Upon
the invitation of Dennis Altman, political science professor
at La Trobe and president of the AIDS Society in Asia
and the Pacific (ASAP), Ateneo Psychology Department
Head Isabel Melgar co-chaired a satellite session during
the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand
last July 11-16, 2004. Satellite sessions are special
meetings prepared for conference delegates by a company,
government, institution, or nongovernmental organization.
With Strengthening the
Role of Social Sciences in the Response to HIV/AIDS"
as theme, various speakers presented data on how cross-disciplinary
approaches could assist in conceptualizing the magnitude
of the problem and in devising appropriate responses
to the AIDS pandemic.
Speakers in the event
included Craig Calhoun of the Social Science Research
Council (SSRC), Vera Paiva of the University of Sao
Paulo in Brazil, Anita Jowitt of the University of South
Pacific in Vanuatu, and Alan Whiteside of the University
of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
The satellite session
was organized by the ASAP, SSRC, United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Joint
United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). Around 100
satellite sessions on AIDS-related issues were conducted
in the said conference.
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