**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR APRIL 12**
Contact: Jennie Smith-Camejo, [email protected], 347.553.5174
SPEAK UP! 2018, THE ONLY NATIONAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT BY AND FOR WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV, KICKS OFF IN ONE WEEK
Nearly 350 women living with HIV and allies will convene in Myrtle Beach, SC, to educate, connect and build power within the HIV community, with a focus on racial and gender justice. PWN-USA celebrates its 10th Anniversary!
Attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Attempts to slash Medicaid, food stamps, and to eliminate reproductive rights. Increased criminalization of Black, brown, trans and LGB communities amid hateful rhetoric from the highest levels of government. Federally sanctioned discrimination in health care. The past months have been brutal for women living with HIV and our loved ones — full of daily threats and real-life consequences. And yet, we rise, stronger and more organized than ever before.
In the face of this hostility, Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN-USA) recognizes that we must build sustainable leadership, political analysis, and rapid-response mobilization capacity amongst our base while we work to create the just and equitable world we envision.
To that end, PWN-USA will bring together nearly 350 women living with HIV from 29 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada next week in Myrtle Beach, SC, for SPEAK UP! 2018, our third national leadership summit. The only one of its kind, it has been planned by and for women living with HIV, and an overwhelming majority of the 85+ presenters are women living with HIV, a majority of whom are also people of color. You can see our full program here.
WHAT: Speak Up! 2018, A National Leadership Summit for Women Living with HIV and 10th Anniversary Celebration for Positive Women’s Network-USA
WHEN: April 12-15, 2018
WHERE: DoubleTree Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC
WHO: Nearly 350 women living with HIV will participate; over 85 presenters
The goals of SPEAK UP! 2018 are to:
- Increase policy analysis and advocacy capacity on timely and strategic issues among women and people of trans experience living with HIV.
- Inspire our base and enhance our resilience by honoring our victories, examining our successes, and strengthening our relationships.
- Prepare our constituency to effectively engage in issue-based and electoral campaigns in 2018 and beyond.
- Advance the field’s commitment to intersectionality and racial and gender justice through political education.
This year’s Summit will have a special focus on racial and gender justice. Women of color, especially Black women, comprise a large majority of women living with HIV, and experience worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. We cannot address health disparities if we do not also address the conditions that lead to and exacerbate those disparities—in particular, racism, misogyny, transphobia and stigma–and their intersections. Our program has been specially designed to train and prepare women living with HIV to tackle these pervasive, pernicious problems.
To that end, we are hosting 5 invitation-only pre-Summit Institutes:
* PWN State Leads Institute. This half-day institute is focused on building power in states that do not have regional PWN chapters.
* Trans Leadership Institute. This daylong institute for 30 people of trans experience living with HIV will provide intensive training in key leadership skills including data interpretation and advocacy.
* Electoral Organizing Institute. This daylong institute will train 30 participants from 10 states to integrate voter engagement and candidate relations into their community organizing activities.
* PWN Policy Fellowship Training. This daylong institute will kick off PWN’s second year of our 12-month policy fellowship, training 18 women living with HIV in key aspects of federal policy work.
* Spokesperson Training. This daylong institute is a one-day crash-course in messaging and media skills for women living with HIV.
PWN is also celebrating 10 years of leadership on behalf of women living with HIV with a special program on Saturday evening, April 14!
#10YearsFierce: A Celebration of Our Victories and Herstory
featuring special guests Brook Kelly-Green, Ford Foundation, and Terry McGovern, Mailman School of Public Health.
In addition to over 30 breakout sessions, the Summit features a timely and inspirational range of plenary sessions, listed below. Detailed descriptions are available on our website here, and you can view and download the full program here.
The Power of Meaningful Involvement
Tami Haught, Sero Project; Pat Kelly, PWN-USA South Carolina; Andy Spieldenner – US People Living with HIV Caucus; & Octavia Lewis, Positively Trans.
Reflecting on Our Past, Visioning Our Collective Future
Waheedah Shabazz-El, Evany Turk, Naina Khanna, Venita Ray, Arneta Rogers.
Federal Policy: Holding the Line: Protecting What We Have
Cecilia Chung, Transgender Law Center; Marcela Howell, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda; Bill McColl, AIDS United.
(re) Claiming Our Time: Building Power Beyond this Political Moment
Malika Redmond, Women Engaged; Evany Turk, PWN-USA; Kenyon Farrow, TheBody.com; Monique Tula, Harm Reduction Coalition.
Let’s Talk about Sex: The Criminalization of Bodies, Dating, and Intimacy
Cris Sardina, Desiree Alliance; Stephanie Laster, SisterLove Inc.; Evonne Kaho, Love Me Unlimited 4 Life; Nina Martinez, Georgia HIV Justice Coalition; Tranisha Arzah, BABES Network – YWCA.
Resistance & Resilience: Caring for Ourselves and the Beloved Community in Challenging Times
Waheedah Shabazz-El, Barb Cardell, Bre Campbell, Grissel Granados, LaTrischa Miles.
###
Nice one!!!! Thanks for sharing a great article.