Workshops
The workshop programme is aimed at increasing the capacity of delegates to implement and advocate for effective, evidence-informed HIV policies and interventions in their respective communities and countries.
AIDS 2012 will offer 60 high-quality, targeted workshops that will promote and enhance opportunities for knowledge transfer, skills development and collaborative learning. Twenty of the workshops will be designed by the Conference Coordinating and Programme Committees. The remaining 40 workshops will be selected from proposals submitted through the AIDS 2012 website.
Workshops can be 90 or 180 minutes in length and in languages other than English.
Call for Workshops
The workshop submission period is now closed. Notifications will be sent to all applicants early April 2012.
Workshop Focus Areas
The AIDS 2012 workshop programme is grouped into three broad areas. These areas cover a range of content and teach specific skills that can be applied within the workplace or life setting. The main purpose of the grouping is to guide delegates to workshops that will best correspond to their needs. The workshops are grouped into
scientific,
community or
leadership and
accountability fields.
Scientific Development These workshops will enhance skills development and collaborative learning around the latest scientific research, emerging technologies and breakthroughs in policy and programme that inform and guide the global response to the epidemic.
Workshops in this category will serve to (1) accelerate the scale-up of evidence informed combined approaches to HIV care, treatment and prevention; (2) highlight excellence in biomedical, epidemiological, behavioral, social, economic, political, and operational research and in multi-disciplinary science; and (3) discuss the impact of the HIV response on health and social systems, including the potential for HIV to transform health and development programmes for today and for generations to come.
The Scientific Development Categories follow the scientific track categories. For an expanded description of the scope and objectives of each scientific track, please click
here.
Leadership & Accountability Development These workshops provide a platform to learn innovative skills, critical for an effective response to the HIV epidemic, for new and current leaders. Participants will also develop and or enhance their skills on assessing and measuring commitments and actions of leaders.
The intention is to provide practical advice on best practice but, above all, to challenge individuals and organizations to consider the ways in which they go about developing leadership and accountability capabilities and what outcomes they hope to achieve by doing this.
Community Skills Development Experience shows community involvement is an essential part of the response to combat the HIV epidemic. This series of workshops will showcase effective community empowerment programmes that are adding value to public health outcomes in HIV treatment, prevention, care and support.
Participating in these workshops will enable delegates to broaden their knowledge and skills to be able to implement effective programmes in their communities.
Workshop Levels
To maximize the potential of the conference platform in sharing experience and increasing knowledge and expertise of professionals working in HIV, each workshop topic will be classified according to levels of experience and expertise of the target audience. The purpose is to guide conference delegates in identifying and selecting the workshop session that will best meet their needs.
Foundation Level – For learners new to a career in HIV and health, these workshops are intended to build strong foundation skills and knowledge.
Intermediate Level – For mid-career learners who have a strong foundation, looking to further advance their professional expertise and become more effective team leaders; these workshops offers a robust selection of topics that will help delegates to specialize their focus, explore new areas and opportunities, or expand their skills to the next level of professional development.
Advanced Level – For those who have been working in HIV and health for years, and are looking for new, fresh approaches to fighting AIDS, and delivering on high-stakes’ projects. These workshops should allow delegates to build and nurture their talent, while increasing their own influence and marketability, and strengthening engagement with key experts at leading global health organizations.
Workshop Selection
All workshop proposals submitted to the Conference will go through a peer-review process carried out by a Reviewing Committee. Each proposal will be assessed by two reviewers. The workshops will be reviewed from mid-February until mid-March 2012. Notification to workshop submitters will be done in April 2012.
For AIDS 2012, 20 workshops will be designed by the Conference Coordinating and Programme Committees. In addition, 40 high-scoring workshops that align with the conference programme vision and objectives will be selected by the Workshops Working Group after review by a Reviewing Committee.
Workshops will be selected based on a combination of criteria, including:
- Objectives that are manageable, clearly evident throughout and strongly supported by learning activities during the workshop.
- Expertise of the facilitator.
- Methodology – The workshop proposal should start from participants’ needs, and use a learner-centred approach.
- Relevance – the proposal fits with the relevant programme objectives, focus area, and level.
- Outcomes – Delegates participating will learn something new, be guided by the facilitator to make connections to their current professional practice and develop an action plan to apply it in their work.
Selection of workshops will also aim to equitably represent:
- Key populations (e.g. Women, Youth, Sex Workers, Men who have Sex with Men, Gay Bisexual Lesbian Transgender, Drug Users, Aboriginal/Indigenous peoples, etc.);
- Geographic regions (e.g. Latin America, Africa, Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Asia, etc.).