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| | The first-ever Summit of High Level Religious Leaders will be held in The Netherlands from 22-23 March 2010 to generate greater leadership from religious leaders of many of the world's faiths in the global AIDS response.
The Summit, organised by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) and Cordaid (The Catholic development organization in The Netherlands), will explore opportunities for religious leaders to speak out and take action on HIV and eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.
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Religious leaders will also have an opportunity to exchange views with people living with HIV and experts from other sectors involved in the AIDS response. Over 60 participants from around the world are expected to attend.
Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, religious communities, mosques, temples, churches, hospitals and clinics have reached out to provide support to those living with and affected by HIV. Their leadership can greatly influence the lives of many people, and leaders speaking out responsibly about AIDS can make a powerful impact at both community and international level.
Although the meeting is closed to the media, interested journalists will be able to interview some of the high-level speakers during the Summit. Press materials will be made available on 15 March on the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance's website: www.e-alliance.ch
WACC believes that stigmatisation and discrimination towards people living with HIV and AIDS increases the difficulties they experience, fuels the spread of HIV and increases the harm it causes. Through it's HIV and AIDS, Communication and Stigma programme, WACC supports communication strategies, that are gender sensitive, to change stigmatising and discriminatory behaviour that contributes to the spread of HIV and the harm it causes. See more information about the programme here...
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad network of churches and Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on food and on HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Cordaid, is one of the largest international organisations working on emergency aid and structural poverty eradication with a network of almost a thousand partner organisations in 36 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The following organizations have also been involved in the planning of the Summit - the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNAIDS, International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV or AIDS (INERELA+), the World AIDS Campaign and the European Council of Religious Leaders (Religions for Peace).
For more information about the summit, Contact: Sara Speicher:
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cell. +44 7821 860 723
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