One Minute Advocacy at IAC

“You never know when an opportunity to reach someone will present itself,” explained Shannon Southall (pictured right) to the participants of the Turning the Tide for Women and Girls workshop on one-minute messaging at the 19th International AIDS Conference (IAC).

Shannon, a CEDPA alumna and executive director of Rocky Mountain Cares, facilitated the session dedicated to delivering your message in less than a minute. The session was hosted by CEDPA and International Community of Women living with HIV and AIDS.

“You want to be able to seize opportunities that unexpectedly present themselves,” said Shannon.

She practices what she preaches. Shannon is HIV positive and her husband is negative. She hates that they are referred to as a serodiscordant couple because it puts a negative label on their relationship. She prefers the term “serodifferent” or, her personal favorite, a “magnetic” couple.

“I attended a session on the serodiscordant topic,” Shannon told participants. “Because I had thought about this awhile, I took the opportunity to explain why I disliked the term. At the end of the session, the moderator looked at me, and thanked everyone for attending the session on “serodifferent” couples.”

Shannon used this example to inspire the participants and demonstrate that one-minute messages can be effective when they are targeted, well thought out and timely. These are skills that Shannon refined during the three-week long workshop in 2007.

Participants at IAC workshop session voting with their feet.

CEDPA worked very closely with Shannon to help her prepare to facilitate Wednesday’s IAC workshop session. The workshop was designed around one of the sessions from the Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action initiative, which Shannon was a participant in. The successful three-year program reached 140 women from 46 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States and the Pacific.

The initiative consisted of six global, regional and national workshops designed to enhance participants’ confidence and self-efficacy, strengthen their program management skills and expand their professional networks.

To continue the investment beyond the life of the initiative, and to reach more women leaders with critical skills, CEDPA developed a manual for trainers that presents a scaled-down adaptation of the workshop training curriculum.

In attendance at the conference workshop were 55 men and women who shared their stories, opinions and experiences in the highly participatory session.

"HIV does not discriminate, so you need to use every opportunity to tell your message,” said one participant near the close.

The session concluded with participants sharing the messages they created and receiving feedback from the group.

“When you leave here today, I want you to be cognizant of the messages you see throughout the conference. Why did they catch your attention, or why didn’t they,” said Shannon. “This will help you to improve your own messages.”

Learn more about CEDPA workshops, and download your copy of the advocacy manual.

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