordinator was assigned as the Global Village Volunteer Coordinator. The Team developed an impromptu training for the volunteers in which everyone participated; to introduce themselves and give specific instructions for each area as well as a sensitivity training. Early morning meetings were held to discuss, amongst other details, the distribution of volunteers with attention to special events and peek times; this was followed-up as a constant communication via mobile phone with the Networking Zone Coordinator to request in-the-moment volunteer needs. All the Global Village Team had a friendly attitude with the volunteers and not only told them they were now part of the team, but also made them feel it. The Team always made sure to say “thank you” even during the most stressful moments. This all helped to motivate the volunteers to assist as much as possible. On closing-day, the Global Village Team had the idea to ask all their Global Village contacts/participants if they cared to donate something of their organisational material to the volunteers; there was a favourable response. Gift bags were made and distributed to them after a small appreciation ceremony was held on the main stage. Every one of the IAS Mexico Global Village Staff stopped what they were doing, to be on stage and personally thank the volunteers; a popular Mexican Pop music star was visiting the Global Village and was asked to thank them as well; they were asked to come on stage which they enjoyed.

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The Networking Zone Coordinator visited and spoke to the IAS Geneva Logistics Volunteer Coordinator and together they did the best possible to provide the Global Village with volunteers. The Logistics Volunteer Coordinator was a pleasure to work with as she was accessible, professional and responsible.

Challenges – Global Village Networking Zones

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•

The Global Village Coordinator was initially also doing the job of the Networking Zone Coordinator. When the Networking Zone Coordinator was hired, the communication with the participants was already quite active and several special situations had already arisen. This made it difficult for the Networking Zone Coordinator to quickly understand and manage all the information. Also, it took more than one month for the Networking Zone participants to stop contacting the Global Village Coordinator.

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Often times the person who submitted the application was not the person who was going to serve as the contact person and often they were not even going to participate in the conference. This caused delays in communication or misdirected information, which later had to be resent to the correct contact.

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A couple of the organisations chosen to serve as leaders, relinquished this duty because they had little or no previous experience with organizing or working with multiple groups or conference participation experience, or did not have the time or the manpower, and did not feel confident enough.

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Several Networking Zones were left unattended for long periods of time; a few used only a small portion of the space; and yet a couple of others had little to no decorations or any information. These last two observations made the Networking Zone very uninviting, even when there were activities taking place; public participation was low to non-existent in these zones.

•

There were many set-backs due to the fact that the provider who was responsible for printing the header signs never gave an exact number of printable characters. The names that were given to each Networking Zones and used for the printed materials were in several cases, not the names that could fit to be printed on the headers.

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During the conference week, many Networking Zones complained about their furniture being “stolen”; other participants would remove furniture from unattended spaces into their own space.

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Originally, 308 volunteers were requested for general operation needs and 58 for special event help, by the IAS Mexico Global Village Team. Of these, only 95 total were approved by IAS Geneva Logistics. The week of the conference, the Global Village Team was assisted by an average of 40 volunteers per day (20 per shift). We were badly under-staffed and suffered the consequences; did not have support enough during special events such as visits by top government officials, were overwhelmed with information inquiries and requests for informational printed materials at the entrance doors and information desks, were not able to provide assistance to the Networking Zones when they had a special presentation, needed more man-power for crowd control during Main Stage events and rallies. Though a briefing session was planned for volunteers after the kick-off, the time it took to separate and gather the GV volunteers and take them from the conference venue to Global Village, only allowed 20min of actual briefing time, which proved to be too little. Later, during the conference dates the Networking Zone Coordinator was assigned as Volunteer Coordinator as a per-need initiative and decision by the Global Village Team, to whom it quickly became obvious that there was no logistics volunteer coordinator being assigned to the Global Village.

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•

Often times it was not clear to the IAS Mexico Staff, who was doing what in Geneva. Also, there were several staff changes in Geneva; the new person was often not briefed on the current status of a particular point or chose to change the take a different approach. This caused many programming problems and set-backs for example, with deadlines for Networking Zone details which were important for space development and function; (i.e. knowing who was in charge of follow-up with the NWZ signage; who would determine the printing parameters for this signage; size, location to be hung, number of characters printable, whether logos would be included; who was in charge of follow-up with the provider (Congrex) to resolve problems with accounts, orders, web site difficulties; who was in charge of determining where each NWZ would be physically located and authorize space changes; who was in charge of determining the number of exhibitors badges allowed per Networking Zone and also the details to be printed on the one full delegate badge.

Recommendations – Global Village Networking Zones

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The Networking Zone Coordinator was hired 3 months prior to the conference date. By this time, the acceptance letters had been sent out and communication with the Networking Zone Leaders and collaborators had been established. Hiring the Networking Zone Coordinator even one month earlier (6 months prior to the conference date) would allow him/her to join the team when the Networking Zones just begin to form, therefore becoming familiar with all participants and their particular backgrounds from the start. Also, it will prevent a break in communication and eliminate confusion for the participants, which results from changing the Local IAS contact after a month of working together.

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A larger budget is necessary to ensure that the NWZ remain dynamic and important to the conference. The subsidy given needs to be increased to cover costs of programming, furniture and equipment.

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A document with past ideas for programming and decoration, planning strategies, best practices for community organizing, overall planning and other relevant information should be shared with NWZ leaders.

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The application form should ask that the contact information be included of the person who would be responsible for implementing the proposed project; someone who will be attending the conference. Likewise, it should indicate if the organisation would be interested in serving as the leader for the Networking Zone; this should be based on previous experience in organizing and working with multiple groups and/or general conference experience and available resources of time and staff.

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A special space at the main conference web site should be dedicated for NWZ sharing their programme of activities and other related information.

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•

A very complete list of all local non governmental organisations was provided by IAS Mexico’s Communications Department. Nonetheless, a list of only those organisations whose work is focused on HIV/AIDS would be more relevant, more user friendly, less time consuming (due to having to filter it), and ready for distribution purposes for the Networking Zone Coordinator and other departments. As well, and under the same criteria, a list of governmental organisations would be useful.

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Using the lists mentioned above, the Networking Zone Coordinator should provide a short list of local organisations and at least one governmental organisation to the Networking Zone Leader, a week after receiving confirmation of the leader organisation’s participation. It should become an established practice for IAS to require that each Networking Zone Leader, enlist the participation of at least one local organisation; and strongly encourage to likewise include one government organisation. These organisations can be ideal resources in the way of providing, acquiring, or renting material, furniture, or audio/visual equipment locally; reduces expenses for the Networking Zone, minimizes problems due to shipping and delivery, and outreach. Of course, this also serves the networking objective and gives the host city the opportunity to become a more active participant in the conference.

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Visual aids are extremely useful. Whenever possible, search the database for pictures to include when sending communications addressing dimensions or sizes, physical space, or any other information that can be more clearly described with a picture.

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Though Networking Zones are open spaces which can be used for structured or informal activities, it should be required that there be an optimized use of time and space. This can be accomplished by directly telling the leaders that they are expected to make good use of the space. It can then be monitored by asking each Networking Zone to share an Activities Programme with the rest of the organizers 3 weeks prior to the conference start date.

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Before requesting that the Networking Zones choose a more creative name for their space, it is necessary to first confirm with the provider who will be printing the header signs, as to the number of printable characters. It is suggested that the name of the space and a description of the decoration of the space, be dead lined by the Networking Zone coordinator at the same time as the Activities Programme; approximately 2 months after the acceptance letters are sent out and/or one month prior to the conference date.

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The Networking Zone Coordinator should be consistently firm about only communicating through the leader and not with all the collaborators as well. This will avoid any miscommunications. Therefore, it is recommended that communication with the leader be through the Networking Zone Coordinator’s personal IAS e-mail address and through the Public Folder, whenever necessary, for the rest of the collaborators.

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All communications should be translated into the predominant languages spoken among the group.

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An internal and external deadline should be established for each request. The external deadline (i.e. the one communicated to the leaders) should be at least one week prior to the actual internal deadline (i.e. the date in which the information is required by IAS).

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The number of exhibitor’s badges required by each zone was requested 2 weeks before the conference check-in date; they should be requested 4 weeks before since it is a security issue.

3.5.Youth Pavilion The Youth Pavilion was a dedicated youth space in the Global Village created by the AIDS 2008 AIDS Programme and the Mexico YouthForce. It served as a space to highlight and showcase youth achievements in the global response to HIV/AIDS, and to facilitate networking opportunities with youth and adults. It included a positive youth lounge, a stage and an internet area. The activities held on that space were decided during the PAP meeting that included Youth Programme working group members, based on those priority themes and/or populations related to the Youth Programme.

Recommendations – Global Village Youth Pavilion • • • • • •

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When planning the layout allocate the Youth Pavilion as far as possible from the Main Stage and the Community Dialogue Space. These three spaces are the noisier of the GV The logistics need to be followed up directly with them in order to ensure that the building up process is as smooth as possible Allocate the Youth Commitment Desk in a strategic point in order to facilitate that VIPs and other important people engage and commit with them The Youth Programme Assistant role is vital in incorporating the viewpoints and perspectives of the young people into Youth Pavilion discussions onsite Make sure your wireless connection is working properly on 24/7 basis. Sometimes the connection went down at the Global Village and the uploading process was interrupted several times. We had many problems with the electricity supplier company and four computers got burned due to a voltage failure. As there was only one electricity supplier for the whole Global Village, they not only forgot to check the voltage on every single plug but we also had to wait an entire day for them to fix the problem. Ensure you always count with an effective cleaning service. Even if we have a cleaning company hired for the whole Global Village, local staff spent quite long time cleaning and picking up garbage from the floor, the networking rooms and the workstation. Sometime throughout the planning phase, a logistical procedure should be made up for the handling of high level guests in the Youth Pavilion. Things

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•

that seem very minor actually end up to be a very big deal, and rather time consuming, in the end. When planning the layout think about the possible routes for visits. We found very important to have a main entrance, with the Youth Commitment Desk, and one big emergency exit. This will allow people to circulate and not interrupt the visitors rout.

For more information, please consult the Youth Programme Report.

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3.6.NGO and Marketplace Booths The GV provided mid-sized booth-space to 77 organisations (non-governmental, grassroots and community-based organisations) to showcase their programmes, strategies and outcomes. Also, it provided with 30 Marketplace Booths for incomegenerating programmes mainly from developing countries, supplied with a smaller space to display their programmes and sell products. Most of the products were created by and/or were for people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as caregivers and others affected by the pandemic. HIV-related income-generating programmes are a critical component of the HIV/AIDS response in many developing countries. The marketplace booths were spaces for showcasing and selling products from HIV/AIDS specific incomegenerating projects from across the world and for providing delegates and nondelegates with information about these community-based organisations. The aim of the NGO booths was to provide non-governmental, grass-roots organisations the opportunity to network, build coalitions, and share information and best practices with delegates and the public. NGO booths were run by their own organisation’s staff or volunteers and were supported by the Global Village and Mexico’s office staff. At the GV, organizers received many more applications than available booth spaces, so after the selection conducted at the Programme Activities Planning (PAP) Meeting, in many instances organisations were also matched up with others in their field to consider or facilitate sharing booth space. The GV received over 158 applications for NGO booths and 38 for marketplace booths, of which 77 NGO booth applications and 30 Marketplace booth applications were accepted and notified. NGO Booths. Of the 77 NGO booth notifications that were sent, 75 accepted and 2 declined (these were reassigned to other two NGO selected applications from a backup list created by the Working Group at the PAP Meeting). Marketplace Booths. Meanwhile, of the 30 Marketplace booth applications approved for participation, 29 accepted and 1 declined (this was also replaced through the same method explained above). Some organisations that weren’t accepted asked authorization to share the space with other accepted NGO booths related with their own work. Although the local Global Village Team encouraged NGOs to network and collaborate, this process was taken by the NGOs themselves with no intervention from the NGO and MP Coordinator, and some did share their booth. Despite that the headers and the booth information referred only to the accepted NGO, those not accepted, had the opportunity to share their information and network with the rest of the Global Village participants. All exhibitors were sent the Global Village Exhibitor Manual11 outlining all processes relevant to the Global Village set up. The Manual provided detailed information about 11

For a copy of the Global Village Exhibitor Manual refer to Anex 10.

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set up and dismantling procedures, related scheduling, the venue’s layout, exhibitors extra services such as special furniture, AV, and IT requirements, etc. In addition, all exhibitors received a Travel and Customs Guide12 generated by the Local Office both in English and in Spanish with the basic information on transportation, alimentation, security, customs offices, embassies, and other helpful advices. Unlike the Networking Zones, the NGO and Marketplace booths did not receive any cost subsidization from the IAS. Implementation Global Village Exhibitors were asked to pick up their registration package on site one day before the Global Village opened at the Congrex Exhibitors Desk. This package included one full delegate registration for each NGO and Marketplace booth with the name of the organisation printed on it in order for them to share the badge among all their booths’ participants. In addition, they received a certain number of exhibitor badges with the Organisations’ name as well. The specific amount of exhibitors’ badges for each booth was requested by the IAS Mexico NGO and Marketplace booth coordinator approximately two weeks before the conference. All NGO and Marketplace booths were provided with the following basic furniture and space package: -

3 panels of 2.45mh x 1mw. One table of 1.20m long x 60mw x .65mh with a fitted table cloth. Two shelves 1m long x 30cmw with a space of approximately 20 cm between them. One lamp mounted on the back side of the header. Two chromed chairs.

On the set up day, exhibitors were also provided with special wristband in order for them and their own providers (in case they hired some) to access the venue with trucks and cars. These were one-day wristbands, and for the subsequent days, exhibitors were requested to wear their delegate/exhibitor badge. During the conference, all NGO booths were visited and supported by the NGO and Marketplace Booth Coordinator, while the Marketplace booths were assisted by a Marketplace Officer hired specifically for that week. Successes – Global Village NGO and Marketplace Booths

•

•

12

Organisation and event planning. The support provided by the GV local team was important for the correct running of the exhibits in the Global Village. The written and oral communication among the GV local team and exhibitors before, during and after the conference is a key piece of the successful result. Responsibility, commitment, and patience of all parts. One of the main successes of the Global Village programme was the responsible and committed attitude shown by the exhibitors as well as by the Mexican IAS team towards the accurate execution of the whole event. Patience is vital for

For a copy of the Travel and Customs Guide refer to Anex 11.

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•

•

•

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the good running of the exhibits since there were some difficulties during the week regarding furniture and extra services. However, the positive attitude of the staff made the event run smoothly with no major complications. Booths location. The fact that each NGO booth was located close to a Networking Zone that worked with the same or similar topics, made the participants and exhibitors focus their aims on the specific network of NGOs dealing with the same topics around the world. This fact made it easier to locate every NGO regarding their specific theme. Networking. The objective of the NGO and Marketplace booths was completely accomplished. The exhibitors had the opportunity to set connections among each other, share their work results with the public, delegates, and other organisations. Some organisations actually established labour relations between other organisations with similar aims. For example, three Mexican organisations located in different states, started a mid-term plan in which it will be possible for them to work together towards the same result: help Mexican children living with HIV/AIDS. Cross-cultural sharing. Many countries were represented on the Global Village by grass roots organisations. This fact had a very important impact on the road to encourage multi-cultural relations and results upon the response to HIV/AIDS around the world. Exhibitors as well as general public had the opportunity to share, compare, and learn from other countries’ initiatives and programmes on related topics. Storage room for Marketplace. Marketplace exhibitors were happy to have a storage room that allowed for them to have greater space inside their booths. They were satisfied with the constant supervision and volunteer’s aid on dealing with language, currency and some general doubts. Most of exhibitors had a constant and total selling and were pleased with the achievements.

Challenges – Global Village NGO and Marketplace Booths

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Information sent to exhibitors. Exhibitors received a huge quantity of information during the previous weeks to the conference. However, much important information was sent only one week before the conference. Therefore, a lot of participants were not aware of some last changes on layout and scheduling. Marketplace participants received an e-mail one month before the conference asking for the specific harmonised tariff schedule and the detailed description of their products. This caused confusion and put exhibitors into trouble to find this information. However, this was requested by the logistics department and the local GV team had to follow this procedure. Information gathered from exhibitors. Two weeks before the conference, exhibitors were asked to provide the local GV team with specific information on: number of exhibitor badges they will need; the organisations’ name they wanted to be printed on the header and, the number of people on their booth. This e-mail didn’t reach all exhibitors on time, therefore, some headers were printed with a different name from that they wanted. Global Village Exhibitor Manual and GV layout. The first version of the manual was distributed almost two months before the conference via e-mail. However, the manual was only available in English and had changes (some

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were slight changes, and other strongly affected some participants). The venues’ layout was delivered few months before the event as well. When it was sent, each exhibitor was warned about the layout suffering some modifications. Nevertheless, the layout experienced numerous and strong alterations even days before the conference. As a consequence, unlike the efforts of the GV local team to advise the exhibitors, time ran out and some of them weren’t able to become aware of their booth/location being changed. Communication with exhibitors. Sometimes it was really hard to establish a quick and efficient communication with exhibitors because of faulty e-mails or impossible-to-reach phone calls. Communication channels. Communication with exhibitors was managed by the NGO and MP Coordinator at the beginning, and also with Congrex Group at the end. Since channels and corresponding information weren’t clearly defined, many times the same information was sent by both of them in the best case. However, many other times, different information was managed and sent; therefore, this resulted in confusion for exhibitors. Letters of Invitation (LOI’s). During the two months before the conference, many exhibitors were concerned about their impossibility to print their LOI’s. Since Mexico is a country that requests visas from many countries, almost all exhibitors needed a LOI to apply for this process. It wasn’t easy for participants to follow the online process to get their LOI, especially when they were running out of time. Empty Booths. Some participants didn’t appear at the conference. Despite they received all the information and, in some cases, they actually responded, some booths were empty during the whole week. Foreseeing this, the Working Group selected local NGOs as backups at the PAP Meeting. This, however, was done just for those who cancelled on the notification process but this was not feasible for those who did not show up. Furniture. During the whole week, much furniture was taken away from some exhibitors by other participants. This situation happened several times in different booths. This problem was caused in part by the lack of stuck from the local provider who was hired by the IAS Logistic Department and collaborated with CONGREX. In addition, Marketplace booths used the same basic furniture provided to the NGO booths. This proved not to be functional as some exhibitors ended up using the chairs and some boxes to place their products on sight for the public as well as hanging products from every booth wall and even laying some on the floor in front of them. AV/IT equipment. The IAS Geneva sent an AV/IT equipment container to Mexico, despite the fact that the local staff warned them about the costumes and security problems, and got stuck at the costume office and stolen later on. Therefore, the exhibitors that had requested extra AV/IT equipment weeks before the event didn’t have it onsite. This resulted in a lack of screens, TV’s, DVD players, audio systems, etcetera. At the end, each booth ended up receiving the previous requested equipment with a delay of almost two days. However, requests onsite weren’t able to be provided. In addition, the wireless internet promised in advance faced problems the whole week causing many exhibitors to change their activities schedule or the activities completely. Volunteers. All volunteers worked pretty hard and efficiently. However, they weren’t enough for the whole GV. Since NGO and Marketplace booths were located throughout the place, 12 volunteers per shift proved understaffed to

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fulfil all needs. In addition, some of them took care of the empty booths while the exhibitors attended the conference sessions. This caused some problems since volunteers changed shifts and the exhibitors got mad when their booths were empty. Volunteers were not responsible of this kind of situations. A list of volunteer activities and responsibilities in every area was drafted by the local GV team and shared with IAS Geneva but never actually given to volunteers or participants by the Logistic Department. Thus, many times volunteers ended up doing stuff that they shouldn’t be responsible for. Dismantling process. The Global Village Exhibitor Manual stated that the break down process for the booths was going to take place on Friday, August 8th (one day after the GV closed). However, on Thursday, August 7th, the Logistics Department changed the decision forcing the exhibitors to pick all their stuff up one day before it was planned. Besides, since this notification changed the same day, the local GV team only had few hours to advice the organisations and some of them were not present and did not receive the notification. As a result, many exhibitors lost their stuff or went upset because of the short-notice reschedule. Specially the Marketplace and the International Partners booth (bigger than the others), faced some problems concerning transporting and packing back their belongings and/or own furniture.

Recommendations – Global Village NGO and Marketplace Booths

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Communication with exhibitors. The application form should make it mandatory to put two e-mail addresses and two phone numbers to prevent impossible-to-reach participants. Furthermore, asking for a co-worker contact data in case the applicant is unavailable or impossible to reach would also prove useful. Setting timelines. Timelines should be set for every issue regarding communication with exhibitors. Send the final layout approximately two weeks before the Conference will help every participant to better plan their exhibits, materials, and furniture. In addition, two or three weeks before the conference, the exhibitors should be asked the organisation’s name they’ll like to be printed on: badges, headers, and printed matters (and set a response deadline). At least one week before the event, the NGO and MP coordinator should confirm with each exhibitor his/hers participation to avoid empty booths. Also, contact some local organisations from the backup list approved by the PAP Meeting one week before the conference and let them know that they will be contacted in case those others do not show up. Sending information. Communication channels must be clarified since the beginning in order for everyone in contact with exhibitors to know what kind of information they are responsible for and when to send it. This will also help avoid confusion among participants. Important information should be sent, the latest, one week before the conference to exhibitors (such as schedule, traveller and customs guide, etc). Specific details on the products that Marketplace organisations will sell, should be asked in the moment they fill in the application form or since the acceptance notification is sent to them. This will help the participants gather the necessary information in order for them to be advised on the host country customs regulations.

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The Global Village Exhibitor Manual and the GV Layout. The Manual should be available in two main languages (English and the host country/region official language). The Manual should contain the specific details on the booth description such as panels, sizes, basic provided furniture, and electricity (sockets, amperes, restrictions and etcetera). In addition, both the Manual and the Layout should have the less possible changes in order for the exhibitors to receive the final versions of both at least two weeks before the conference. Letters of Invitation (LOI’s). The LOI issuing process should be requested to exhibitors in the moment they received their acceptance notification letter. It is not responsibility of the local NGO and MP Coordinator to issue visas for those exhibitors having problems with it. To avoid trouble, especially with visa deadlines, participants should be encouraged to follow up the application process to issue their LOI once they received their notification. This process also needs to be coordinated with the visa department who should put deadlines and processes in advance. Information onsite for exhibitors. There must be an information desk onsite exclusively for exhibitors (in addition to the general public information desk). The people (at least three) in charge of this desk must be an IAS staff and should manage with questions regarding activities, schedule, maps, general information, requests, complaints, general help and extra AV/IT/furniture requirements from the NGO and Marketplace exhibitors. Furniture. There should be enough security and inventory per booth to avoid furniture to be removed, robbed or taken away. This inventory should be done by one person at least one hour before the GV opens every day. Running a morning check up on malfunctions helped solving issues even before exhibitors’ arrival. AV/IT/furniture extra requirements. AV/IT/furniture provider(s) should be asked to deliver the extra requirements made and paid in advance, one day before the exhibitors arrive to set up their booths. In addition, the provider should be asked to ensure that has more equipment supply in case the exhibitors ask for it onsite or to prevent unconformities. Though booth content description was clear, having some display equipment available (laces, racks, tubes for bracelets and hooks for hanging up clothes) maybe for rent or exclusively for Marketplace might aid on products display. The local GV team had the fortune to have several individuals with knowledge on customs and import/export processes and thus they could negotiate the entrance of all products to the country. However, if possible, hire a customs agent to help out with this. This person would be of utmost aid to the NGO and Marketplace Coordinator but will also serve the Cultural Programme and the Networking Zones activities. In order for everyone to be happy and pleased, stick as much as possible to the schedule and the information given in advance.

3.7.Global Village Meeting Rooms The Meeting Rooms were designed to support networking and collaboration between Global Village participants through providing an onsite meeting space. The recommendations from the Global Village at AIDS 2008 Toronto were to create slots between one and two hours available. The rooms also provided a space for Plenary AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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Speakers and other special guests or participants to gather in advance of the “Meet the Plenary Speakers” Sessions and other event on the Main Stage. Successes – Global Village meeting rooms All requests were accommodated. The meeting rooms were used every day during the conference week, most regularly in the afternoons and on some days the rooms were fully booked between 09.00 and 20.00 hours. Challenges – Global Village meeting rooms The Meeting Rooms (two in total) were under-used at times. This was mainly because Global Village participants and conference delegates were not aware of the availability of these rooms and because they were not built or located according to its use within the layout of the Global Village. The rooms were very noisy and airconditioning ducts were situated right in front of them which didn’t make it any easier in terms of ambience for holding meetings. Recommendations – Global Village meeting rooms • • • •

Inform Global Village exhibitors and session organizers, delegates, etc. in advance, in registration packages, through e-mails, and in the Exhibitor’s Manual, that meeting rooms are available for use. Post notices in the conference venue that meeting rooms are available free of charge and then provide basic information about how and where to reserve use of the meeting rooms. Make sure meeting rooms are built away from where most of the things are happening. Corners of the layout or if possible outside of the main area of the Global Village in order to reduce noise. Prepare in advance for stationary, AV equipment such as microphones and decorating articles such as flower arrangements and table skirts for the room.

3.8.Global Village Information Booths The information booths were intended to answer visitor’s questions about the Global Village and served as a distribution point for the Youth, Cultural and GV Programmes materials. The Programme Activities Booklet, Global Village floor plans, GV postcards and stickers and condoms where available there. We had one information booth at the main entrance for delegates and one Exhibitors Booth at one of the main entrances for general public. One of the main entrances for general public was not covered. We also had one map of the Global Village at each of the entrances. Since we did not have enough volunteers, one main door for general public was always uncovered and the map was in English and hidden 10 meters inside. The Exhibitors Booth worked also as an information booth and we need to have at least one staff form the GV local team all day long there. Congrex Group staff did not AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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speak Spanish and her communication with providers, some exhibitors and general public was limited because of that. As a result, another staff from the GV local team had to deal with providers in order to solve exhibitor’s problems. One Congrex Group staff proved not to be enough regarding the language barriers. Recommendations – Global Village information booths

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One information booth at each entrance with a permanent blue print of the GV map printed and posted, and clear directional signage (“General Public Information Desk”). The information booths need to have at least one GV staff member and two or three volunteers who should receive more detailed training and an information binder of the GV Programme and activities. The Information booth staff should be fluent speakers of the predominant languages spoken by the visitors of the Global Village. In addition, they should be aware of all events taking place each day; sessions, Main Stage, Youth Pavilion and others. The exhibitor’s booth must be easily identified by a header sign. It should be located in an accessible area, yet not at the general public entrance, since it causes confusion through misinformation. It should be staffed by one GV staff member and at least two provider’s staff. Enough programmes and maps for distribution must be allocated in each information booth at the beginning of the day, both in English and in the local language. This booth should be constantly informed of last-minute updates. A message board should be provided for participants to post announcements or lost and found needs. Condoms as well as containers to distribute them in should be continuously provided at the information desk. There should be a separate small area near the information desk, where organisations can leave their promotional/informational materials. The information desk staff should be limited to providing and distributing Global Village information in order to avoid misinformation. All information booths should be provided with two sets of the delegate materials for reference in order to respond to inquiries for information and assistance. A set team of volunteers should be assigned to the information booths and provided with in depth training on key aspects of the conference and how to find answers to questions.

3.9.Cultural Activities at the Global Village Cultural activities included music, dance, theatre, performance, video, literature and exhibitions. The theme of the Cultural Programme at GV 2008 was Cultura en Acción (Culture in Action). The Cultural Programme worked really close with the Global Village and the Youth Programmes. Both programmes supported cultural activities and/or participants in different ways due to the reduced budget assigned to culture. For example, the

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equivalent to the 50% of the cultural budget was given by both programmes for cultural scholarships. The Cultural Programme Coordinator started to work eight months before the conference when the call for applications was about to close. As a result, important information for selection and planning of cultural activities was missing from the application form. The selection of screenings was made based on the description of the projects and the selection of cultural activities based on an estimated of available spaces on the main venue and the GV. One of the main challenges of the GV was to allocate the amount of cultural activities selected that exceeded the available space. In addition to that, there were not walls considered for the 28 cultural exhibitions and the Visual Gallery was given up to an exhibition of the Global Found. The local GV team had to hire an architect expert on exhibition display that worked on AutoCAD in order to create an innovative system that could be used with the octagnon system without drilling the walls. This system was user friendly but needed a special team for the installation and dismantling. Due to the lack of planning on this item and to the constant changes on the Lay out, the local GV team did need an important percentage of the budget in order to solve it. AIDS 2008 was the first time that the Main Stage of the Global Village was used only for cultural activities; this probed to be really popular and engaged general public. At the same time, despite the problems on the planning and logistical processes, the GV achieved to be a space rich on cultural and artistic expressions where people could find how the cultural movement is involved in the global response at each step. Recommendations – Global Village cultural activities • • • • • • • • •

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Decisions related to cultural activities must be made by people with cultural background. Take into consideration that cultural and artistic groups and spaces have agendas set in advance Consider that performing activities can be divided into professional and amateur, artistically speaking, so the scheduled must be distributed carefully Let the participants know the available technical supplies before ask them for their technical requirements Lobbying and networking must be done in advance if you are willing to bring celebrities Do not take for granted that you will have celebrities, operative follow up is needed The cultural corridor needs fundraising, resources and expertise, it must be considered seriously Artistic exhibitions are not decoration, ensure that you are taking experts into consideration The application form for cultural activities needs to consider cultural requirements needed for selection, logistics and planning. For example, copies of the screenings sent to the reviewers, characteristics of the exhibitions and required space for installation, previous artistic experience of participants, check list with technical equipment needed-available, etc. If you are planning to have cultural exhibitions on the main venue ensure that they have proper space

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You will need a cultural exhibitor’s manual and a customs format specific for cultural exhibitions Be careful with the sound equipment for the main stage, the temptation of having “the best main stage” ever is really strong and will impact on the general noise severely Ensure that the video lounge is a dark space that keeps the general noise of the GV out.

For more information please refer to the Cultural Programme Report.

3.10.Staff Office and Staff Lounge The Global Village 2008 (GV2008) provided with one Staff Office and one Staff Lounge closed to the public area, both of which were used as a home base for the team. The Staff Office was furnished with seven computers, two printers, one photocopier, one telephone/fax line, a large white board to facilitate communication and working tables. It was, in general, a hub for problem solving. Meanwhile, the Staff Lounge was furnished with four tables and twenty chairs. Although not originally planned, staff brought in flower arrangements, a microwave, daily newspapers and refreshments such as sandwiches, yoghurts, fruit and water. This space provided a place away from the public and participants where staff could briefly escape the hectic pace, pressure and noise of the Global Village. That space was used for having lunch as well. The office was used by the staff according to the GV needs; this meant that they were floating were the troubles were rather that being sited at the computer. Successes – Global Village staff office and staff lounge

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Office and Lounge location. The Staff Office was always planned besides the Staff Lounge throughout the different versions of the layout. This proved to be very useful in the practice as staffs was constantly moving from one place to the other according to their needs. Use of the space. The Staff Office was used frequently by the GV team and at times by some exhibitors as well. It was staffed primarily by the Global Village Assistant and one volunteer. This allowed for the Global Village Assistant to be able to run out at any needed time, while the volunteer would stay and take care of the Office. Storage room. The Staff Office also served as a spot where the GV team was able to leave their belongings for the day before going to their respective activities. There were also computer locks available for laptops so that they could be securely left there. Communication channels. Communications between the whole GV team were difficult to find in practice. There were morning meetings between the GV local team before the GV2008 opened to general public in order to paint a picture of the highlights of the day and ask for specific extra help of volunteers. In the Staff Office, the whiteboard functioned to deliver general messages or FYI’s for the team as well. These two methods helped a lot to

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notice what part of the team or which of the three programmes may need an extra hand at certain points of the day. Responsibility, commitment, and patience of all parts. Once an understanding with other departments regarding the importance of the office was achieved, the space functioned effectively. This required of a great tolerance from the different sides and a commitment to get the job done.

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Challenges – Global Village staff office and staff lounge

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Communication channels. As stated before, communication lines were difficult to follow easily. The decision of having mobile phones instead of pushtalks met the issue of having busy lines or running out of credit to call very quickly. It is a major challenge to define ways in which the team will be able to communicate and pass information and requests when at the Global Village. Most staff had at least two mobile phones (a personal one and the one provided by the IAS). This resulted in greater levels of stress by having to pick up at least two non-stopping ringing devices. Stationary needs. Grasping a real idea of what stationary is needed is tough because it depends on the activities that will be carried out. In the GV2008, there was the idea that it was better to be over-provided than underprovided. Ergo, the materials requested were plenty and very well used. However, certain products such as white paper, staplers, paper clips and board pins were leftover in great quantities. Also, almost all of the stationary was delivered late and incomplete from what originally requested. Furniture. Tables provided for general use in the Staff Office were not really working tables or desks. This represented a problem because there was little desk space for working. There were couches ordered in advance for the Staff Lounge but these never arrived. AV/IT equipment. In spite that technical requirements were sent to according departments in time, some only arrived until the second or third day of the GV2008. Computers and printers were available since day one but they were not configured nor had internet access which made them pretty useless. There was not internet for the first day and a half and there were no printers available for the first three days. Wireless internet would also come and go due technical problems. The phone line wasn’t connected until the second day and wasn’t really used because it was difficult to connect through. There was not enough light for working, the place was very dark and was also located right in front of an air conditioning duct which made it VERY cold. Signage. There was no signage made for the doors of the Staff Office or the Staff Lounge. “Only authorized staff” and “Staff Office” or “Office Lounge” were printed on day three, when printers where available, and finally put up after that. Volunteers. Volunteers worked very hard and thoroughly throughout GV2008. Nevertheless, several times there weren’t enough volunteers in the tent as to allocate one to the Staff Office. Because of this, there were times when the office would be left alone which was unsafe and sometimes there were strangers who had managed to come in and use the computers without permission. In some other cases, stationary and personal belongings went missing. Thereafter, the office was locked when alone and this provoked staff waiting outside until the person with the key arrived. Dismantling process. Because the dismantling date was fixed to a day and was suddenly changed (by the Logistics Department), the office found the same problem as the rest of exhibitors. Transportation for stationary and other materials had not been arranged or planned for that date. This resulted in a lack of coordination between team members and ultimately in misplacing of materials or even stolen. There were cases were USB’s with information belonging to Mexico turned up in Geneva and boxes for the Geneva office were left behind at the Mexico office.

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Recommendations – Global Village staff office and staff lounge

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Communication channels. Having personal mobile numbers re-charged by the IAS might be easier than spending money on renting out new equipment by the IT team. However, if this does not happen make sure that all team members (including officers) have an IAS mobile device. At GV2008 this was not the case and it resulted on IAS credit running out very quickly or having officers having to call all the time from their personal number. Stationary needs. Ask the rest of your team if they have specific needs. Try to bring cork-pins, rulers, post-its, staples and paper-clips from the office. Scissors, different sorts of tape, exact knives and pens are very used items, plan in advance to have plenty of this. Most importantly, have stationary delivered at least one day before the exhibitor’s set-up date. During the setup date for exhibitors you already need to have several things available to use (scissors, tape, paper, pens, etc). Furniture. Make sure to have a checklist of the furniture you order ready for set-up so that you can claim if anything is missing. Think of creating a relaxing spot at the Office Lounge where you have more than tables and chairs. Sofas or couches, cushions and even rugs are a good idea. This space will be used for team relaxing or even column stretching and needs to be dressed as so. Having a microwave and a mini fridge are not a bad idea at all. At GV2008, staff brought these in themselves and the space served for distressing sessions, power-naps, eating (with a balanced catering menu) and psychological therapy for those that felt like needed it. AV / IT Equipment. Set the delivery date for one day before exhibitors set up. Logistically speaking and for the sake of the functionality of the office itself, it is important to have computers, phone lines, photocopiers and printers along with internet access available and ready to use by the beginning of the set-up. Signage. Print beforehand all the office made signage so that you have it ready to put up upon arrival. Disclaimers for theft, misplacing of belongings and so on is not a bad idea either. Volunteers. It is important to have a team of a couple of volunteers ready to work for the set up of the office. Unpacking boxes of information, stationary and building up the Staff Office takes time and effort. Having a couple of people to help out in this task makes it a more fun job and faster as well. Make sure that there are enough volunteers as to have one present at the office at all times to help out with general office work. Some activities for the Staff Office volunteer at GV2008 consisted in unpacking condoms and getting them ready for delivery to general public, keeping the room tidy, making photocopies and print-outs, following on media news on the Global Village, running out to give stationary to other rooms. Setting timelines. Fixing dates and times for entrance of furniture, AV / IT equipment, stationary and other deliveries by suppliers is very important. Think of having the enough people to make it quick and easy. Volunteers are a good idea if the timing is different from the rest of exhibitors setting up. The dismantling dates should also be set in advance and planned with transportation means and dollies to ease the workload. Most importantly, respect and ask your co-workers to commit and respect these dates.

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In order for everyone to be happy and pleased make the office a space that is secure and restricted only to staff; respect timelines and set-up and dismantling lines; ensure that your co-workers commit to deadlines for delivery of equipment, furniture and stationary; press for having enough staff and volunteers and smile.

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4. Communications The Communications Department from IAS Geneva centralized the contact with media and the information sent to them. This helps to have control on the official speakers from the conference and to take advantage from the experience of the staff from that department. However, it is difficult to have the local context in Geneva and even more difficult to have the community oriented key messages that are needed for the GV. One example of the above is that the local mayor, which is confronted with the federal government, organized a press conference to announce the conference on the World Day and invited the IAS. The IAS Geneva decided that the co-chair of the conference announced at that same time the financial support from the Federal Government. As a result of that, the local office had to spend a lot of time renegotiating with the local government their participation. From the Toronto’s GV Evaluation Report, we already knew that the mass media coverage for the GV was an important issue that needed to be strengthened. The local GV team even found a feminist journalist interested in managing the media for the GV from the end of 2007 with her own fundraising. This proposal was not accepted by the IAS Geneva office and no other specific strategy on this was adopted by the communication or other department. The information produced with key messages and speakers from the conference is really different from the one needed for the GV. The last one must have community approach and speakers; in addition to this, the local and regional context is really important. The local GV team had at least three meetings with the communication department and the public relations company contracted for this job offering solutions and media contacts related with social justice, human rights, culture and politics. They kept their work as planned and did not acknowledge the difference. The local GV team had to send the proposals made by partners and organisations in order to strengthen this area to other NGO’s because IAS Geneva did not accept other collaborations than the one with Fleshmand and Hillard or changes in their plan Successes – Global Village communications • •

CPC and WG members recognized as official speakers by the Communication Department Disseminate Spanish key messages specific for GV on the media during July

Recommendations – Global Village communications •

The difference from the general IAC messages and strategies for the media and the ones involving the Global Village must be acknowledge.

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The local GV team must be informed on the communications department planning process for mass media coverage in order to fill in the gaps for specific Global Village needs. Specific key messages and speakers for the GV must be considered. Mass media coverage is an important element to engage general public and local community from the application process to the participation on the week of the conference. Mass media coverage helps to strategically highlight the relevance of the conference for policy makers and other stakeholders. This will promote their involvement and support. Mass media needs to go further health and science sources, it must consider human rights, social justice, culture, etcetera. Strategic media articles must be published in different times before the conference (one year, six months, four months and one month in advance) in order to generate public awareness and highlight the relevance of the IAC and HIV/AIDS response for the country, region and the globe in the host country.

For more details please refer to the Communications Report.

4.1.Marketing versus Outreach The IAC have a marketing oriented outreach for the core programme. This is a natural approach when you are trying to reach those scientists, researchers, health personnel and regular delegates that will usually pay for their registration. This task is very important and must be kept in the same way trying to both; advertise the host country tourist sights as well as the relevance of the conference. However, when you think on the community, you must think on outreach with a different approach if you are willing to achieve the IAC fourth objective: Maximize opportunities for the participation in the conference and programme planning of those engaged in evidence-based responses –scientists, PLWHA, members of marginalized communities especially those most vulnerable to HIV, including women, girls and young people; as well as the GV objectives stated on the concept paper. In Toronto, the local host had a special person in charge of the GV outreach, in Mexico, we just had one person for the national and regional outreach of all the conference for almost all the time; she had an assistant a couple of months before in charge of the Engagement tours. In addition, the outreach materials planned by the communication department were general and designed for an international audience The regular push mails sent by the IAS were too long and focused on the scientific programme. Again, they are friendly to those who are already users of the conference and are part of IAS database. The design of the outreach materials was internationally oriented and local community did not feel that a Mayan Pyramid reflected the vision of the conference, GV local team was told several times that they looked more like a tourist trip advertisement. At the same time, we had one booklet, and one brochure printed with general information of the entire conference six months before AIDS 2008 in limited quantity. The local office had to print emergency flyer for all those regional and local AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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important activities that took place before that, such as the Latin-American AIDS congress CONCASIDA and the National AIDS Congress. IAS Geneva did not consider the local or regional context on their printing materials plan. GV local team had to push in order to have postcards and posters specifically for the three programme activities outreach with a more local community oriented design and content in Spanish, as well as a Spanish website. It is really important to explain general public and local community the relevance of the conference, why is it important their participation and how can they contribute to the IAC and the global response to HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, we got all these resources by July, just one month before the conference. The GV local team focused part of their time in face to face presentations, small groups power point presentations and dialogue with different stakeholders in order to engage them in the relevance of the conference highlighting community participation. Since this was not taken into consideration by Geneva office, this resulted in a challenge and overwork. At the conference week, general public knew very little about the GV, they did not know that it was free and they did not know where to get in or how to learn about the programme of activities. The first days we just had around 10% of the public being Mexican at the GV and thanks to the strong media work made by the community media networking zone, the last day we reached around the 40% of public being Mexicans. In a big and complex city such as Mexico, in a low income country and region, people really need to make their travel arrangements on advance, if we really want them to come, we need to outreach seriously and with time. Successes – Global Village marketing versus outreach One successful strategy on AIDS 2008 was to collaborate with the local government office in charge of the prisons. The local GV team needed to pay several visits to the authorities and present the relevance of the IAC and the benefits that could bring to them and to the interns. We also explained how they could participate and why was it important. The local GV team and the Local Hubs Coordinator delivered the Spanish version of screenings, the Spanish version of related sessions from AIDS 2008, the contact information of the Mexican Cultural Programme participants interested in taking their activities to prisons. The local authorities attended the Global Village activities related to prisons and human rights. As a result, the local government will implement a week journey in five institutions with those resources and will plan a tour of exhibitions and cultural activities during September, October and November. At the same time, they will integrate the interns living with HIV with the rest of the prisons population and start a peer prevention strategy with PSI. We got a community oriented in Spanish graphic identity, postcards, stickers and posters for the Global Village, Cultural and Youth Programmes. Recommendations – Global Village marketing versus outreach

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• • • • •

• • • • •

Outreach with information about the Global Village and deadlines before the call for applications is very important to reach other groups and expand the audience of the conference. The information must be friendly to community people who are not familiarized with big international conferences. Outreach and promotional efforts must be in collaboration with communication and registration managers. Promotion plans about Global Village programming and schedules should be created for delegates and the public. These plans should detail strategies, timelines, and the responsibilities of each department. Ensure that Programme Activities are treated and supported as an integral part of the overall conference programme and that Global Village sessions are featured in all relevant conference communications tools and information. Outreach must focus on different civil society organisations related to other main social issues such as poverty, human rights, sexual and reproductive health, gender, sexuality and etcetera. It is really important to link the Global Village with the local community; the Cultural Programme is really important for this and should be carefully planned. The Programme Activities team must think in other ways to achieve the linkage. Local experience must be taken seriously. Specific outreach strategies and materials for programme activities is really important. Get outreach materials printed at least four months before the conference and get them ready, do not wait until the conference is around the corner. Plan based on the local and regional context which would be the outreach strategy for programme activities. Engagement tours must be planned by staff with previous experience with NGOs and community.

4.2.Websites The website of the conference had some texts in Spanish; this was really good for a region that has the 90% of the population speaking Spanish. Unfortunately, the texts in English and Spanish sometimes had different information and the profile that you needed to create in order to apply for any activity was in English even though the application forms for Youth, Cultural and Global Village Programmes were bilingual and could be filled in Spanish. The website is a complex tool friendly to those who are already conference users; it really challenges the abilities of community people. By the other hand, electricity power cuts and lack of access to computers and Internet was a constant problem of the GV participants. The local GV team had to produce mails with the steps that the people needed to follow in order to create their profile, submit abstracts or programme activities and apply for scholarships. Several calls came in to the office asking for assistance and we even had to offer people to come and use one of our computers. This was time consuming. The former GV team of Toronto helped with some fundraising for making a special community Spanish oriented website. They gave us 2,000USD by June and the local AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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GV team hired a consultant to develop the website contents and a webmaster. At this late stage and with limited resources, it was really difficult to explain everything; therefore, the GV local team had to do part of this job. This again, was time consuming. Successes – Global Village website We got a community oriented in Spanish website for the Global Village and Cultural Programmes released by July. (www.aldeaglobal2008.org) Recommendations – Global Village website • • • •

A different website or a different website approach for communities must be created/included and planned in advance The web page needs to be user-friendly for community people and general public. The links to the Spanish section should be in Spanish. The same applies for any other language used. Sufficient resources should be allocated to the Global Village to make sure a community oriented approach is included and it is updated regularly There needs to be a designated person assigned to managing the GV website. This will ensure that the website is fully used, and members of the global community that could not attend the conference are more connected and have the opportunity to participate in some of the valuable knowledge transfer occurring in the Global Village.|

4.3.Printed Materials The Global Village was featured in conference printed materials. • •

Invitation Programme General information brochure

• •

Conference Programme (delegate’s bag and web site)

•

Programme Supplement (delegate’s bag and web site) Pocket Programme (delegate’s badge)

For more details on publications please refer to the Communications Report. The printed materials used specifically for the Global Village Programme included those for outreach (posters, postcards and stickers), the programme of activities and floor plans. The outreach materials were created together with the Community Department and at the end the local GV team needed to hire a different designer in order to get out of the touristy image of the general conference. The GV local team produced and disseminated the following13: 13

Refer to Anex 12 to see a copy of the materials produced.

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-

100,000 postcards designed by communications 50,000 postcards designed by the GV local team 6,000 posters with information of the three programme activities designed by the GV local team 4,000 stickers designed by the GV local team

The dissemination of the materials was made through the local government and organisations. The local GV team needed to have face to face meetings with the stakeholders from local governments and organisations in order to ensure that they got the outreach messages. The final printed booklet of activities for programme activities was produced in the two languages. We printed 10,000 in Spanish and in English. The Spanish version that was produced in Mexico had the latest version in comparison with the English version. We printed 8,000 final floor plan in Spanish and 2,000 in English. These materials were very popular and delegates asked for both languages every day at all times. The English version of the booklet was stuck at the Banamex Centre the first days and people got really mad at the staff because no English versions were available. Recommendations – Global Village printed materials

• • • •

Materials on the local language need to be printed as soon as possible in order to ensure that they are available for local and regional dissemination in massive events related to HIV. (One year prior to the conference) Specific materials on Global Village objectives and activities must be available for outreach. The local staff must be considered for advice on local language, design use and dissemination strategies. Develop a Programme Activities Guide with detailed information on the Global Village, a list of NGO and MP Booths, networking zones and sessions that would be available to the public both prior and during the conference.

Recommendations – Global Village activities booklets and floor plans • • •

The programme activities booklet and floor plans must be printed as late as possible in order to have the more accurate information of the programme. The local language version must be friendly to general public. All available printed materials must arrive at the GV space one day before the conference in order to ensure that it reaches the public.

4.4.Signage The signage was a responsibility of the Logistics Department and the local GV team followed up on this with the Global Village Coordinator of the IAS Geneva. The signage used was made with the same design than the rest of the conference. There were signs for each space, for general circulation and reference, floor plans, as well

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as scheduled activities at the Video Lounge and Literary Lounge. Some signage was used from the Centro Banamex to the GV tent, though these were not very effective. The signage was allocated and re-allocated at least three times on the first two days. The different changes on the layout caused that many of the banners printed did not match the reality and others looked really bad because they were supposed to be printed both faces both were printed juts in one. The first couple of days, people got really upset with the problems on signage because they had to walk long distances looking for the spaces. The deadline for signage of the Logistical Department was at a very early stage and did not reflect de needs of the real Global Village. For example, the signage for the lounges had the name of the space and the calendar of activities at the same panel and could not be removed. The calendar of activities was the first version and did not make sense at all. The local GV team had to produce the real version of the big floor maps at the same day of the opening. By the other hand, no signage was considered for the main entrance of general public. This caused serious problems because general public got lost in parking lots and in the streets around Centro Banamex and the Hippodromes. The main entrance for delegates was at Centro Banamex and the main entrance for general public at the Hippodromes through the parking lot (around 30 minutes walk from one point to the other). The local GV team had to produce last minute signage after the GV started. Recommendations – Global Village signage

• • • • • •

•

Establish a realistic dead line for signage in order to have it as close as reality as possible. Instead of printed calendars, have white boards at the different spaces where you can advertise the on-going session. Print “at-a-glance” banners of the programme to attract people walking by to participate in the different activities. Ensure that there will be signage from the main venue to the GV and in the main entrance of the GV for general public. Follow up directly with the person in charge on this, if possible by e-mail or with printed documents in order to ensure the functionality. It is recommended that GV team work closely with Logistics department to make sure that directional signage to the Global Village is reflected throughout rest of the conference facility. Also recommended to ensure a greater volunteer role to support people when they arrive into the GV.

4.5.Media coverage of the Global Village Since the Communications Department does not have a media strategy specific for the Programme Activities, the media coverage of the Global Village was made principally by the community media networking zone. At the end, the media

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coverage from the networking zone transcended the community media and reached really important national networks. Thanks to these strong efforts, the Global Village managed to have media exposure during the first days and this impacted in the attendance of Mexicans on the following days. This helped in the Mexican audience getting to know the Global Village and be aware of its relevance. The media coverage is really important for the Global Village outreach as well as for promoting impact of the activities that take place in this space on the local community and policies. Recommendations – Global Village media coverage

• • • • •

Plan the media coverage for the Global Village in advance taking into consideration that the natural audience of this space is really different from the one of the conference (experts versus general public). Media diffusion of the Global Village before the conference is really important in order to engage local community participation and general public attendance. Keep the community media space at the Global Village, this is a really good opportunity for strengthen it. Consider a phone line for media use at the Global Village. Consider to have a small press room for radio broadcasting.

5. Human Resources Human Resources are a very important aspect for the success of the Global Village Programme. This issue needs to be taken really seriously. Therefore, we have developed this section in order to facilitate the planning of AIDS 2010.

5.1.Staff The most important success in GV 2008 was the development of a well-tuned IAS Mexico Global Village team. Though a small team of 12 individuals for such a challenging project, it was a strong and stable team. Written and oral communication was constant and fluid; everyone was well informed of what the others were doing. This helped to build trust in the team and confidence in that the goal would be reached. The professional competency of each team member was exceptional. All were very accessible and willing to assist others. It was evident that we shared a common goal in everyone’s attitude; commitment, responsibility and determination. Based on the experience of the local office we developed the job description of the local team. Successes – Global Village staff 1. Ensure on-going management, coordination and support for the working group including the application and review/selection process. AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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2. Ensure on-going management, coordination and support for the implementation of the programme activities, including the application and review/selection process. 3. Contribute to Global Village Marketing and Promotion 4. Increase awareness among local staff members on issues concerning HIV and AIDS

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Activities OBJECTIVE For objective 1: Ensure on-going management, coordination and support for the working group including the application and review/selection process.

1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

6. 7.

For objective 2:

1.

Ensure on-going management, coordination and support for the implementation of the programme activities, including the application and review/selection process.

2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10. For objective 3: Contribute to Global Village Marketing and Promotion

ACTIVITIES Facilitate discussion among working group members. Support working group members. Follow up minutes and action points of working groups with IAS Department and Staff. Facilitate the elaboration of concept notes, guidelines and criteria documents for Global Village activities. Develop minutes from working group meetings. Organisation of local meetings with working group members. Organisation of teleconferences with working group members. Coordinate and schedule Global Village activities such as forums, interactive spaces, the community market and networking areas. Translation to Spanish. Be the key contact for Global Village activities; respond to inquiries, follow-up with applicants. Support and coordinate a review process for proposals, including the development of criteria, research, assessment and analysis. Work collaboratively with local and international planning committees, the IAS and co-organizers and other conference secretariat departments. Help plan, coordinate and implement Global Village activities for the conference. Develop activity work plans; prepare progress reports and printed material or web site content. Help logistics on site. Trouble shooting. Public Relations.

1. Develop and support effective working relations with stakeholders and partner organisations, including groups from diverse and affected communities, in the development and delivery of Global Village activities. 2. Develop outreach and promotion activities for the Global Village in coordination with the communications team. 3. Follow up on the general public outreach made towards Global Village.

For objective 4:

1. Coordination of internal training for the sensitization of the local

Increase awareness among local staff members on issues concerning HIV and AIDS

2. Assess the coordination of the local office in all regarding aspects

office on issues regarding HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. of the Global Village.

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The local team of the Global Village had the following staff:

•

•

• • • • • • • • • • • •

The local Global Village Coordinator who took the responsibility of being the team leader 4 months before the conference, though she was informally performing this role from the beginning of the contract (10 months before the conference). The Global Village Assistant that started 8 months before the conference and helped out on the GV Coordinator’s tasks apart from handling Programme Activities’ scholarships, visas, WG transportations and accommodations and was the liaison between the GV webmaster and the content development consultant for the GV website. The Networking Zone Coordinator that started 3 months before the conference. The NGO and MP Coordinator that started 2 months before the conference. The Session Rooms and MS Coordinator (shared with the Cultural Programme) that started 2 months before the conference. An intern that worked half-time from one month before the conference. A consultant for the content development of the web site. A web master and designer. A Session Room 1 officer for the week of the conference. A Session Room 2 officer for the week of the conference. A MP Booth officer for the week of the conference. A special volunteer for meet the plenary speakers. A special volunteer for the office on the mornings. Around 20 volunteers per shift on the week of the conference.

Recommendations – Global Village staff •

Ensure that adequate funding is allocated to support a full time coordinator for at least 14 months, two full time assistants for at least six months each, and additional staff for each Global Village Programme area (MP and NGO Booths, Sessions, NWZ) at least four months, but preferably more prior to the conference.

•

It is very important to develop a close and friendly working relationship within the Global Village team. It is a small team and the endeavours of their job are humongous. Stress will be at a constant high and developing a strong team will be the only thing that will help you through each day at a personal as well as professional level. Team-Building activities are strongly recommended; program the first one as early as possible - they are great for breaking the ice. Make it a point to have an activity planned every time a new member of the team is hired; time goes by fast in this project and there is no time for someone to build-up the confidence to integrate themselves –welcome them and pull them in- it’s for everyone’s benefit that they feel comfortable enough to communicate and most importantly, ask for help. If possible, hire someone who will give a trust-building workshop; in the Global Village team there is only one person in charge of each area –you have to trust that that person is doing a good job. This will be an extremely challenging project and it will push

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all of your personal and professional limits, you need the support of a real team.

•

Global Village staff (including management) must be people with frontline NGO experience in HIV and understand the field in the context of developing countries.

•

The Cultural Programme Coordinator must start at the same time that the Global Village and the Youth Programme Coordinators, 12-11 months before the conference.

•

The assistant must start at least 8 months before the conference.

•

The Networking Zone, NGO and MP and Session Rooms Coordinators must start 6-5 months before.

•

Consider at least one person for outreach activities starting 4 months before the conference.

•

Ensure that you have 154 volunteers per shift, if you do not achieve this number contract more staff. Hostess only help to bring water and smile to people, they do not perform an officer or volunteer activities.

•

Take care of the staff, they need to have rest before the conference and eat balanced during the week. Do not overload them unnecessarily, ensure that you have as many as you need in order to avoid burned out people at the conference.

•

Contract a volunteer coordinator that understands the GV, Cultural, and Youth Programme dynamics on site.

•

The Programme Activities Manager must be at the local office in order to avoid duplicated efforts and support the team.

Recommendations – During the conference • •

Encourage overlapping knowledge of duties, especially during the conference. Pair workers with complementary programme and conference experience. There should be a plan in place that allows staff to take breaks and other staff to cover them during those breaks during the conference week.

5.2.Volunteers IAS Geneva Logistics requested that we formulate a document with a break-down of the number of volunteers we required per area within the Global Village. The document also included a brief description of profile preferences as well as the number of English-speakers required (or other languages where applicable). It was each Global Village team member’s responsibility to evaluate their need and propose the minimum number of volunteers needed to have a smoothly functioning operation. AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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The total number of volunteers requested was: 154 x shift* for general operation and 58 for one-time special events. This made for a total of 308 per day and 58 for special events. *There were 2 shifts per day; 8:30 – 14:00 and 13:00 – 21:00. Upon submitting this proposal, the IAS Geneva Logistics department considered that we had over-calculated and said they would only provide us with a total of 81 volunteers per day (approximately 40 per shift) and no special event volunteers. After several negotiations, it was decided by IAS Geneva Logistics that we would only be allowed 95 volunteers total per day. On the opening-day of the Global Village, it quickly became evident to the IAS Mexico Global Village Team that the volunteers reporting-in, were completely oblivious of their function within the Global Village, were unfamiliar with the space, had not received sensibility training, did not have any coordination amongst themselves, and did not know who to report to or receive orders from at the Global Village. Of the 95 volunteers that IAS Geneva Logistics were committed to provide, the entire week of the conference, the Global Village Team was assisted by an average of 40 volunteers per day (20 per shift). We were badly under-staffed and suffered the consequences. The IAS Mexico Global Village team moved quickly to identify needs; the Networking Zone Coordinator was assigned as the Global Village Volunteer Coordinator. The Team developed an impromptu training for the volunteers in which everyone participated; to introduce themselves and give specific instructions for each area as well as a sensitivity training. Early morning meetings were held to discuss, amongst other details, the distribution of volunteers with attention to special events and peek times; this was followed-up as a constant communication via mobile phone with the Networking Zone Coordinator to request in-the-moment volunteer needs. All the Global Village team had a friendly attitude with the volunteers. This helped to motivate them to assist as much as possible. The Networking Zone Coordinator spoke with the IAS Geneva Logistics Volunteer Coordinator and she did the best possible to provide the Global Village with any extra volunteers available. An admiral effort was made by the Logistics Volunteer Coordinator; accessible, professional and responsible attitude. On closing-day, the Global Village Team held a small appreciation ceremony on the main stage. Every one of the IAS Mexico Global Village Staff personally thanked the volunteers; a popular Mexican Pop music star was visiting the Global Village and was asked to thank them as well; they were asked to come on stage which they enjoyed. We offered them some small gifts as well. Recommendations: •

Ensure that Programme Activities are treated and supported as an integral part of the overall conference programme. Ensure that other IAS departments understand the needs and dynamics of the GV.

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•

The context of the conference host city should guide the planning and operation of the volunteer programme.

•

Create clearly defined roles and systems for staff and volunteers. This would minimize time needed by GV staff to train and direct volunteers during the event.

•

The Volunteer staff should start at least 8 months prior to conference.

•

A 4hr minimum special training session should be given to the GV Volunteers, by the Global Village Staff to familiarize them with each area and function with a tour of the Global Village, profiles needed for each area to focus on language needs or physical needs such as lifting requirements, sensibility training, establish line of communication and make sure that each role is clear with an introduction of each of the IAS Global Village Staff member for identification (volunteers vs volunteer supervisors vs IAS Global Village Staff).

•

It is absolutely necessary that all volunteers receive security training focusing on detailed information on how to deal with/and what is their role during, boycotts, medical emergencies, situational emergencies, or natural emergencies such as fires or earth quakes (earth quakes are common in Mexico City; these types of regional situations should be addressed).

•

IAS Geneva Logistics (enforced by local Global Village Staff) should instruct volunteers not assigned to the Global Village to remove or cover their volunteer t-shirts when visiting the GV. This would minimize confusion on the part of other visitors when approaching these volunteers for information and/or assistance. It is further recommended that a different color t-shirt be assigned to Global Village all together; in turn this will minimize identification confusion by GV Staff.

5.3.Human Rights The Global Village concept paper emphasises target populations and themes that need to be addressed and taken into consideration for the programming. Among the most important of them we have Human Rights and GIPA. However, the planning and implementing of the Global Village Programme do not reflect this commitment with Human Rights and/or GIPA. There is no official policy on GIPA in the context of the conference. The lack of accessibility to wheelchairs, the variations in the air conditioning that have an important impact in health, the lack of GIPA policies at the Exhibitor’s Manual, the bad quality and high prices in food, the lack of well-balanced food, the lack of recognition of diversity; and as a participant wrote: “Dearest Lydia, How awful. I am so sorry to hear that, and you looked so well in Mexico. Granted, what happened to you may not be related to HIV, but this global response to which we all AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team

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belong, in my opinion, often takes people living with HIV, wears them out to the bone and then just spits them out. Sorry to sound dark, but I have seen time and again HIV+ women simply wrung out from all the travelling and intensive work. As if HIV- people can withstand all that exhaustion... I really question if HIV+ women are getting any fair compensation for all that effort. There is so much expectation that people can continue to do all that work for free and that they indestructible. And yet tokenism is often sadly all they get in return.” All the above are some examples of how Human Rights could be better taken into consideration inside of the Global Village Programming. Recommendations: • •

• • • •

Ensure a collaborative and respectful atmosphere among staff, managers, providers and participants that acknowledges diversity. Reinforce affirmative actions for vulnerable and marginalized groups inside of the IAS and the IAC. Commit with other related human rights issues such as disability and multiculturalism. Avoid disrespectful attitudes with staff, managers, providers and participants Acknowledge local and community as well as international and high profile experiences Remember: staff, managers, providers and participants are human beings and have rights.

5.4.Channels of Communication The communication in a team that grows month by month at the same time that is integrated into the Global Village activities in two different countries is really challenging. The regular channels of communication used are e-mails and teleconferences. The general IAS teleconferences are really quick and are not very useful for operative matters. The Global Village, Youth and Cultural teleconferences are more productive if an agenda is prepared in advance and minutes taken in order to follow up. How ever, specific topic oriented teleconferences with other departments are also needed in order to ensure that all are in the same page. One of the easier mistakes is to take for granted that everybody is aware of everything. Written e-mails and documents must circulate among departments by email, even if we are just posting the link to share point. SharePoint is a really helpful tool if you use it, however, not all IAS staff use it consistently. Do not take for granted that a document uploaded there will be read by your colleagues. By the other hand, keep in mind that people engage in the IAC are really busy in a career against time, therefore, keep it short sugar.

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In Mexico, we made a charter with channels of communication that was produced and disseminated among the staff a couple of weeks before the conference. This includes all staff on site at the week of the conference.14

Recommendations – Global Village channels of communication Who is doing what? There should be a simple reference document available stating which local or Geneva IAS Staff member is in-charge of what procedure. This will eliminate delays in locating the correct contact person, misdirected e-mails, receiving misinformation from someone else, and overall open a more productive line of communication.

•

Produce your own chart with communication channels and make sure that everybody knows it and follows it.

•

Use SharePoint and Skype as much as you can.

•

Plan and prepare your teleconferences, have an agenda and follow up minutes.

•

Always copy all the departments involved in the item you are addressing.

•

Keep track of operative details following WG decisions; make sure that the departments involved are informed.

•

Provide as much local context information as possible to Geneva staff to ensure that they are well informed.

•

Acknowledge differences in culture and language, listening is essential

6. Programme Activities Scholarships & Visas The 2008 Programme Activities’ Scholarships was only announced at the Programme Activities Planning (PAP) Meeting. At which time it was said that those organisations that needed extra support in regards to travel, accommodation and in some cases per diem, would be helped out directly by the Programme Activities Department. Thereon, the process was carried out by the Global Village Assistant with the help of the Cultural Assistant, the NGO Booth and Marketplace Coordinator and the Youth Pre-conference Officer and Youth Pavilion Stage Manager. The process for PA scholarship included filters made by the local team based on whether or not an organisation had planned to ask for a scholarship (regardless of if it had gone through with such plan), ensuring that organisations that received aid from the International Scholarship Department were not in the process and eliminating those organisations that came from rich countries. Nevertheless, this process was certainly not very objective nor it had the means to be.

14

Refer to Anex 13 for the channels of communication.

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Furthermore, the local team helped out directly in the process of visa that most applicants required. This turned out to be complicated as the visa system through the online profile was based on the ideal that all visa applicants were delegates. Therefore, it resulted in a very complicated procedure that confused many participants and required a lot of time from the local team. Keep in mind that scholarships are very linked to the subject of visas. Thus, if scholarships run behind the whole visa process does too for several participants. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the GV staff never had access to the full database of people that required visa to enter the country. The aid that the team provided was based on the information provided by the Geneva office and/or upon request from participants.

6.1.Visas The local team should think in advance (as early as the PAP Meeting) of how many applicants would need a visa to enter the country and what the easiest process to follow is. At GV 2008, visas became a matter of everyone dealing directly with participants/scholarship recipients. Since the Letter of Invitation (LOI) issuing process wasn’t clear enough for participants, many of them followed several different processes which made it harder to follow up on specific cases. This resulted in participants being deported, some never being able to achieve a visa to enter the country and many others having to change their arrangements in order to pick up visas in nearby Consulates/Embassies. As a result, we had scholarship’s budget spent in candidates who did not arrive to the country. In general, the issues had to be taken care of in a case-by-case dynamic by the local staff. Participants experiencing issues with LOI’s represented the huge majority of the participants.

Recommendations – Global Village visa process • •

•

Ensure that the Visa Department provides equal treatment to PA participants than to delegates. Give the Visa Department a copy of those participants that require a visa and ask for a plan on how they will deal with them, dates and deadlines and request for information that you should give your participants so that they initiate such process. There must be an officer/coordinator in the local office in charge only of visas and LOI’s. This should be easier and safer for the participants. This officer will follow both processes up since the beginning and will have the direct contact with the participants concerning their visas.

6.2.Scholarships

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The selection process of the Programme Activities’ scholarship recipients is based only on their application forms and their own request for a scholarship. This selection doesn’t really clarify which participant indeed needs a scholarship. Therefore, many participants that received travel and accommodation aid didn’t really need it since they belong to wealthy organisations, or they simply changed their hotel and flights once they were in Mexico City and paid for the expenses themselves. Furthermore, travel and accommodation scholarships went well for almost all participants. However, there were some cases in which participants asked for very specific flights. These flights ended up costing a lot of money to the Programme Activities. For example, four Cultural Programme participants from China requested a flight from their hometown, to Beijing, to Mexico and making the stops anywhere but in the USA. The staff sent them four different proposals and flight quotes with different dates and routes; however, they weren’t satisfied at any time. Finally, the GV Programme Activities ended up buying a 4,000USD flight for each Chinese participant. Once in Mexico City, the staff learned that two of the four participants were the assistants, not the performers; therefore, 8,000USD were spent in people that did not participate in the GV directly! Recommendations:

•

There must be a better scholarship recipient’s process. In this sense, it is indispensable to establish a better selection process taking into account categories such as: country, project, organisation, and participation in the GV in order for the IAS staff to give out the scholarships to participants that indeed needs it.

•

Application format should include concrete and straightforward questions regarding whether or not the candidate has secure funding and if they require scholarship.

Travel, accommodations and per diems Recommendations – Global Village travel  

 

Create and keep an updated data base with details of each participant’s flight details – this proved to be very useful at GV2008. Flights with scales in countries which demand transit visa are often cheaper; therefore it’s important to warn participants who need a transit visa to start arrangements on time so they won’t have troubles to get through stopping countries. Ask participants to revise their itineraries in order to avoid misunderstandings. Set restrictions and deadlines for replying and buying. Applicant should be requested to check flight quotes/itineraries in three working days maximum in order for the IAS travel agency to keep the prices the same.

Recommendations – Global Village accommodations

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



Set an arrival and departure date in advance. These dates should be applied for all participants. At GV2008 participants could stay longer or arrive earlier at their own expense. GV2008 Staff created hotel(s) guide and sent them to each participant depending on their scholarship. It proved to be very useful as it included hotel contact information, quotes, taxi spots, maps, services included, etc.

Recommendations – Global Village per Diems 

 

15 16

Per Diems should be delivered in local currency. This avoids for currency exchange misunderstandings and helps participant with local money. Keep a record of delivered per diems. Have a list which includes basic information of scholarship recipients15. Also a Receipt sheet proves useful to acknowledge payments16 Inform your participants that will receive a per diem of when, how and where will these be delivered: a. When: Attempt to deliver all per diems in one same day. Carrying money around is risky and uncomfortable. b. How: Put money in envelopes with name, ID number and amount contained. Applicants should identify themselves with an ID and there must be receipt to acknowledge payment. c. Where: Consider a closed and private area apart from crowds to make it safer.

Refer to Anex 14 for a sample of such record at GV2008 Refer to Anex 15 for a sample of such record at GV2008

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7. Finances PAP Meeting Expenses The PAP Meeting was paid through different methods. Travel arrangements were paid by the Programme Activities corresponding budget and accommodations were paid by the Federal Government, including meals. Per diems were paid by the PA budgets. Bellow the expense issued by Programme Activities: Programme GV Programme Youth Programme Cultural Programme

Flight Expense $14,203.27usd $4,667.59usd $3,142.60usd

Per Diem Expense $1,298usd $249usd $228usd

TOTAL

36,216.74usd

$3,322usd

GRAND TOTAL

$39,53874usd

Programme Activities’ Scholarships The money spent in scholarships was broken down in the following way per programme for travel arrangements: -

Youth Programme: $106,228.86usd Cultural Programme: $27,275.00usd Global Village Programme: $85,834.14usd

Accommodation scholarships were paid through Congrex Group who managed all payments but for $4,600usd paid directly by the Youth Programme as they needed more rooms at the end.17 GV2008 outreach materials: Details

Expense

4,000 GV Stickers 3,000 GV posters (40x60cm) 3,000 GV posters (43x28cm) 30,000 GV postcards

$2,260usd $1,028usd $1,659.45usd $1,331.70usd TOTAL

17

$6,279.15usd

For further reference please refer to the Youth Programme Report 2008

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8. Safety and Security The Global Village was open to the public and in a separate location that the rest of the conference, therefore a different set of security issues were present. The local GV team did not have access to the meetings held between the IAS and the contracted security company. The point person for this item was named a couple of weeks before the conference; it was decided to be the IAS Geneva Global Village Coordinator. Mexico is a huge city with security problems and a strong presence of earthquakes. The Global Village was a big tent with three main open doors and seven emergency exits. All of them were glass doors. There was no traffic signage for the emergency exits. There were some busy booths that blocked some aisles and problems with the floor and the carpet that would cause serious problems if an evacuation was needed. By the other hand, it was needed to have security people and procedures on the mantling and dismantling dates. The lack of this procedures resulted in equipment and materials stolen from the IAS, staff, providers and participants. The staff, the volunteers nor the participants had access to information about evacuation procedures. We did have a couple of boycott activities from the pro-abstinence youth and the negationist groups. These had to be overcome by the local GV team because the IAS Geneva Global Village Coordinator was absent. Recommendations – Safety and Security

   

The GV local team needs to be involved in security meetings related to the planning of the GV security. Staff and volunteers need to have information about what to do in case of an emergency or boycott. Evacuation procedures must be taken into consideration. The security point person must be fully involved in the GV operative actions in order to be efficient.

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9. Global Village Timeline

Start Date

October 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 December 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2009 February 2008 February 2008 April 2008 May 2008 May 2008 May 2008 May 2008 June 2008 May 2008 May 2008 June 2008

Completion Date September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 December 2007 February 2008 January 2008 January 2008 April 2009 April 2008 April 2008 August 2008 June 2008 June 2008 June 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 June 2008 August 2008

June 2008 June 2008 June 2008 July 2008 July

July 2008 July 2008 June 2008 July 28 2008 August 1

August 2007

Activity Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Coordinator Working group starts Concept Paper developed (objectives and scope of GV) Application form (English and Spanish) and guidelines developed First lay out and time break by activities developed by IAS Logistics Geneva Application form (English and Spanish) posted on the conference website www.aids2008.org Call for reviewers and selection criteria developed and Pre-JPC Meeting Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Assistant Second lay out developed by a consultant in Mexico Application filing and information management systems developed Selection process and PAP Meeting Volunteer plan development: roles, shifts, number per shift Successful and unsuccessful applicants notified and confirmed Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Coordinators and Officers (NGO and MP Booths, NWZ, Sessions) Third lay out developed by a consultant in Mexico Programme development Content finalised for conference publications Air tickets purchased for PA scholarships Scheduling of the Global Village sessions More lay outs developed by another consultant in Mexico in order to adapt the design to the tent specifications and allocate the cultural exhibitions Development of Letters of Invitation and visa application information booklet Shipping and Customs Information sent to Global Village NGO and Marketplace exhibitors. Reference to Exhibitor’s Manual. Exhibitor’s Manual, booth assignment, and floor plan sent to NGO and Marketplace exhibitors. Volunteer training developed Volunteer training delivered

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2008 July 2008 July 2008 July 21 2008

2008 On site

August 2

August 2

August 2

August 2

July 2008 August 2008

Furniture and audio visual equipment ordered for the Networking Zones Session organisers contacted regarding their audio visual needs and their session plan Follow up with NGO and Marketplace booth exhibitors on visas, Global Village security, setting up of exhibitor space, shipping, meeting rooms, parking, airport security, and an exhibitor’s timeline agenda for the duration of the Conference All late applications were notified that NGO and Marketplace booths were filled. Session organisers notified about check-in procedures and location

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10.List of Appendices Appendices to AIDS 2008 Mexico City Global Village Report ANEX No.

Appendix Document Name or Description

ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX ANEX

Concept Paper of the Global Village 2008 Working Group Terms of Reference Application form sample Selection criteria for applications Instructions for the PAP Meeting Population representation graphics Notification letter Concept Note Opening Ceremony Invitation Letter Opening Ceremony Global Village Exhibitor Manual Travel and Customs Guide Outreach materials produced at GV2008 Communication channels diagram Basic information of Scholarship Recipients Acknowledgement of payments sheet

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

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