Blog: AIDS. Care Now.

It's finally here. The main conference: the XVI International AIDS Conference. On the streets today, the headlines of all the major papers announced the arrival of the conference. Thousands of people spent many hours in line registering. In the end, we have our all-access, computer chip embedded name badges. 20,000+ people walking the streets of Toronto with their badge. It's a strange sense of community. It's as if we all want the people of Toronto to know we're here, and why we're here. And if the badges don't give us away, the official conference bag will. Here we are - a community of activists, educators, and caregivers - all with the same handbag.

The official opening included one powerful speaker after another. Canadian government officials, business leaders, actors, musicians. For seven hours, we took in one after another. All of them were there because they believed in the cause and wanted to offer a warm welcome to the many people who have traveled here from around the world.

The Governor General of Canada reminded us that, "The battle against AIDS is a battle for life." The Canadian Minister of Health hoped that we would make this conference "the turning point in the fight against AIDS." The Premier of Ontario urged us that we couldn't end our fight against AIDS until "hope turns into certainty and certainty turns into joy." A woman living with AIDS from Indonesia reminded us that stigma still exists. "While HIV does not discriminate, people discriminate. And politics discriminate. People are still dying from discrimination."

Bill and Melinda Gates delivered the keynote address, focusing on the many advances that have been made and introducing some of the important work that their foundation is doing to address HIV/AIDS. They focused specifically on the plight of women and their lack of empowerment when it comes to protecting themselves from HIV. They stated passionately, "No matter who she is, where she lives, or what she does, a woman should never have to rely on a man to save her own life."

The director of the UN AIDS initiative closed the formal speeches by saying, "We have no choice but to act in exceptional ways." How true. The average, everyday responses of the past did not work. But in recent years, we have entered into a time where innovative, dedicated and exceptional responses are becoming the norm. These efforts will move us forward.

Of course, I can't end today's summary without a quick note about what happened once the formal speakers were finished. Actor Richard Gere encouraged the crowd to continue its work. Singer Alicia Keys offered 25 insights in the fight against AIDS - one for each of the 25 years that we have been living in the midst of this pandemic. (though we were all disappointed that she didn't sing!) Actress Olympia Dukakis introduced finalists for the Red Ribbon Award - an award recognizing the best in grassroots AIDS work. Canadian singers Amanda Marshall, Chantal Kreviazuk, and others entertained the crowd with song.

As we left the stadium, it was with a sense of both exhaustion and excitement. The week will be a long one, filled with mornings, afternoons, and evenings full of amazing learning opportunities, motivating speeches, and extraordinary networking opportunities. You can almost feel the tension in the air - so much to do, so much to learn. How will each of us here make sure we do enough and learn enough? What an impossible question! Can we ever do enough or learn enough? Maybe not. But we can each do our best. And under the watchful eyes of God, we can rest our heads each night assured that our best is enough for Him.

For more information, visit: AIDS. Care Now.

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