World's Largest Open Scientific Conference on HIV/AIDS Uses New Media Tools

By Miguel Gomez

This weekend approximately 5,000 of the world’s leading scientists, clinicians, public health experts and community leaders will convene in Cape Town, South Africa, for the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment, and Prevention (IAS 2009) to “examine the latest developments in HIV-related research, and to explore how scientific advances can—in very practical ways—inform the global response to HIV/AIDS.” The conference will run July 19-22, 2009.

Capitol Hill Conference: Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

By Miguel Gomez

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of speaking about new media during the “Capitol Hill Conference: Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS” co-sponsored by amfAR and Research!America . This event brought together international HIV experts, celebrity advocates, and government officials to talk about the importance of HIV research and a National AIDS Strategy. The day started with information from the recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showing that Americans' sense of urgency about HIV has fallen and that we need to reinvigorate ourselves in the fight against AIDS.

2009 National Technology Conference: Highlights for the HIV Community

By Michelle Samplin-Salgado

Last week, Jennie Anderson and I attended the Nonprofit Technology Network's (NTEN) 2009 National Technology Conference (NTC) . Because many AIDS service organizations are non-profits, the conference provides us with an opportunity to gain invaluable insight into how non-profit organizations across the country and around the world are using new media to inspire, connect and collaborate with their audiences. It was inspiring for me to learn from and share experiences with people who really care about what they are doing and believe in the causes they represent. And there is so much we, in the HIV community, can learn from people working to promote their own causes. Here are a few highlights:

Sex::Tech: Using Technology to Reach Youth with HIV and Sexual Health Information

This week's post is by Jennie Anderson and Josie Halpern-Finnerty, AIDS.gov.

Last week at ISIS, Inc.'s Sex::Tech conference , we heard from leading voices in the field that we need to engage with our young audiences and use the tools they use to provide HIV and sexual health information.

As ISIS Executive Director Deb Levine said in her opening remarks, we must focus on being accessible, effective, relevant, innovative (in both our work and how we evaluate it), and ready to engage our communities in our work. A talented group of young African American students powerfully demonstrated this message in an interactive theater piece, BuckWorld One , which dealt with some of the factors affecting the choices young people make about sexual health.

Applying Lessons Learned from South by Southwest (SXSW) to HIV

We're changing our tone here at AIDS.gov, increasing our transparency and letting you know just who "we" are. This week's post is by Miguel Gomez, Director of AIDS.gov. Stay tuned for more...and let us know what you think!

Last week was the annual South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. Our HHS colleague Andrew Wilson attended nearly 25 panels and presentations on new and social media. I sat down with Andrew to find out what he learned - what themes emerged and how they can be applied to our HIV work. Andrew told me:

“SXSW participants reinforced the message that new media tools are only part of the conversation and that collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and customer centricity equal effective communication.

Presentations highlighted the fact that new media offers tremendous opportunities for organizations of all sizes to engage stakeholders and their own staff members, to collaborate in creative ways, and to solicit feedback that will help improve the organization.”