AIDS Action Europe (AAE) is participating in the 5th Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference in Moscow (EECAAC), on March 23-25, 2016.
The decision of AAE’s participation was taken unanimously by the AAE Steering Committee. Anke van Dam, chair of the Steering Committee explains the decision: “With our attendance we want to express our support for the communities and its members in the region. We believe that open dialogue and discussion outweigh the legitimate concerns that other organisations express.”
The AAE seminar “Linking and Learning –Information exchange and collaboration between EU member states and Eastern European and Central Asian countries” takes place on March 25. Starting at 15.30, the 90-minute seminar will address Civil Society representatives, international and national donor representatives and all interested conference participants. The aim is to look at existing good practices and to further explore, which gaps, out of Civil Society’s perspective, need to be bridged.
The program will include presentations from members of the AAE Steering Committee and Office. Anke van Dam will talk about good practice and experiences of international collaboration between East and West from the perspective of her organisation AIDS Foundation East West (AFEW). Olga Aleksandrova from the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People Living with HIV (ECUO) will make a presentation about the needs and opportunities of CSOs for collaboration at regional level will assess existing practice. And, Michael Krone and Ljuba Boettger from AAE Office will inform about AAE past, present and future activities in the EECA countries and will introduce the EU HIV/AIDS Civil Society Forum an advisory body to the European Commission and its relevance for the EECA region.
These topics will hopefully lead to a vibrant discussion in order to explore which needs and demands should be met and what role AAE should play to enhance international collaboration.
We would like to invite our member organisations who attend the conference to our seminar for an open dialogue and discussion concerning future activities in EECA countries. Your attention and contribution is very much needed.
