Quotes from the Consultation

Key Question: How, and if, US AIDS groups could be involved in global AIDS activities?

"Demand (from the developing world) should drive involvement of US groups, not supply." Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"To divert global AIDS funds to US groups is a travesty!" US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"Advocacy is safest-they know how to do it." Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"Do they really want to be AIDS tourists and take trips or what? What do they want?" Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"How do we do this and not waste the money on ourselves? It is not enough to come together and feel good. We need a coordinated vision.""-US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"Doing nothing is not an option. The fact that we live in the US signifies that we have an impact on global AIDS regardless. The question is how are we going to consciously respond and what resources are going to be shared." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

en linea Tragamonedas jugar"There are no treatments/medications and people are just planning on how to die. We would love to do something for our people that is not through the ‘backdoor’. Unfortunately, legal and economic barriers make it difficult for us to carry out activities that can be legally documented and measured for effectiveness. However, this cannot stop us from doing anything. These are our brothers and sisters and we will continue to carry out activities whether there are legal barriers or donors willing to fund us."-US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"The American AIDS community came into existence because they know who they were fighting for-their family and their friends. Are they now going to be fighting for people of color in other countries? Do they know the people who they say they will be fighting for?" US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"It is by no means an automatic blessing to have the American AIDS industry move into global AIDS issues." Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"Americans working in other countries need to know that that we are guests and may need to go home." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"On the question of cultural competency, funders do not recognize that American AIDS groups are often run by minorities (gay men, etc.) from resource poor backgrounds. I would like to know why are the development organizations seen as more culturally competent." A US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"We are not afraid of US group’s ‘over-enthusiasm.’ US groups are not the only organizations with issues of cultural competence. When getting into north-south partnerships there is always inequality that must be addressed up front. Affinity is difficult, but not impossible" Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"If linkages provide solidarity to groups in other nations and therefore gives them courage to take actions they otherwise would not this is useful. But how do you measure courage?" Potential Funder/Facilitating Organization

"Many American AIDS activists want to do a debutante type of global AIDS work or they respond from guilt, and neither is sustainable." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"We forget what it means to be American and how much we dominate even if that is not our intention." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"We are working in third world countries right now (in the US), we just don’t need a passport." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"This isn’t just about building groups’ capacity, but about building a movement of global solidarity." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"[Can US groups really establish partnerships with groups in southern nations?] Yes, you can! But it must be two-way and we must listen to each other." AIDS Organization in a Developing Nation

"To work with people from other nations everyone doesn’t have to be an anthropologist! It is something most people can be trained to do, although apparently there are some people who just can’t be trained." Potential Funder/Facilitator Organization

"The key questions in partnerships are: How do we deal with the reality of development issues? How can we benefit from each other?" AIDS Organization in a Developing Nation

"Two-way exchanges mean being clear on what both sides get." Potential Funder/Facilitator Organization

"Don’t underestimate the power of cultural affinity in opening doors." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"The most important element in partnerships is trust! Trust! Trust!" Potential Funder/Facilitator Organization

"Cultural competence should measure the competence of the partnership as a whole not the competence of each group." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

Holiday Inn Hotels Mullerthal"Activism must not be conducted in a vacuum. US-based advocates must understand the context of whom and what they are advocating for" AIDS Organization in a Developing Nation

"The challenge is to recognize that AIDS is not the only thing on the agenda. Poverty is a driver in everything that is going on". Potential Funder/Facilitator Organization

"We must prioritize changing US policies because that will also change policies in other nations" Potential Funder/Facilitator Organization

five star hotel in Oslo"We have to understand that there is no existing group handling work on global AIDS policy. Within US AIDS groups there does not now exist the capacity to undertake global AIDS advocacy effectively." US AIDS Service/Advocacy Organization

"It is unfair to put the burden on activists in the north without sharing some of that responsibility in the south." AIDS Organization in a Developing Nation Stakeholder