Evaluative Report and Appendix of the XVIII International AIDS Conference, July 18-23, 2010 in Vienna, Austria

Comment by Tom Smith, Ph.D.

 

The XVIII International AIDS Conference was held 2010 in Vienna, Austria; over 18,000 people attended from 190 countries. This report seeks to identify the strengths and challenges that the conference faces now and in the future in the global response to HIV/AIDS.

The questions it considers are: 1) How did the participants hear about the conference? 2) Why did some participants in the 2008 conference not attend this conference in 2010? 3) How well were participants supported in their preparation and participation? 4) What type of sessions did the participants attend? 5) What happened in the “Global Village” (much like the “Olympic Village”, an open space for the exchange of ideas and socializing)? 6) How did those who did not attend participate from afar? 7) What did the media have to say? 8) What were the principle outcomes and expected impact of the conference? 9) What value did this conference add to the body of knowledge that other scientific and health conferences did not?

The complete and detailed evaluation report that contains numerous tables and illustrations may be obtained at:

http://www.iasociety.org/Web/WebContent/File/AIDS2010_evaluation_report.pdf