[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/AIDS2006.jpg” caption=”Delegates and volunteers attend the XVI AIDS Conference opening ceremonies at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Click here for FULL SIZE Photo credit: Emily Wilson”]Emily Wilson is entering her final year in McMaster's Bachelor of Health Science program. Following is her personal account of her experience at the recent XVI International AIDS Conference, hosted in Toronto.

Time to deliver.

The theme of the XVI International AIDS Conference, although seemingly simple, stirred 24,000 delegates and over 2,000 volunteers into passionate debates and discussions in Toronto during the week of August 13-18. The media plastered this major Canadian event all over every possible network, but what was actually happening during the week of the conference?

I had to find out.

After traveling to Ghana, West Africa the past two summers, my time, efforts, and general conversations have been progressively drawn toward international issues. I have worked with people living with HIV/AIDS, commercial sex workers, orphans, and collaborated with wonderfully inspired Ghanaians on tough issues using limited resources. Since these experiences, I have been desperately looking for more opportunities to 'soak up' information on pertinent international issues.

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Dr. Helene Gayle, Co-Chair of the XVI AIDS Conference introduces distinguished guests Stephen Lewis, and Bill Clinton at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

I decided there was no better place to effectively gather resources, network, and gain perspective on the 'bigger picture' than this XVI International Aids Conference. I thought it clever to use my access to this conference as an entry point to gain exposure to new ideas and connections to resources that might directly help my small, struggling Ghanaian NGO (non-governmental organization).

After returning from Ghana on August 8, I joined the conference ranks as a volunteer, and traveled to Toronto for my first shift on Sunday August 13. I can honestly say that the environment within the walls of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was nothing short of intoxicating. Perhaps it was simply my youthful idealism, but one lap around the Global Village exhibition and I was prepared to drop everything and save the world.

Unfortunately for the world, the start of my first volunteer shift put this somewhat grandiose scheme on hold. These shifts were enjoyable, and within a few hours, I had met volunteers from all over the globe. Each held a unique motivation and reason for being part of the conference. I floated in different departments, helping out wherever needed. I found myself directing traffic through the main gate or registering patients in the health clinic. Regardless of the job I was assigned, simply being part of this fascinating international community was worth the trip.

As a volunteer, I was invited to attend any of the hundreds of scheduled sessions during the week. With my eyes open wide, I began discovering just how steep my personal learning curve would be during this short time. Some highlights from my agenda included: hearing former US President Bill Clinton's address, participating in sessions lead by Stephen Lewis, McMaster University's new social sciences scholar-in-residence, interacting in discussions on current research presented by UN and WHO Officials, as well as listening to testimonies from inspiring youth advocates and leaders.

I would not have considered myself ignorant to the HIV/AIDS epidemic prior to the conference. Yet, after the “Time to Deliver” conference, I have a newfound awareness of how this issue impacts an infinite number of social facets. Accessible health care, economic development, children's mental health issues, and women's rights, are now all clearly linked in my mind to HIV. The grand scope of this international issue and the accompanying rhetoric is a lot to digest. However, I was particularly impressed with the open dialogue between conference delegates and the distinguished speakers, regardless of age, sex, or race.

This conference seemed surrounded by sometimes overwhelming media exposure. It was criticized for abusing 'celebrity-power', which some felt distracted from the true goals of the conference. From my perspective, however, this conference rallied people together, renewed hope for some, and refocused the energies of all involved on the issue at hand.

I feel as though I saw firsthand the power and potential of the human collective; universal cooperation for a greater good. For this aspiring young leader, the XVI AIDS Conference was a humbling, once in a lifetime experience.