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: info@iasociety.org
Web: www.iasociety.org
Copyright © September 2008
AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 2

XVII International AIDS Conference – AIDS 2008 Global Village Team
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)

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

Contents
AIDS 2008 Post Conference Report
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

AIDS 2008 Post Conference Report
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.
1
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).

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

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 co-
sponsors (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.

- 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:
• 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 decision-
making.
Moreover, GV2008 had the following OBJECTIVES:
• 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;

• 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:
• 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, pre-
conferences, 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

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

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
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
3
A copy of the Terms of Reference for the WG members can be found in Anex 2.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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

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.

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 84
Dance 15
Music 11
Other 10
Performing Art 19
Reading 4
Theatre 38
Other Incl. book launch, reading, poetry 22
Photo/Art Exhibitions 39
Painting 4
Photography 26
Other 16
Screening 69
Documentary 36
Film 13
Video 18
Other 5
Exhibition Booths
5
The selection criteria can be consulted on Anex 4.

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 20
Panel Disc 42
Presentation with Q&A 61
Workshop 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
• 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.

• 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:
• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

At the end of the PAP meeting the numbers of selected applications per categories
were7:
Global Village activities 315

NGO Booths 77
Marketplace Booths 30
Networking Zones 27
Sessions, panel discussions, presentations 67
with questions and answers
Youth activities
Sessions 25 at GV
50 at Banamex Centre
Cultural activities
Exhibitions 28
Performances 32
Screenings 34
Readings 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
This number does not consider Youth activities at the Banamex Centre
8
Refer to Anex 6 for graphics on such representations.

• 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.

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.

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.

• 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

• 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.

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 Secretary-
General 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.

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 Global Village session room 2
• This was the biggest and most • It could accommodate up to 100

technically equipped room. people.
• It held 27 activities during the 5 • Was managed by an officer, a
days that the GV opened. technician and a hostess,
• Simultaneous Spanish-English supported by a volunteer.
translation was available
• It could accommodate up to 300  4 panel discussions
people  6 Q&A
• Was managed by an officer, a  2 debates
technician and a hostess,  12 workshops
supported by a volunteer.  5 breakfasts
 9 panel discussions
 1 performance
 5 Q&A
 3 debates
 1 workshop
 4 Meet the Plenary Speaker
Sessions
 4 plenary transmissions
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.

• 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

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

This year, there were a total of 26 Networking Zones in the Global Village:
African Region Interfaith

Asian Region Latin American Region
Caribbean LGBT
Children's MENA
Community Media MSM
Culture Matters Pacific Region
Disability Peer leader
Eastern Europe People Living with HIV
Harm Reduction Scientific Garden
Hot Topics Sexual Workers
Human Rights Traditional Healing
ILO Women's
Indigenous Youth
• 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.
• 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:

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

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

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 co-
workers to access when needed. Setting and communicating deadlines
to the Leaders took careful calculating.
• 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.
• Set-up Dates and conference week. On set-up dates (August 2nd 8:30-
20:30hrs, 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.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• All communications should be translated into the predominant languages

spoken among the group.

• 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).
• 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
• 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

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.

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 income-
generating 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 income-
generating projects from across the world and for providing delegates and non-
delegates 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.

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
• 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
12
For a copy of the Travel and Customs Guide refer to Anex 11.

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
• 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

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

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
• 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.

• 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

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 air-
conditioning 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

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
• 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

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
• 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

• 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
• 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

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.

Challenges – Global Village staff office and staff lounge
• Communication channels. As stated before, communication lines were

difficult to follow easily. The decision of having mobile phones instead of push-
talks 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 under-
provided. 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.

Recommendations – Global Village staff office and staff lounge
• 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 set-
up 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.

• 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.

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 re-
negotiating 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.

• 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

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

• 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

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.

- 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

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

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.

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

Activities
OBJECTIVE ACTIVITIES
For objective 1: 1. Facilitate discussion among working group members.
2. Support working group members.
Ensure on-going 3. Follow up minutes and action points of working groups with IAS
management, coordination Department and Staff.
and support for the working 4. Facilitate the elaboration of concept notes, guidelines and criteria
group including the documents for Global Village activities.
application and 5. Develop minutes from working group meetings.
review/selection process.
6. Organisation of local meetings with working group members.
7. Organisation of teleconferences with working group members.
For objective 2: 1. Coordinate and schedule Global Village activities such as forums,
interactive spaces, the community market and networking areas.
Ensure on-going 2. Translation to Spanish.
management, coordination 3. Be the key contact for Global Village activities; respond to
and support for the inquiries, follow-up with applicants.
implementation of the 4. Support and coordinate a review process for proposals, including
programme activities, the development of criteria, research, assessment and analysis.
including the application 5. Work collaboratively with local and international planning
and review/selection committees, the IAS and co-organizers and other conference
process. secretariat departments.
6. Help plan, coordinate and implement Global Village activities for
the conference.
7. Develop activity work plans; prepare progress reports and
printed material or web site content.
8. Help logistics on site.
9. Trouble shooting.
10. Public Relations.
For objective 3: 1. Develop and support effective working relations with stakeholders
and partner organisations, including groups from diverse and
Contribute to Global Village affected communities, in the development and delivery of Global
Marketing and Promotion 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
office on issues regarding HIV/AIDS and Human Rights.
Increase awareness among 2. Assess the coordination of the local office in all regarding aspects
local staff members on of the Global Village.
issues concerning HIV and
AIDS

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

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.

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.

• 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

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 e-
mail, 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.

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.

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

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

 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
 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.
15
Refer to Anex 14 for a sample of such record at GV2008
16
Refer to Anex 15 for a sample of such record at GV2008

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 Flight Expense Per Diem Expense

GV Programme $14,203.27usd $1,298usd
Youth Programme $4,667.59usd $249usd
Cultural Programme $3,142.60usd $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 $2,260usd

3,000 GV posters (40x60cm) $1,028usd
3,000 GV posters (43x28cm) $1,659.45usd
30,000 GV postcards $1,331.70usd
TOTAL $6,279.15usd
17
For further reference please refer to the Youth Programme Report 2008

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.

9. Global Village Timeline
Start Date Completion Activity

Date
August 2007 September Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Coordinator
2007
October October Working group starts
2007 2007
October November Concept Paper developed (objectives and scope of GV)
2007 2007
November December Application form (English and Spanish) and guidelines developed
2007 2007
December December First lay out and time break by activities developed by IAS Logistics
2007 2007 Geneva
December February Application form (English and Spanish) posted on the conference
2007 2008 website www.aids2008.org
December January Call for reviewers and selection criteria developed and Pre-JPC Meeting
2007 2008
January January Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Assistant
2008 2008
February April Second lay out developed by a consultant in Mexico
2009 2009
February April Application filing and information management systems developed
2008 2008
February April Selection process and PAP Meeting
2008 2008
April August Volunteer plan development: roles, shifts, number per shift
2008 2008
May June Successful and unsuccessful applicants notified and confirmed
2008 2008
May June Recruitment and Selection of Global Village Coordinators and Officers
2008 2008 (NGO and MP Booths, NWZ, Sessions)
May June Third lay out developed by a consultant in Mexico
2008 2008
May June Programme development
2008 2008
June July Content finalised for conference publications
2008 2008
May August Air tickets purchased for PA scholarships
2008 2008
May June Scheduling of the Global Village sessions
2008 2008
June August More lay outs developed by another consultant in Mexico in order to
2008 2008 adapt the design to the tent specifications and allocate the cultural
exhibitions
June July Development of Letters of Invitation and visa application information
2008 2008 booklet
June July Shipping and Customs Information sent to Global Village NGO and
2008 2008 Marketplace exhibitors. Reference to Exhibitor’s Manual.
June June Exhibitor’s Manual, booth assignment, and floor plan sent to NGO and
2008 2008 Marketplace exhibitors.
July July 28 Volunteer training developed
2008 2008
July August 1 Volunteer training delivered

2008 2008
July On site Furniture and audio visual equipment ordered for the Networking Zones
2008
July July Session organisers contacted regarding their audio visual needs and
2008 2008 their session plan
July 21 August Follow up with NGO and Marketplace booth exhibitors on visas, Global
2008 2008 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
August 2 August 2 All late applications were notified that NGO and Marketplace booths
were filled.
August 2 August 2 Session organisers notified about check-in procedures and location

10.List of Appendices
Appendices to AIDS 2008 Mexico City

Global Village Report
ANEX No. Appendix Document Name or Description
ANEX 1. Concept Paper of the Global Village 2008

ANEX 2. Working Group Terms of Reference
ANEX 3. Application form sample
ANEX 4. Selection criteria for applications
ANEX 5. Instructions for the PAP Meeting
ANEX 6. Population representation graphics
ANEX 7. Notification letter
ANEX 8. Concept Note Opening Ceremony
ANEX 9. Invitation Letter Opening Ceremony
ANEX 10. Global Village Exhibitor Manual
ANEX 11. Travel and Customs Guide
ANEX 12. Outreach materials produced at GV2008
ANEX 13. Communication channels diagram
ANEX 14. Basic information of Scholarship Recipients
ANEX 15. Acknowledgement of payments sheet


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Global Village Report AIDS 2008

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AIDS 2008 Mexico City, Mexico

Global Village Programme

“That noisy, messy and sloppy space…

XVII International AIDS Conference

© 2008 Copyright AIDS 2008

Reproduction, adaptation or translation is encouraged and permitted for research,

International AIDS Conference Secretariat

Copyright © September 2008

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 2

AIDS 2008 Global Village Programme Working Group

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 3

The Conference organizers gratefully acknowledge the generous

GlaxoSmithKlina Positive Action

Government of Mexico – Mexican Health Ministry

Mexico City’s Government

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 4

1. Global Village 2008 Programme................................................................6

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 5

1. Global Village 2008 Programme

1.1.Historic evolution of the Global Village1

The International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada in 1989, involved community

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 6

Community involvement in the planning of an International AIDS Conference is as

At AIDS 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand, there was no pre-conference community forum

1.2.Global Village at the XVII International AIDS Conference

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 7

The Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC) is comprised of representatives from

The Conference Coordinating Committee and the three Programme Committees,

The Global Village is a community-driven space involving community, science and

The CPC vision had the five following principles2:

- Reclaiming ownership of the agenda;

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 8

The GUIDING PRINCIPLES that the GV2008 presented were:

• Meaningfully involve historically and traditionally most affected communities.

Moreover, GV2008 had the following OBJECTIVES:

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 9

• Engage most affected communities;

Challenges – Global Village concept development

Recommendations – Global Village concept development

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 10

• Take advantage of meetings with members of the committees, if possible, for

• If the objective of involving marginalised people is included in the concept

1.4.Governance and Decision-making

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 11

Challenges – Global Village working group

Recommendations – Global Village working group

• The role of local WG members should be clear – a suggestion to designate to

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 12

• Programme development decisions should be made by the Global Village WG

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 13

• Global Village Sessions

• ‘Meet the Plenary Speaker’ Sessions

• The Video Lounge

• The Literary Lounge

• The Main Stage

• The Youth Pavilion

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 14

• NGO and marketplace booths

• The Community Dialogue Space - Tequio

2.1.Application process, application forms and screening and

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 15

The categories and sub-categories of the applications were broken-down as follows:

AIDS 2008 – Global Village Programme Report 16