Request for Input: Women's Issues and Community Track BKK2004

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Request for Input: Women's Issues and Community Track BKK2004

Women and HIV/AIDS Task Force(24.6.03)

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Women and HIV/AIDS Task force

Bangkok 2004

June 23, 2003

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We, the Women and HIV/AIDS Task Force, are a group of women living with

HIV/AIDS and women NGO representatives in Thailand. We represent the

committee to integrate women's issues into the Community Track of the

upcoming International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, 2004.

In the spirit of building upon the experiences and accomplishments of

past conferences, where the international community of women working on

HIV/AIDS came together to create spaces for discussion and advocacy of

our issues, we ask that you help us in our planning by sending us your

ideas, thoughts, comments, and information about past conferences. We

will use this information to link the 2004 Community Track with past

efforts.

We want to build on the history of women's work at earlier conferences -

for example, by revisiting the Declaration that came out of Barcelona -

and will consider all of your ideas as our Women's Task Force begins to

develop the mechanisms for a dynamic and meaningful experience for

everyone who participates in the 2004 Bangkok conference.

We want to work with you - those of you who organized at previous

conferences as well as new friends. We appreciate your participation in

this first step towards organizing for women's issues in Bangkok:

Please start sending your thoughts, ideas, and information about women's

issues and activities at past IACs. In your opinion, what issues should

we prioritize at the Bangkok venue? What types of forums should we

create for the discussion and examination of these issues?

Meanwhile, we have started a series of workshops with interested

individuals and groups in Thailand focusing on " Women and Reproductive

Rights: A Lifecycle Approach " . The sub-topics for this series include:

women-friendly health services, ARV and women, positive women and

pregnancy, gender and rights, sexuality education for young women, women

and violence, promoting women's networks, healthy sexuality for women,

women's sexual satisfaction, etc.

Based on these initial discussions, we expect to involve all of you in

developing the theme of our activities in Bangkok.

We ask that you send your comments by 31 August 2003, and we will

integrate your input into our decision-making, working with you as we go

along.

Thank you, and see you in Bangkok!

Yours sincerely,

Nitchanan Sodchuen (Roong)

Email: numjaikan@...

Maew Chinvarasopak

Email: maew@...

Women and HIV/AIDS Task Force,

Bangkok 2004

c/o PATH Mekong,

37/1 Petchburi 15 Road,

Bangkok 10400,

Thailand

Email: womenaids@...